The Development of Doctrine

 

Doctrine is developed in the first order as a personal endeavor of reflection.  Upon entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ, faith seeks understanding.  The Bible provides the raw material and the process of evaluating it is both spiritual reflection and a work of theological construction.  Most people do not consider themselves theologians, but the reality is that as our faith seeks understanding we strive to communicate that understanding in our living and in our conversations.  That is theology. 

There is a set of skills developed as we grow and mature that refine our pursuit.  This means, as my skill in reflecting on scripture improves, so will my understanding and my life-worship.  This leads to a basic understanding that doctrine is not static, but a conversation.  It is a conversation between the Spirit of God speaking through the scriptures into the community of God and individuals living that conversation.  We must always be open to understand and learn more of what scripture has to offer. 

This conversation is not only personal but is historical.  We can look at the conversation in the writings and teachings of the historical church.  There we find people wandering in the stream as well as running aground on the shoals of heresy.  We find the Spirit at work teaching and correcting. 

It is the height of arrogance to think we enter the conversation as if it did not exist prior, and it is humbling to know it will not be done when we exit.   So understanding the witness of this conversation helps inform our current understanding and helps us as we continue to grow in grace and knowledge. 

Our doctrine locally is developed and adopted by the Elders of the church and confirmed by the Elders and Deacons.  To investigate the historical and theological influences on our doctrine please see The Conversation page.