More about our move, settling in, comparisons of the weather this week to the 9th circle of the inferno, and the like to come. For now, I thought I would post some notes from our first official gathering as a church this Sunday.
Our Aims and Identity
The Line is a movement of the People of God in Chicago.
We aim to be an incarnational movement of missionaries living in, blessing, and proclaiming Christ to Chicago for many generations.
Distinctives
Missionaries: We are the ransomed children of God, sent out into all creation by Jesus as ambassadors to bless in His power and to speak of His beauty, wisdom, and goodness. All members of the Line acknowledge this truth and work hard to fulfill their calling. As a church, we send and are sent on an everyday basis.
Incarnational: Like Jesus, we leave our places of comfort and security to live with the lost. We seek to bring transformation to communities from the inside out (as if there were any other way?). Our strategies for blessing others are localized and diverse.
Long-Term: We believe that the most coherent, persuasive witness to Chicago’s urban center will be consistent and long-term. We seek to stay in the city, to build it up over many generations of diligent labor. We desire for Chicago to be known to history as the city that God’s people loved.
Movement: We believe that the truthfulness of the gospel is best evidenced by transformation in all tribes, cultures and ethnicities. Planting new churches, expressions, and gospel communities is a regular and joyful exercise. We prize both growth and birth.
