Statement of Faith for Doug Gerdts

Statement of Faith

The Rev. Douglas D. Gerdts


I believe that...

...God is the Creator of all things, bringing order out of chaos. God created humanity to be in relationship with God and with one another. It is living in that relationship that we best display what it means to be made in the "image of God." God is faithful, God is good, God will provide.

...Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and through Christ, we are reconciled to God. Jesus, fully human, fully divine, came as the ultimate example for humanity preaching justice, liberation and love; teaching through living example and spoken word. In obedience to the Creator and love of humanity, Jesus accepted a suffering death only to live again, breaking through the barrier of death. Christ's victory frees humanity from the bondage of sin and gives new life.

...the Holy Spirit is the Sustainer of our faith and our life in Christ. The Spirit binds us together in relationship as community, as the Body of Christ. The Spirit inspires through the Word proclaimed and empowers all Christians to love and serve God and neighbor.

...the church is the community of believers, bound by the Spirit, called to proclaim through word and deed God's love for all people.

...the Bible is the story of God's relentless, gracious quest to reconcile the human community so that we might know a life defined by justice, love and peace for all people regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, social status, sexual orientation or gender. This same message is expressed in the Torah, the prophets, the psalms, the gospels and the epistles.

...the sacraments are the "outward and visible signs of God's inward and spiritual grace." Celebration of the sacraments is one way that the Body of Christ is kept alive in community. The sacraments serve to remind the faithful that the community was formed in response to the life, death, resurrection and saving grace of Jesus Christ.


April 2003