Cheating...

Ok, I am about to cheat. Rather than writing something new, I wanted to share something old with you. I don't believe I ever put this on my normal blog.

Several years ago my good friends Tony and Melissa Herring started a church in downtown Tyler called Soma, which is Greek for "body." The Herrings are some of my absolute favorite people, top shelf. They are family to me and some of the most effective ministers I know. Through them and Marvin, Melissa's brother, I have had an opportunity here and there to get to know the church and their values and ethos. The limited amount of time I have had to spend with these people has been some of the most life-giving, laughter filled moments of my life. Like any young church, they have struggles, but are doing some amazing kingdom-type work in East Texas.

A couple of years ago they asked if I would write their mission statement. Honestly, it was one of the greatest honors I have ever been given, the opportunity to describe a local church and to help define, and refine, their mission. It was also a challenge, because I wasn't writing my church's mission statement, I was writing theirs. The end product ended up being one of the things I have been most proud of since I began writing. And here it is...
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What We Believe
Soma is a body of believers gathered to worship God by singing, teaching, learning, creating, listening, and living our lives within a transformational community that shifts our lives, individual and corporate, from being centered on ourselves to being directed toward God.

Of all the texts written over history by people trying to understand the origin, present condition, and future of the world, we believe the Bible to be the most trustworthy. Though written by the pens of humans it was, in ways we don't claim to have fully grasped yet, instigated and inspired by God. The Bible tells our story, informs our decisions, and shapes our lives. It is authoritative. While we value, and actively seek, God's direction through prayer, listening to the still, small voice of God, and wise counsel-- we acknowledge the Bible as the final authority.

While recognizing that the mysterious nature of the Trinity is a concept that can seem beyond the reach of our finite minds, we believe God is one being, existing as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God, perfect in power and holiness, is the creator of all there is, from the majestic peaks of the Himalayas to the depths carved out of the Grand Canyon; from the tallest East Texas pine to the farthest star in the universe; and from the lowest microbe to God’s crowning creative achievement -- Humanity.

Man (both male and female) was created to be in fellowship with God. Yet because of the entrance of sin into the world by the decision of humanity to go their own way, this fellowship has been broken, only to be mended by the perfect life, cruel death, and literal bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Many roads have brought us to Soma. We consider our various backgrounds-- Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist, etc., in addition to those backgrounds that did not include church-- to be a part of a rich tapestry of experiences that bind us together, rather than a divisive wedge that drives us apart. Our diverse history colors how we view the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. We believe the Holy Spirit teaches healthy behavior, convicts us of sin, and leads us to worship. Because we are finite and God is infinite, we do not presume to dictate how the Holy Spirit works in our individual and corporate lives. Therefore, we believe that certain manifestations of the Spirit (tongues, miracles, signs and wonders) that appeared in Scripture can (and do) still occur today. Yet we also believe that the work of the Holy Spirit exists in the absence of fanfare as much as in the presence of signs, so those who have never experienced certain manifestations of the Spirit are no more or less likely to have had a meaningful encounter with God than those who have.

At Soma we value the opportunity to be a part of the Kingdom of God on this earth. We believe Christ came to redeem not only the souls of individuals, but those of cultures and societies as well. We believe God has empowered the church with a prophetic voice to speak truth (with grace and humility) to the power structures of politics, entertainment, the arts, business, and education.

We also believe God's work in this world extends to places that are not immediately evident or easily discernible. So while we practice a prophetic voice, we also act as detectives and treasure hunters, trying with all our might and the enthusiasm of a child to discover God's fingerprints in film, literature, relationships, and all other elements of human existence. And when we find them, we celebrate and revel in the joy that only God brings.

Soma is a worshipping people. We worship by singing. Yet we also worship by forgiving. We worship by reading Scripture and appropriating it to our lives, but we also worship by reaching out and giving bread and worth to the poor and neglected people on the margins of society. We were created for worship, for lives that seek to have its focus set solely on God. Our redemption by the work of Christ and the prompting of the Holy Spirit enables us to worship more fully. We believe that God, in his own time and way, will bring all human and cosmic history to a point of eternal worship.