distinctives

As a church that affirms the uniqueness of the Bible as “God-breathed” written revelation, we also then wholeheartedly affirm that the Bible is our sole authority in all matters of life and doctrine. Likewise, we affirm its sufficiency for the same. This does not mean that we don’t see the importance and value of extra-biblical knowledge, but it does mean that all truth claims must be held in subjection to the clear teaching of God’s word. This does not preclude terms or concepts not found in the Bible that accurately affirm the Bible’s teaching, but it does preclude attempts, which are popular from time to time among Christians, that seek to integrate or conflate secular theories or worldly ideologies with biblical teaching.

Psalm 19:7-13; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 2:20-21; Hebrews 2:1-4; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 2:14-16; Isaiah 55:8-9; Colossians 2:6-10; Isaiah 8:11-15; 1 Corinthians1:18-25

Because God’s written revelation to us is ‘living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword’ it is our intention to allow it to utilize Compass preachers to get to our hearts and minds as they open the word and let its message out. Our goal is that Compass pastors won’t use the Bible to preach their messages, but that the Bible will use Compass pastors to preach its message. God’s powerful and life-changing truth!

Hebrews 4:12

In a day when many have attempted to reduce God to be their spiritual therapist, it is important for us to remember that God, our Creator, is the highly exalted, transcendent, King of all things. We cannot afford to think less of God than he really is. We dare not respond to him as merely our comfortable friend and fail to worship him as our Sovereign Lord.

Malachi 1:6-11

It is imperative that we understand what God’s word says about how one becomes a disciple of Christ and thus a child of God. We cannot truncate, sterilize, simplify, adjust or in any other way modify the message of the gospel that was once and for all delivered to God’s people in God’s word. We will not shy away from clearly articulating God’s truth on heaven, hell, sin, judgment, repentance and faith. It will be our goal to hold tightly to a biblical gospel.

Romans 1:16

We understand that the mission, the goals and the values at Compass Bible Church are humanly impossible. We do not inherently possess the wherewithal to make disciples or aid them in knowing, loving and serving Christ. These are works of God and we will always rely on him as we ardently ask him to accomplish these biblical objectives among us.

Colossians 4:2-6

Among other analogies, the Bible sometimes refers to professing Christians who regularly assemble under the authority and instruction of a team of qualified pastors as that church’s “members.” This Greek New Testament word is used 32 times, sometimes to refer to a literal “member,” “part,” or “limb” of a physical body, and at other times metaphorically to refer to a person who is a “part” or “participant” in a church fellowship. These participants are expected to maintain a high level of commitment to their church as demonstrated by their regular attendance, their faithful participation in church programs, their service in church ministries, and their financial support of the church. Compass Bible Church refers to these members as “highly committed participants” and their involvement as “attending, connecting, serving, and giving.” These HCPs are spiritually cared for by the pastoral team and are called to submit to the pastors’ doctrinal oversight and church discipline whenever necessary.

Ephesians 4:11–16; Hebrews 10:24–25; 1 Peter 4:10–11; 1 Corinthians 9:8–12

The kind of people that God calls to lead at Compass Bible Church is extremely important. Obviously our pastors and teachers must meet the biblical qualifications as set forth in the books of 1 Timothy and Titus. Beyond that we expect our leaders to follow in Apostle Paul’s example of being authentic, forthright, honest, hard-working and sacrificial. In a phrase we expect that our leaders set the example of saying to Christ daily: “any thing, any place, any time!”

2 Corinthians 6:3-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:8-9

It is our concern that we work to regularly launch more Bible-teaching churches that are resolved and constrained to move into more communities with a biblical purpose, a biblical mission and clearly maintained biblical values. It is our hope that Compass will never lose its commitment to this end.

Acts 1:8