Common Questions

Below are some common questions about Grace Fellowship that are organized into categories. Didn’t find the answer to a question you have? Submit your question and we’ll get right back to you.

Leadership

Why doesn’t the church have a Senior Pastor?

The title of “senior pastor” in today’s church has in many ways betrayed the intent of the Biblical role of a pastor/elder/bishop within the leadership of the modern church. Too often there is a centralizing of influence/power in the life of one man for the care, direction, teaching, and vision-casting for a church. In the early church we see a plurality of leadership expressed within a group of godly men acting as shepherds in the church called pastor/elder/bishop. Within the office of pastor/elder/bishop there is no indication of final rank. Each pastor/elder/bishop is an equal among equals. While it is true that there may be an aspect of seniority organizationally (i.e., a pastor may be accountable to another pastor in an organizational function or a pastor/elder/bishop may have oversight and the freedom to create, plan, lead within an area of the church) we are concerned that the title “senior pastor” has concentrated too much ministry responsibility in the life of one man. While it is true that vocational pastors will have a very strong influence and directional impact on a church since they have more time to devote to ministry, the New Testament is clear that there is no “seniority” among elders/pastors/bishops and we feel that a title like “senior pastor” actually hinders the Biblical intent of pastoral leadership. We believe that a pastor having seniority over elders is biblically wrong and also shows a lack of wisdom within the expression of church leadership — how can one man care for, disciple, teach, and equip all the people of a church? Therefore, we have decided to not have a designation of rank among our pastors since it helps us to model the Biblical structure of leadership.

What is an Elder?

An Elder is a man who cares for, guides, and protects those who call Grace Fellowship their home. Elders are the core leadership at Grace Fellowship and are responsible before God to lead this church in the character and priorities of Christ.

How are the Elders accountable to the congregation?

The Elders at Grace Fellowship are accountable to the church body in three ways. One; they are accountable personally. If there is any time that a member of the Leadership Team (Elders) sins against a person they are to meet with that Elder with two or three witnesses (see 1 Timothy 5:19-20) and if restoration is not made then it proceeds to the Leadership Team (Elders) and, if restoration is not made, it proceeds toward a public rebuke. Two, each Elder is held accountable to other Elders who are members of Grace Fellowship. If an Elder is violating Biblical standards then the other Elders (who are part of the church body) are responsible to deal with their brother in Christ who needs help to turn from an attitude or action that does not fit a follower of Christ. Third, if the Elders as a group are perceived or accused as not acting according to Biblical standards then, according to our church By-Laws, any ten members who feel the Elders are acting in sin can initiate a meeting with the Elders. If this meeting does not bring restoration then these ten members can call for a church-wide meeting in accordance with special meeting guidelines set up in the church’s By-Laws to address their concerns. We hope to never see this happen, but it does create accountability at the “highest” level of authority within Grace Fellowship to provoke God-centered leadership.

Doctrine

Do you consider doctrine to be important?

Doctrine is as important to living as air is important to breathing — without it you will die! In 1 Timothy 4:16 the Apostle Paul warns his apprentice, Timothy, to “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do you will save both yourself and your hearers.” The Bible portrays doctrine as how we view God. Therefore, everyone has a “doctrine” since everyone has a certain view of God. It is a matter of whether a person has a biblical view of God, or if a person has an unbiblical or distorted view of God. We are never ashamed to chase hard after God and examine how we view God in comparison to how the Bible describes God as fact.

View Our Beliefs

What are the “Doctrines of Grace”?

During the Reformation certain values took on short statements in an effort to reclaim a faith founded on God’s Word instead of man’s opinions. These values are often expressed in five Latin phrases:

• Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
• Solus Christus: Christ Alone
• Sola Gratia: Grace Alone
• Sola Fide: Faith Alone
• Soli Deo Gloria: The Glory of God Alone

Grace Fellowship also shares these values and we hope these expressions will help you get to know us better.

Learn more

Do you believe the gift of tongues was only for the first-century church?

At Grace we believe God can choose to move a person supernaturally to speak in another language to spread His fame. We believe what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:39 that we are not to “forbid speaking in tongues.” With that being said, we would also apply biblical truth to the expression of any and all spiritual experiences to make sure that it is truly from the Spirit and in line with the goal of strengthening the Church (1 Cor. 14:26). God has been so generous by supplying us with guidelines for this type of communication such as, speaking one at a time, in order, with an interpreter present, under control of the one speaking, etc. (14:27-33) We invite the God of the universe to refresh us with His Spirit through the expression of gifts of the Holy Spirit, but we also are aware that the truth of God’s Word is the final arbiter between what is true and right and what is false and wrong.