Vol.14 No.3

about us
People often ask us who we are, expecting to hear the
name of a particular Christian group or religious
organization.
We are not an organization, nor do we want to be one, so we
cannot introduce ourselves with a particular name. Jesus’
disciples did not give themselves any special name either, but
were recognized as such through their message and lifestyle.
Later they were called Christians because they proclaimed
Jesus as the Christ, the Savior who came to mankind from God.
We, too, are Christians, disciples of
Jesus. We want to follow the example of
the first Christians and put what we read
in the Bible into practice in our lives. We
do not belong to any denomination or
any other kind of religious society. We are
together because each of us wants to
follow Jesus, our Lord and our God (John
20:28) and not out of any obligation to
abide by the rules and regulations of an
institution. Religion only breeds two
things; Defeat (if you’re honest) and
hypocrisy if you are not
Leslie Leylands best put it this way,
“The basis for loving our neighbors, and
for unity in Christ, is not proximity, understanding
or commonality. We are one in Christ not because
we are one in the same, but because Christ is the same. It is an
impoverished theology that mistakes unity in Christ for sameness
in Christ.”
ACV Magazine ­ Who We Are
A short version of the
history of Christianity:
Christianity started in
Palestine as a fellowship; it
moved to Greece and became
a philosophy; it moved to Italy
and became an institution; it
moved to Europe and became
a culture; it came to America
and became an enterprise.
We regard the Bible as the sole basis of Christian doctrine.
This is why we meditate on God’s word. We take the Bible
seriously as the authority for our faith and life, while also trying
to understand it within its historical and literary context, using
the mind God gave us to continuously gain a deeper
understanding of it as illuminated by the Holy Spirit. We want
to avoid both the fundamentalist and the liberal errors in their
views on the Bible since many of these positions have a zeal,
but with a lack of knowledge.
Faith, for us, is a reality which fulfills
all areas of our life and does not mean
cultivation of traditional customs.
We believe it is not about what we do
but rather, what He did.
We reject the religious notion that
we are better than the lost because we
don’t have sin in our lives. That is a clear
contradiction to God’s word and brotherly
love. We humbly accept that our short
comings are viewed differently by our
heavenly Father because we are now His
kids. Our weaknesses are covered by the
blood of Jesus. We are convinced that
unity, which God wanted to be the reality
among Christians, cannot be achieved by
the controlling human structures of authority but is only the
fruit of obedience of every single disciple towards the Holy
Scripture. We are in unity because each of us puts his own self
aside and wants to follow what God revealed in the Bible and
made recognizable for everyone.
In 1 John 3:14–16 the apostle wrote:
We know that we have passed out of death into life,
because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love
abides in death. …By this we know love, that he laid
down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brothers. We believe the weight of the entire Bible
proves evidence that God is a God of hearts and not
heads. Thus, we may error in doctrine (head knowledge)
but we must avoid transgressing heart matters (love for
all who belive in Chist as Savior while we implore them
to make Him LORD as well. We encourage the remedy
for defficiencies in our lives by heeding I Peter 4:8, “Love
covers a multitude of sins...”
* Our “About us” was adapted by our dear brothers and
sisters in Europe. While we take a different position on
some “twiggier matters” of the law we love their spirit and
understanding of the Word of God and their response to
it.
www.Christians.eu
We also have a calling to honor the Families of the Fallen
soldiers and first responders with FREE lodging, respite
and counseling through our Gold Star Family Inn here in
Branson Missouri. Their lost loved ones are “Christ types”.
They laid down their lives for the freedom of others. Our
mission statement follows on the next page.
4 WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM | VOL.14 #3