DISTINCTIVES:

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The Southern Cross is a conservative, community church. The standard sermon is a verse-by-verse exposition of scripture. Worship is a mix of contemporary songs as well as traditional hymns. A free fellowship meal is served after every Sunday service.

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We are Continuationists:

     We believe that all of the gifts of the holy Spirit mentioned in Scripture are available to, and active in his church today. (Mark 16:17, Gospel of John 14:16-17, Gospel of John 16:7-11, Titus 3:5-6, Romans 8:9, 1st Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 1:13-14, Acts 1:8, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12-14, 1 Peter 4:10-11)

   

 

We are Complementarian:

     We believe that God created both men and women in His own image. He created them equal in value and dignity. Nevertheless, he created them to fulfill gender-specific roles within the contexts of marriage, family, and the Church. (Genesis 1:26-28, Ephesians 5:31, 1st Corinthians 11:3-9, Ephesians 5:22-25, 1st Peter 3:1, 1st Timothy 2:11-14, 1st Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:6, Colossians 3:18-20, 1st Corinthians 14:34)

     

 

We are Premillennial:

     We believe in the premillennial return of Christ to the earth, to sit upon the throne of David, and rule forever. (Revelation 20:1-6, Luke 1:31-33, Isaiah 9:6-7)

    

 

We are Pretribulational:

     We believe the Church will be delivered from the “hour of trial” which will come upon all who dwell on the earth. Noah was "warned by God," and escaped the wrath to come; God sent messengers to Lot, and he escaped the destruction of Sodom; Rahab received the spies, and was spared in the destruction of Jericho; Nineveh escaped God's judgment through faith in the message of Jonah; and according to some historians, the early Christians, being warned by Jesus (Luke 21:20) escaped the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. In keeping with this undeniable history of salvation, Apostle Paul said, "We wait for His Son from heaven...who delivers us from the wrath to come." (Luke 21:20-21, 1st Thessalonians 1:10, 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1st Thessalonians 5:9, 1st Corinthians 15:51-55, Revelation 3:10)

 

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Expositional Preaching vs Topical Preaching:

     There are primarily 2 types of preaching: expositional and topical. Expositional preaching can be defined as teaching and explaining individual chapters and verses of the bible. Topical preaching is to choose a topic and preach on it from a biblical perspective. Topical preaching has its place, but here at The Southern Cross, we believe the church needs a verse-by-verse exposition of the whole bible. We believe it takes the whole Word to make a whole Christian. Consider the expository nature of Jesus’s talk with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself - Luke 2427 NLT) The Apostle Paul said it best: "I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God" (ACTS 20:26-27). 

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Complementarianism vs Egalitarianism.

     "Complementarian basically means, we believe God created men and women for different but complementary roles. Egalitarianism, on the other hand, says there are no gender-based limitations on the roles of men and women. However, since the bible emphatically teaches Patriarchal authority in both the Old and New Testament, we are left with no recourse. Jesus started "his" Church with male leadership; and it continued as such for almost 2000 years. Until recently, women holding positions of authority in the Church would have been considered unbiblical and absurd. So why is this changing today? In short---the feminist movement. The fact is the advent of women preachers corresponds with the rise of liberal feminism. Whereas it's normal for the Church to reflect changes in our secular customs, yet we should never reflect secular values. The fact is biblical values are timeless. If these values are not timeless, how can the bible serve as our point of reference concerning absolute truth? Either we believe the bible to be God's Word, or we don't. You see this is exactly how liberal theology was born. If one single biblical principle can be overturned, the rest of them become subject to human reasoning. Churches that promote women pastors and preachers, are vulnerable to full blown apostasy. Some men are quick to blame the women. But at the end of the day, it is weak and compromised men who give rise to female authority. For more on this subject, I've written an article in the Pastor's column titled, "Masculine Authority".  

     

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Fundamentalism and Pentecostalism:

     The Southern Cross stands between Fundamentalism and Pentecostalism. While we share with fundamentalism a belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, yet, unlike fundamentalists, we believe spiritual gifts are still in the Church today. On the other hand, we feel that Pentecostalism often prioritizes experience rather than the written Word. We believe in the fire of experience, but unless it's kept in the fireplace of God's word, it can burn the house down! Unrestrained Pentecostalism leads to inappropriate behavior during the official church service.

     In our Sunday services we focus on a personal relationship with God through worship, prayer, and teaching thru the Bible. We do not allow speaking in tongues loudly during this time because we do not believe that the Holy Spirit would interrupt Himself.

     Concerning the gift of tongues: this gift is for personal devotion, or in a setting in which there is an interpreter (1 Corinthians 14:28).

     Concerning the gift of prophecy: this gift should not be freely exercised in the Sunday service. All official Sunday speaking must be pre-approved by the Pastor..."For God is not the author of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:32-33).     

 

 

Unitarianism/Binitarianism/Trinitarianism:

    My use of the term "unitarian" is not to be confused with the Unitarian church denomination; but here it refers to the doctrine of Oneness. 

    Christianity is considered one of three monotheistic religions, which also includes Judaism and Islam. Yet Christianity is the only one with significant internal disagreement on how the oneness of God should be explained. Debate over the doctrine of the Godhead can be traced back to the early 4th century. It wasn't until the second ecumenical counsel in 381 AD. that the trinitarian view was officially established over the opposing views. But since the reformation, oneness and binitarianism have re-emerged...although I don't believe these views were ever really gone, they just couldn't be officially taught during the reign of the Roman Catholic Church.

     I do believe these three differing perspectives on the Godhead come from a sincere desire to understand the one true and living God of the Bible. Yet I often see the debate itself as a kind of religious tribalism; sometimes fueled by little more than arguing over semantics. I think we can all agree that no one has ever, nor can ever, perfectly articulate God's eternal state of being. In 1 Corinthians 13:12 Paul writes: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully..."

     In conclusion, I believe that what can be known of the Godhead must come by revelation. 

     

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​King James Bible vs Modern Translations?

    Many traditional churches today, continue to use the old King James Bible. And seeing as how I was raised on the King James Bible myself, I can certainly understand the powerful influence of this tradition. However, some within these traditional churches actually consider it a grave sin to use any English translation other than the King James Version. Yet considering how much the English language has changed since 1611, the greatest story ever told certainly deserves our most current and comprehensive form of English. I also think it's noteworthy that Jesus and the Apostles often quoted from the Septuagint (a Greek version of the Hebrew bible), even though they had the Hebrew scriptures and spoke Aramaic (a version of Hebrew).

    I believe the message of the Bible is absolutely authoritative...but those who translate it are not. Therefore, it would be erroneous to assign infallibility to a particular translation. There are many good English translations available today; hence, more important than which version you read is that you read one you understand. We don't need to venerate a legendary group of scholars and make an idol of their translation in order to resolve our need for spiritual absolution. What we do need are unbiased and faithful scholars, fluent in Hebrew and Greek, to translate the biblical manuscripts into our own vernacular. According to Jesus, the spirit of truth can take it from there!

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To be continued...

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