The God of grace is too big for us to just settle on a small issue, or a new trend. We want all of Jesus Christ - His Head and Body, His Word and Works, His Gospel and His Church, His Teaching and His Spirit. As we call it around here (following St. Augustine), we hope for “Total Christ.” Christianity is often defined by what it is against. CPC in the Hill hopes to overcome the pendulum swings for a balanced and full "Total Christ" spirituality. 

Total Christ includes:

1.  Gospel-Centered - Everything we do begins and ends with the freedom Christ secured for us in his cross and resurrection. The gospel is not simply something to believe once, but a transforming power that all believers come back to over and over.  => Think: freedom, safety, vulnerability, courage, real community, objective truth.

2.  Missional - The Church opens up a whole new way to live - from beliefs and deeds to relationships and careers. Our whole community speaks to this, such that being missional is more than a week-long trip to a developing country, but is an open community that itself points to the gospel in all we do.  => Think: participation, community, corporate witness, incarnation, means of grace

3. Christ as Prophet (Confessional) - We desire to hear God's voice through his Word and by his Spirit. Scriptures ground this hearing, as we learn with the historic communion of saints. We value robust sermons in order to magnify and teach the Word in a way that guards our freedom of conscience, rather than relying on human whims and opinions.  => Think: expositional preaching, creeds, intellect, historical, regulated

4.  Christ as Priest (Sacramental) - The mysterious presence of Christ in the flesh of his people is something we yearn for. Being sacramental includes not only prizing baptism and the Lord's Supper, but also the mystical presence through incarnational community, worship, preaching, liturgy, and service.  => Think: mystery, presence, intimacy, no dominant culture

5.  Christ as King (Communal) - God's kingly rule is good news when guarded by the gospel that unites his people to an other-oriented way of life. Even "authority" becomes a gracious means by which we are encouraged to trust the gospel alone, for our good! This aspect also inspires us to look at everything not through an individualist mindset, but a communal one.  => Think: one-anothering, localism, sharing burdens

For a full description of our "Total Christ" spirituality, go here.