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Pillar 1. Teach Truth

(teacher/preacher/educator)

a. FMC is committed to taking our next steps towards Christ together through Scripture-based teaching

b. FMC teaches in step with reformed theology and adheres to ECO’s tenets, confessions, and polity

c. FMC seeks the Holy Spirit’s direction and power in curricular development, delivery, reception, and implementation

d. FMC uses expository preaching as the primary mode of sermon delivery

e. FMC makes deliberate use of varied, concise, and lucid homiletic modalities

f. FMC has a deliberate curricular focus integrated across the spectrum of ministry: Long run, Medium run, Short run

g. FMC promotes a compelling, fresh, expansive, & innovative curriculum spanning ages, spiritual maturity, & traditions

h. FMC teaching methods have a comprehensive awareness of current events, trends, and platforms

i. FMC teaching is conducted with a focus on both personal development and enabling others to teach

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Rom 12: 1-2 (The Message)
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."
Acts 2:42-47
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness."
Rom 12:3-8
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts."
1 Cor 12: 27-31
"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
Eph 4: 11-16
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
2 Tim 3:16
"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."
Col 3:16
"Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave."
Exodus 18:20
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."
Rom 15:4
"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."
James 3:1
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."
2 Peter 2
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Reformed [ECO] Theological Tenets

ECO Tenets, The clearest declaration of God’s glory is found in His Word, both incarnate and written. The Son eternally proceeds from the Father as His Word, the full expression of the Father’s nature, and since in the incarnation the Word became flesh all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are offered to His disciples. The written Word grants us those treasures, proclaims the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, and graciously teaches all that is necessary for faith and life.

We glorify God by recognizing and receiving His authoritative self- revelation, both in the infallible Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and also in the incarnation of God the Son. We affirm that the same Holy Spirit who overshadowed the virgin Mary also inspired the writing and preservation of the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit testifies to the authority of God’s Word and illumines our hearts and minds so that we might receive both the Scriptures and Christ Himself aright.

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The Spirit gathers us in a community that is built up and equipped to be light, salt, and yeast in the world. Christ sends us into the world to make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that Christ has commanded us.

Pastors are to use their spiritual gifts for ministry, with a particular emphasis on the gifts of apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, shepherding, and teaching (Ephesians 4:11-12). A pastor is to nurture the spiritual health and maturity of the body of Christ in order that the body may be equipped to partner with God in His redemptive work in the world. In addition to adherence to the Essential Tenets, presbyteries shall ensure that candidates for ministry are adequately trained for their task.

Training shall include a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) and ordinarily a master’s degree from an accredited theological seminary in biblical or theological studies, as well as appropriate hands-on ministry experience and mentoring. Candidates for ministry must demonstrate significant theological and biblical competence as well as the necessary skills for pastoral ministry.

All pastors (Pastor/Head of Staff, Associate Pastor, and Assistant Pastors) serving an ECO congregation must hold their ordination in ECO or be received as affiliate pastors by the presbytery of jurisdiction.

Recommended Books

Venues to Implement this Pillar

1. Teach Sunday School
2. Teach in Student Ministry
3. Teach at the Center
4. Preach at Four Mile
5. Preach at other churches when needed

Platforms & Exercises to Develop this Pillar

  • Work as a pillar on understanding the text for an upcoming sermon series
  • Do an AAR on a previous sermon or teaching
  • Conduct a survey by at least 10 people on one of your teachings
  • Review a sermon with a focus on homiletics
  • Discuss the use of video in teaching
  • Discuss the effective use of graphics when teaching
Click here to download a printable PDF of this pillar