Being of Wesleyan-Holiness heritage, we are a learning community where:
- Truth is pursued
- Grace is foundational
- Holiness is a way of life
Truth: Encountering the Wonder of God
We believe that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Since God is the Source of all that is, we believe in God鈥檚 Truth revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, to which Scripture and all of Creation give witness. We recognize that there are a multitude of truth claims both in academia and in our cultural context. We believe that Truth is not just a human construct but involves our ongoing discovery of God's revealed Truth.2 The marks of the Creator are in the Creation. We further believe that we come to God鈥檚 Truth through the primacy of Scripture as embraced by the historic Christian Church, supported by reason, and confirmed by experience.3 We value the knowledge we have gained through our academic training, and we also see the glory and majesty of God's redemptive work in Christ and Creation.4 We affirm with confidence and without contradiction both our faith in Christ and our commitment to academic excellence.5
Grace: Living in the Hope and Optimism of God鈥檚 Transformative Work
We believe that God is active and present in our world, working in all of creation to redeem and restore us in God鈥檚 own image.6 As we respond to God鈥檚 redemptive purposes both individually and in our life together, we believe that we have new life in Christ, being reconciled to God and one another.7 Because it is God who is at work in us we are hopeful, even optimistic, about the possibilities of becoming who God calls us to be. Because it is God who is also at work in our world, we seek to advance justice, peace, mercy, and reconciliation in our time and look forward to the day when all will be made right by the gracious, loving power of God.8
Holiness: Maturing in Christ through the Story of God and Practices of Christian Community
We are called to be a distinctly Christian community in education, as a part of the larger Church of Jesus Christ and the mission of God in the world. We find our purpose in the person of Christ, Scripture, the creeds, and the practices of the Church across the ages.9 We understand these practices to be 鈥渕eans of grace鈥�10 that God鈥檚 Holy Spirit uses to shape us both individually and corporately in the character of Christ.11 These practices include both acts of piety and works of mercy, such as gathering for worship, prayer, Bible study, caring for those in need, and sharing the Gospel of Christ.12 Practices of forgiveness, trust, empathy, compassion, mindfulness, and gratitude are characteristic of our life together.13
As part of a Christ-centered community committed to Christian discipleship, students will be shaped and empowered by their learning and growth at 国产剧麻豆剧 to become thoughtful and committed Christlike citizens who live out their calling in ways that transform their homes, churches, vocations, and communities.
2 The revelation of God鈥檚 character is exhibited not only in Jesus, but also in Creation.
3 The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: From a Wesleyan perspective, the sources of our knowledge are Scripture, Christian Tradition, Reason and Experience (observable evidence as well as subjective 鈥渒nowing鈥�).
4 Faith as a 鈥渟ixth sense鈥�: Wesley鈥檚 idea of the enlivened sense of faith through which we see beyond the five senses to the revelation of God.
5 鈥淰ia Media鈥�: In Wesleyan thinking, the idea of holding potentially competing theological or philosophical ideas together in a dynamic tension without compromising the veracity of either.
6 Prevenient Grace: The understanding that God has gone before us, always drawing us in by divine love.
7 Responsible Grace: The understanding that God is always the initiator, but human beings have the responsibility of responding to God鈥檚 love.
8 A Wesleyan/Christian understanding of the optimism of grace.
9 Catholic spirit: Those of us in the Wesleyan tradition understand ourselves to be part of the larger universal or catholic Church of Jesus Christ.
10 鈥淢eans of Grace鈥�: The Wesleyan understanding that there are particular practices that God uses to shape us in Christlikeness.
11 Entire Sanctification: The understanding in Wesleyan theology that by the work of the Spirit of God in us we can become mature in Christian character, especially in love for God and neighbor.
12 Wesley termed the 鈥渕eans of grace鈥� practices 鈥渁cts of mercy and piety鈥�.
13 Practices identified in 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 Moral Integration initiative.