Castle Church's 15 Theses (for Modern Attention Spans)

Jared Witt   |   May 28, 2020

1. 1. We don't make "a decision for God." God has made a decision for the world (John 3:16)
2. 2. “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved through him.” (John 3:17)

3. Jesus' did not come into a world of unreligious people and teach them about religion; he came into a hyper-religious world and taught them how to be more fully human. (Acts 17:16-34)

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4. Jesus did not just come to save us from personal sins but from racism, sexism, militarism, tribal allegiances, power politics, unjust economic systems, etc. 
5. The word “Christian" does not indicate a privileged status before God but a calling to be God's love for the world (Mark 12:33; John 3:17).
6. The "us vs. them" tribal allegiances that have developed in many Christian circles are the problem in the world, not the solution.
7. Our God is not so weak and unimaginative as to just salvage a few from the world; we believe God saves the whole world or nothing at all (1 Cor. 15:20-28).
8. In order to save the whole world, God often needs to prioritize the needs of the vulnerable and the outsiders over the powerful and the insiders.
9. We do not believe in the cult of success and achievement; we do not worship winning; we worship an outcast crucified among outcasts. 
10. We "take sides" with the weak in order to mend the whole--e.g if we can appreciate that black lives matter, it makes all of us better.   
11. To exclude anyone from community on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious background, etc. is the problem in the world, not the solution.​
12. We believe that God has bigger plans for the world than just patting a few religious folks on the back and applauding a few caste systems.
13. In Biblical times, this meant that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female” (Gal. 3:28), or in another context, “circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian…” (Col. 3:11)—in other words all ethnic, national, class and even biological distinctions that are used to set one person over another are broken down at the foot of the cross.
14. In our context, this can be expanded: In Christ, there is neither Mexican nor American, there is neither black nor white, there is neither Republican nor Democrat, there is neither gay nor straight; and the list grows wherever humans use worldly identities to privilege one over the other.
15. Don't @ me

Cheers and Peace,

​Jared