WHY JESUS

Thomas Aquinas, a thirteenth century priest and influential philosopher, once said, 'To those who believe, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not, no explanation will suffice.' It is always hard to try and explain why Jesus matters to someone who has no idea, when no explanation will suffice. It would seem that even trying would be futile yet it seems to be happening. The church continues to grow internationally and new people who have never heard the story hear and believe.

So why Jesus? Because he is God incarnate, crucified and raised from the dead, suffering with us, and ultimately reconciling the world to God. And we want to figure that out and deal with it. 

Does following Jesus answer all your questions? Unfortunately, no. Following Jesus is not a black-and-white, just-do-it-this-way, here-are-the-rules sort of life. It can be confusing and difficult and leave you with more questions than when you began. Black and white can easily become gray. But as we follow Jesus, he gives us room to wrestle. Jesus is the one doing the work. We are just doing our best to witness it. Our love is not dependent on what we know but on the fact that we are known by Jesus. We are free to explore, love God, love one another, and ask the hard questions while not being afraid of God’s rejection.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe God’s love story is presented in the Scriptures. Scripture is the norm of our faith and life. We believe scripture is our primary source of knowing what God has done, is doing, and is yet to do. Scripture should be faithfully examined in a community.

We believe God has been revealed through history. The church is connected by a great web of people who wrestled with God. We believe our communal history has much to teach us about who God is today. Martin Luther, a theologian from the ancient church called upon the church to depend solely on God for our salvation, in lieu of what we say or what we do. Luther called the church to always be reforming and never become too comfortable. We believe our tiny corner of the kingdom can be a challenge. 

The rule

The Benedictine Monks have the Rule of Saint Benedict. At Jacob's Porch, we have a Rule which describes how we strive to live together in community. You can find the rule here.