OUR VALUES
The Association of Churches of Christ the King
The CCK Values Statement
Values mark the highest ideals and commitments of any shared enterprise or community, representing the constellation of its deeply held aspirations and convictions. As we seek to honor and glorify God and delight in him in our communities of faith., CCK affirms the following values, as a learning community devoted to the historic Christian faith, striving both to glorify Christ and advance his kingdom through the leading of the Holy Spirit. As God leads and teaches us, we will aspire to move forward together, firmly committed to express these values in our relationships, decisions, activities, and strategies.
Summary is as follows:
TRUTH
All that we affirm and aspire to must be rooted in the truth, expressed with graciousness and humility.
VISION
Committed to the One who is able to exceedingly beyond all we ask or think, we will dare to dream boldly and big!
STEWARDSHIP
As those entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, we will strive to be wise, living within the constraints of our means.
COMPLEMENTARITY
Affirming the diversity of the Spirit’s giftings among us, we use our shared resources for maximum impact.
FREEDOM
Acknowledging our liberty in Christ, we will be open to new horizons, rewarding failure, risk-taking, and experimentation.
ADAPTABILITY
Understanding the power of being ready to always reform and to change, we will be open to adapt relentlessly.
Our Values defined
TRUTH: REPRESENT THE TRUTH WITH GRACIOUSNESS AND HUMILITY (JN 8:31-32).
In an environment of deception and misinformation, we will represent the truth. To be clear and straightforward, striving to be honest and transparent, as followers of Jesus, we believe the truth will always prevail. Our commitment to represent the truth in Christ in our dealings and matters and an unwavering dedication to being gracious and humble will show our integrity and authenticity at times marked by ambiguity and relativism. Our commitment to truth fosters trust among our members and cultivates an environment where genuine dialogue and understanding can flourish. We will seek to transcend mere factual accuracy, being openly transparent and open, even when such transparency involves risk and difficulty. This means we will address and dismantle barriers, encourage open-mindedness, and invite a more profound exploration of ideas, beliefs, and values. We speak the truth into all we encounter and relate.
VISION: DARE TO DREAM BOLDLY AND BIG (EPH. 3:20-21).
The act of dreaming boldly and audaciously is rooted in God’s testimony regarding the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling the people of God. This vision serves as a powerful catalyst for our personal and communal transformation. It is rooted in our understanding of God’s calling and gifting on our lives, with his boundless capacity for creativity and achievement. As dreamers, we will evaluate and challenge the status quo, pushing boundaries of what’s expected, and ignite fires within individuals and churches to pursue their passions with relentless determination. With an avowed fidelity to Christ and his Kingdom, we will celebrate the courage to step into the arena of action, to live by faith, and to tirelessly work towards bringing these God-given visions to life. We strive to transition from dreamers to doers, where we can test, refine, and seek to realize our burdens in the crucible of changing conditions. Our commitment to dreaming requires a strategic blend of persistence, adaptability, and resilience, enabling our communities of dreamers to navigate the complexities of the journey and overcome the inevitable obstacles that arise. We will dream audaciously and engaging joyfully in pursuit of these dreams, for God’s glory through Christ and to advance his kingdom.
STEWARDSHIP: LIVE WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF YOUR MEANS (EPH. 5:15-17).
Living within the constraints of our current means and exercising wisdom in using available resources is a fundamental principle of our strategy for change. In an age characterized by consumerism and easy debt accrual, we approach our tasks as project/resource managers exercising wise stewardship in our various initiatives. We recognize and embrace the importance of the judicious use of time, money, and resources to accomplish our ends within the bounds of our present constraints. Furthermore, we will wisely steward the contributions of our people to help ensure the effective and efficient coordination of their varied gifts. We will always be keenly aware of our current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. We will seek to make choices aligned with our purpose, long-term objectives, and goals consistent with our values. We prioritize our efforts around those select activities and projects that enable us to leverage our limited resources considering our goals. We commit to live within our means with confidence and peace, unburdened by either the stress of financial debt or strategic overreach. We will encourage processes, strategies, and approaches that focus on our value priorities and the meaningful use of our lives and assets.
COMPLEMENTARITY: COORDINATE AND APPRECIATE DIVERSE GIFTINGS FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT AND RESULTS (ROM. 12:3-6).
Within the intricate tapestry of our team dynamics, complementarity emerges as one of our signature strengths to guide our collective endeavors to previously unheard-of levels of impact and creativity. Our culture and ethos of complementarity acknowledge and celebrate the distinctiveness of each person and church’s experiences, insights, talents, and perspectives. Our differences are not just pesky barriers or obstacles to annoy one another but rather invaluable assets that, when woven smartly together, form a beautiful mosaic of unparalleled strength and resilience. We will strive to foster an environment of mutual appreciation and understanding where we both joyfully acknowledge and actively leverage our different burdens, giftings, and experiences to unlock CCK’s boundless potential. We seek the synergy born from collaboration and respect among diverse folk, with each member finding their place in their circles of influence, amplifying our impact beyond the sum of our parts. By embracing complementarity, we achieve maximum impact while cultivating a culture of appreciation, creativity, and excellence that reveals our shared giftedness, identity, and spirituality.
FREEDOM: REWARD FAILURE, RISK-TAKING, AND EXPERIMENTATION (GAL. 5:1, 13).
In today’s dynamic and ever-changing cultural milieu, rewarding failure and experimentation encourages individuals and churches to embrace risk-taking as a norm and learn from our repeated mistakes. We are free in Christ to explore, learn, and attempt great things for God! Our desire for failure and risk-taking is not a lazy commitment to waste but to explore and create. Playing it safe never works; through wise risk-taking, we will insulate ourselves from merely “doing what we’ve always done it” thinking, or punishing skunkworks as needless or reckless. Because we embrace experimentation, our view of change is transformed, our sense of success is changed, and our culture of creativity and continuous improvement is enhanced. We invite folks to envision new and better ways to accomplish our purpose and embrace failure as a catalyst for the next steps of growth and learning. Embracing experimentation will encourage our community members to see new ways to do old things, always to look ahead, anticipate changes and shifts, and prepare to meet the future with confidence, ready to embrace new paths of thinking and doing.
ADAPTABILITY: BE OPEN AND WILLING TO ADAPT RELENTLESSLY (ECCL. 11:5-6).
Adaptability is an indispensable trait in the outworking of contextual kingdom ministry, especially in an era marked by rapid technological advancements, evolving cultural landscapes, and fluctuating socio-political climates. We view our penchant to adapt our processes, systems, and strategies as not a survival tactic but a profound asset in being resilient and wise in constant change. It empowers individuals and communities to gracefully navigate the unpredictable waters of change, transforming potential challenges into opportunities for growth, innovation, and deeper understanding. Adaptation fosters an environment where learning is continuous, the pursuit of knowledge is dynamic, and gifted and called people can explore new vistas of impact and innovation as God leads.
OUR THEOLOGY
CCK is committed to returning to the biblical and historical story that God tells of his work in Christ and his Kingdom. The structure of the Bible Story–Creation, Incarnation, and Re-recreation—maps out the working of God in the world, his commitment to sending Jesus to earth, and making all things new through his Son, Christ the Victor.
For disciples of Jesus, this biblical Story transcends all other things. It is the final, true Story of creation and the Story God invites us to share in union with Christ through repentance and Faith. The papers below define what this looks like for Churches of Christ the King.