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ABOUT
FBC is an inclusive community of faith. Here's what some of the friends and members of FBC are saying: |
FBC is affiliated with :
The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists The Alliance of Baptists |
"The name First Baptist Church in Newton just doesn't give an accurate image for our eclectic, free-thinking, warm-hearted, questioning, creative and diverse community... I'm really excited about the path we're exploring."
" We're a Christian church with some twists – a mash-up of skeptics and devoted, young and old; brought together by a curiosity to understand more, learn from each other, and try to live as Christ did -- loving others more than oneself."
"FBC is an inclusive Christian community. We worship together; explore our faith through the arts, music, service and prayer; share our stories - ancient and new; nurture our kids and families; and learn from one another what faith means in our everyday lives."
"We neither run from Jesus nor think we own him. We think critically about religion-- especially our own, but want it to touch our hearts and acts as well as our heads. A wide range of music and other elements of the arts and popular culture are welcome as part of our worship and reflections on the life we’re living and the life we want to live."
"We have more questions than answers, and we share our different points of view to help each other discern what Christ’s way means to us. Learning to love well in the way of Jesus is more important than your church or non-church background, what kind of language you use, what gender your partner is, or how you dress."
" We're a Christian church with some twists – a mash-up of skeptics and devoted, young and old; brought together by a curiosity to understand more, learn from each other, and try to live as Christ did -- loving others more than oneself."
"FBC is an inclusive Christian community. We worship together; explore our faith through the arts, music, service and prayer; share our stories - ancient and new; nurture our kids and families; and learn from one another what faith means in our everyday lives."
"We neither run from Jesus nor think we own him. We think critically about religion-- especially our own, but want it to touch our hearts and acts as well as our heads. A wide range of music and other elements of the arts and popular culture are welcome as part of our worship and reflections on the life we’re living and the life we want to live."
"We have more questions than answers, and we share our different points of view to help each other discern what Christ’s way means to us. Learning to love well in the way of Jesus is more important than your church or non-church background, what kind of language you use, what gender your partner is, or how you dress."
Thoughts about what being Baptist Means at FBC
At FBCN we embrace the radical paradigm for life together that Baptists gave us: we don't endorse what the loudest Baptist voices may have done with it.
We embrace it because:
The freedom of a Baptist congregation from any official creed or institutional hierarchy makes space for open questions and vigorous discussion. We embrace the Baptist commitment to search the scriptures for ourselves. We want to think critically about religion---especially our own--but want it to touch our hearts and acts as well as our heads.
Baptists have a love affair with Jesus and the Bible at the center of their lives, and so do we. We know Baptists can be obnoxious about it. Our love affair is a stormy one. It's a gift we keep receiving, not a message we're trying to sell. We neither run from Christ nor think we own him. To us, learning to love well in the way of Jesus is more important than your church or non-church background, what kind of language you use, what gender your partner is, or how you dress.
Baptists are famously suspicious of the "institutional church," and we're seeking to build relationships and experience transformation more than to run programs or support an institution.
The freedom of a Baptist congregation means that we can draw on all strands of the Christian tradition, ancient and new, and any sources of wider wisdom as we grow our worship and life together.
Baptists were long persecuted by governments and other churches, and became advocates of religious liberty for all. We hope we can learn to identify with the oppressed and the scapegoated in our times, to witness to the way of justice and peace.
We value these things because they help us become the kind of community and people we want to be. We are thankful to those who passed them on to us. But what we received is bigger than the label.
At FBCN we embrace the radical paradigm for life together that Baptists gave us: we don't endorse what the loudest Baptist voices may have done with it.
We embrace it because:
The freedom of a Baptist congregation from any official creed or institutional hierarchy makes space for open questions and vigorous discussion. We embrace the Baptist commitment to search the scriptures for ourselves. We want to think critically about religion---especially our own--but want it to touch our hearts and acts as well as our heads.
Baptists have a love affair with Jesus and the Bible at the center of their lives, and so do we. We know Baptists can be obnoxious about it. Our love affair is a stormy one. It's a gift we keep receiving, not a message we're trying to sell. We neither run from Christ nor think we own him. To us, learning to love well in the way of Jesus is more important than your church or non-church background, what kind of language you use, what gender your partner is, or how you dress.
Baptists are famously suspicious of the "institutional church," and we're seeking to build relationships and experience transformation more than to run programs or support an institution.
The freedom of a Baptist congregation means that we can draw on all strands of the Christian tradition, ancient and new, and any sources of wider wisdom as we grow our worship and life together.
Baptists were long persecuted by governments and other churches, and became advocates of religious liberty for all. We hope we can learn to identify with the oppressed and the scapegoated in our times, to witness to the way of justice and peace.
We value these things because they help us become the kind of community and people we want to be. We are thankful to those who passed them on to us. But what we received is bigger than the label.
