Rooted Pastors affirms the historic creeds of the early church [Nicaea and Chalcedon] in terms of the nature of God and the person of Jesus Christ and His redemptive work in our broken world.  


Otherwise, we hold to a quote often attributed to Augustine:  
“In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”

 

Belovedness – The heart of the Biblical story is God’s great love for humanity. God launches Jesus into his earthly ministry with the fatherly blessing, “You are my beloved Son…” (Mark 1:11) And on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus says to his disciples, “Make your home in my love…” (John 15:11) Rooted pastors are on a healing journey to experience and understand their belovedness as God’s sons and daughters.

 

Unique Identity – Each human being has been individually “formed in our mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13) by God’s creative hand. We have been gifted a unique blend of body types, character traits, personalities and more – for our joy but also for God’s Kingdom and glory. Rooted pastors are on a healing journey to discover and embrace their unique identity as one of God’s daughters or sons.

 

Healing – Jesus said, “I have come to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free.” (Luke 4:18) Rooted pastors are encouraged to become self-aware about how life-events have shaped them and to intentionally choose pathways that position them to receive healing from Jesus. This healing gives them freedom to increasingly become a non-anxious, redemptive presence in our broken world.

 

Christ-like Character – Each of us is “predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son…” (Romans 8:29) Paul said Jesus’ character will at least look like “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Rooted pastors are on a healing journey towards deeper surrender to the Holy Spirit who forms Christ’s character in their lives.

 

Resilience – Following Christ – maybe especially for pastors – can often feel like “carrying about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus so the life of Jesus might be revealed in us…” (II Corinthians 4:10) Rooted pastors are on a healing journey to develop wise pathways of self-care in order to stay resilient and faithful in their lives and pastoral call no matter what the enemy brings their way.

 

Community – Created in the image of our trinitarian God (Genesis 1:26-27), we only flourish in community – a deeply loving group of His sons and daughters who bear witness to and pursue us in our story while also vulnerably sharing their own (I Corinthians 12:12) Rooted pastors are on a healing journey to finding an intimate, safe and accountable part of “the body of Christ” for themselves…in order to flourish in life and ministry.

 

Wounded Healer – One day those who believe in Jesus will enter glory and be instantly, completely healed! (Revelation 21:4) Until then, as we slowly surrender our wounds to Jesus and his love, we are on a journey of healing. So it is with Rooted pastors who lead as wounded healers, inviting those in our care to “follow us as we follow Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1) into increased healing, Christ-likeness and freedom to love our broken world to Him!