WHERE WE'RE AT
When we talk about "us" or "we", we would like to talk about all Christ-followers who are seeking to walk purely and simply in the Way of the Lord, but it's impossible to speak for everyone. We don't even know how many of us there are, or where all of us are, nor all the circumstances of God's people, far and wide. But we do know that our situations vary widely across the world.
So talking about "us" is a bit tricky. If we limit ourselves to talking about the family who put this website together, that won't tell you much. But, for what it's worth, the site administrators live on the southern edge of metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. That’s where we are geographically. (The photo on the home page shows our part of Melbourne, from way out on the bay.) As we have opportunity, we travel to encourage disciples elsewhere who are seeking to serve Christ the New Testament way. They are the "us" it will be more helpful to tell you about.
We're not connected organisationally, but spiritually; and where we are at spiritually is the more important thing. You will get a feel for that as you read what we’ve included on this website. We can very much relate to the words of 1 Peter 2:10, where it says, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.” We have come from diverse backgrounds, not having a lot in common, and now find ourselves brought together by a common love for Christ and the truth.
We do have this in common with everyone: we’re all flawed, and stumble in many ways. But here's what sets us apart from most people, something we have in common with all of God’s people: we have accepted God’s offer of forgiveness in Jesus, the Christ.
We love God and his word, so we don’t shy away from doctrine; we don’t just talk about warm & fuzzy wishy-washy nebulous nothings. Jesus didn’t, and we want to follow his lead. We believe what he says about abiding in his word, knowing the truth, and being set free by the truth (John 8:31-32). We have come to trust God and his word to the extent that we believe he has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him, and by his divine power (2 Peter 1:3).
Therefore we don’t believe we need chapels and cathedrals to serve him. After all, most of our service for Christ happens outside our Sunday gatherings. In most cases, the only building we have as a congregation is us. (Read 1 Peter 2:5 if you don’t understand that.) We don’t have the resources for church buildings and all that goes with them anyway. But we do have each other, and the limitless spiritual resources which God supplies (Ephesians 3:20). In accordance with the scriptures, we get together to encourage one another, and we do this most often in our homes. That’s what we see the first century disciples did. But where we gather doesn’t matter so much as what we do when we gather, so we’ll gather wherever it suits God’s purpose — be it homes, parks, shopping centres or public halls (pandemics permitting).
We’re determined to serve Christ the New Testament way — without being Catholic, Protestant, JW, Mormon, Pentecostal, or any of the other “brands”. We’re just Christians — more a community than an organisation, a body rather than an institute. We take great encouragement from being a part of the body of believers for whom Christ died (Acts 20:28), who are walking in the Way of the Lord without the encumbrance of institutional religion.
If you’d like to talk about seeking the Lord and his way, please do contact us.
We’d love to help.
