"God’s calling is the place where our deepest joy and the world’s greatest need intersects."
What does "exegete" mean? It means to "unpack", "to bring out of", "to bring to light". As Christians this is essentially what we are called to be about all of the time. By our lives and by our speech we are to "exegete" the Gospel for the world. In order to do this, we must continually exegete the Gospel for ourselves because the default mode of the human heart is "works righteousness". Therefore we must be consciously aware of this innate tendency to base our acceptance of ourselves and of others on some standard of human works rather than the work of Christ. The only way to avoid this is to continually exegete the Gospel. The Gospel is: "God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him." The world always migrates toward opposite poles from the Gospel. Moralism is the truth without grace and relativism is grace without the truth.
It is this Gospel that makes "real" friendships possible. That is, friendships not based on moralism, whether that be a conservative or liberal ideology. Or on the other hand, friendships based solely on common interests, be those interests some vice or hobby. The Gospel provides the foundation for real community because it says I don't have to "produce" to get love and acceptance but that I am loved and accepted completely by the one who "produced" for me. The Gospel provides the basis for real community because it is "realistic" in its assessment of our lives. It says both, "You're worse than you are willing to admit, but you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope." Relationships based upon "externals" must by necessity either be overly optimistic or pessimistic. Would they love me if they really knew me? The Gospel is the only thing that answers this unequivocally in the affirmative.
St. Patrick will be a church that does not live for itself but is deeply involved in the concerns of our community. We will be the church for the specific place where it lives, not the church for those who wish just to be members of it--or, rather, it will be for them insofar as they are willing to be for the wider community.
We believe that it is the Gospel that will make us more and more for the wider community. Some warn that if you focus upon "grace" that you will produce lazy Christians. Their logic is: If you tell people "Jesus has done it all!" then they will have no motivation to serve others. Nothing could be further from the truth. Only the Gospel can produce unselfish love and service. Apart from the Gospel we will either avoid serving out of fear of failure, rejection, or inconvenience, or we will be driven to serve in order to ease our guilty conscience and gain approval from God and people. But when "I am a sinner" and "Jesus is my Savior" come together, our motivational structure is demolished. We are no longer driven by fear, guilt, or the need for affirmation. The Gospel gives us a whole new motivational structure. It will make us for the wider community in way that guilt motivation cannot.
The Gospel grows us. Most people think we become Christians by believing the Gospel, and then we grow by mastering biblical principles for living. They believe that the Gospel is the starting point, but then we must move on to more advanced teaching to grow. But the Gospel is not merely the way we become believers, it is also the way we mature as believers. The Gospel is not the ABC’s but the A to Z of the Christian life. It is the way of righteousness "from first to last" (Romans 1:17). Therefore, the Gospel is the solution to all our problems. At the root of all of our problems is sin, specifically the sin of looking to someone or something other than Jesus for our significance, strength, and satisfaction. This root sin (which often has a religious face) manifests itself in all our various problems. God intends that my problems drive me to see ever more vividly that "I am a sinner" and "Jesus is my Savior". And so change continues, just as it began, through the power of the Gospel.
We aim to show the world that the Gospel will transform neighborhoods through Christian community development, by "reweaving" areas through word, mercy and justice. We are committed to demonstrating that the Gospel lifts up the poor, and reconciles the races and classes who otherwise could not be able to live together. We believe the Gospel isn’t just about personal healing, but also about social healing.
Christians often either make a wholesale retreat from culture or create a Christian subculture, which mimics mainstream trends and values with a Christian label attached. Rather, we will call people to theological reflection, to work with excellence in their professional fields, to develop an appreciation and appetite for beauty, and to respect and serve the whole world through their work. The goal is to show the world alternative ways of being human as we serve through the arts, business world, government, and education in our community. We believe the Gospel is not just about propping up the self but about transforming and renewing culture.
St. Patrick Presbyterian Church exists to be an incubator, a "think tank", and a catalyst for planting "Gospel centered", "gospel-driven" churches. We expect to mother, sponsor, and help establish dozens of congregations and campus ministries throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Therefore, we encourage entrepreneurship, creativity and lay leadership. We’re not just a church, but a movement of churches.