What we believe
We’re a mainstream Christian church who follow Jesus and read the bible. We’re certainly not the ones that finally got it right, but we do have strongly held convictions. Read about them here.
Words we use
If you want to understand our beliefs, perhaps the most helpful place to start is to understand our language. Here is what we mean by some words you’ll hear us use in our teaching. You might also notice that in this order they paint a narrative…
The loving creator who made all there is, and continues to work for the good of His creation. There is one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This mystery is called the ‘trinity’. The best way to understand the character of God is to look at Jesus.
The whole world, and the universe it inhabits. It was all made by God with thought, purpose, and intention.
The pinnacle of God’s creation is his people—humanity. We are made in God’s image to represent him in the world.
Literally ‘to miss the mark’, sin describes the failure of humanity’s image-bearing purpose. Like a disease, it infects on every level: people, communities, societies, humanity, and even creation itself. Sin enters the world when we choose to define what’s good and evil for ourselves, in effect, placing ourselves on God’s throne. At an individual level, sin causes us to behave in ways that harm ourselves and others.
Jesus is a well-attested historical person who lived just over 2,000 years ago in the ancient near-East. He was born into a lower class Jewish family, raised a carpenter or builder, and began his ministry as a Jewish rabbi around the age of 30. He was famous as a miracle worker, and his teaching often challenged the established religious systems. He drew huge crowds and eventually was crucified by the Romans, at the behest of the religious leaders he so often spoke out against. Strong historical evidence suggests he walked out of the grave three days later and appeared to many people. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, Jewish messiah, and saviour of the world. We believe him.
The gospel is the ‘good news’ that God is becoming king again. In Jesus’ day, when Rome would conquer a neighbouring nation they would send an evangelion (or ‘evangelist’) to share the ‘gospel’ that Rome was victorious, and there was a new kingdom (therefore way of life) coming. In the same way, Jesus pronounced the good news that the reign of darkness, marked by sin, was coming to an end. In Jesus’ kingdom all things are being restored, reconciled, and made new.
God’s kingdom is not so much a place as it is a new reality. It’s when God gets to be king, and his will is done. In God’s kingdom, things are they way they are supposed to be.
Very similar to the world ‘healing’. Salvation was won by Jesus’ death and resurrection. It means we are set free from the bondage of our sin, and rescued from the evil powers that want to see God’s kingdom undone.
When we are saved we receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Spirit is responsible for our transformation into ‘little Christs’ as he develops his ‘fruit’ in us (such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, et cetera). We can also receive gifts from the Spirit that allow us to do things we couldn’t on our own, like healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues.
The bible (scripture) is a diverse collection of ancient texts written over nearly 1,500 years, featuring historical narrative, poetry, genealogy, prophecy, law, wisdom, biography, letters, and apocalyptic literature—plus many other text types. Remarkably, taken together this rich library of ancient works tells a unified story of the God’s plan to restore all that is broken through is son Jesus. There is a lot of discussion about how the bible came to be, and why we can trust it, but we’d simply use the words of theologian N.T. Wright: “it’s the book God meant for us to have.”
Jesus’ parting command to his followers was to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’. Discipleship is very similar to what we understand in Australia by ‘apprenticeship’. An apprentice is someone who spends time with their master, learns their ways, and ultimately goes on to practice what they have learned. The Christian journey is not just about being saved (though of course that’s very important), but also about learning from Christ so we can be like him in our own neighbourhoods.
C.S. Lewis once said: “In the end there are only two kinds of people. Those who say to God ‘thy will be done’, and those to whom God says ‘thy will be done.’” Hell is God’s best for those who would rather have it their way.
Despite popular imagery of a place in the clouds that you go when you die (if you’re good), the bible paints a picture of heaven as the present world made new. In the end Jesus will return and make all things right, the dead will be raised, and those who have chosen him will get to spend eternity in God’s restored world.
Books we read
If you’re a fan of any or all of these authors, Toowoomba Vineyard Church will probably be a good fit for you. Conversely, if you want to understand how we tick, this is a great recommended reading list. If you’d like to borrow a copy you can always reach out!
Simply Good News — N.T. Wright
N.T. Wright (or Tom Wright) is a revered historian and theologian who has profoundly impacted modern theology. It’s difficult to choose just one of his books to include, but Simply Good News is a great starting place for his work. It unpacks the phrase ‘good news’, by asking two questions: how is the gospel ‘news’ and why is it ‘good’?
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry — John Mark Comer
The title gives most of it away, but this book gives one of the best diagnoses of the current epidemic of busyness we have ever read. John Mark’s solution is a return to simple spiritual practices that act as a resistance against the tyranny of the urgent.
CS Lewis — The Great Divorce
How could a good and loving God send people to hell? The Great Divorce is a helpful exploration of the Christian understanding of hell in a very accessible narrative format.
Disappearing Church — Mark Sayers
The ship has sailed — we now live in a post-Christendom society. Disappearing Church provides a helpful assessment of what that actually means, and a surprisingly hopeful vision of how the church can engage in this new reality.
The Divine Conspiracy — Dallas Willard
Willard was one of the pioneering authors in the current rediscovery of spiritual formation in the Western church. The Divine Conspiracy uses the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) to explore the upside down nature of the kingdom, and the very practical implications.
The Kingdom Reformation — Derek Morphew
There is a significant theological shift going on in our lifetimes, centered around a rediscovery of Jesus’ primary message—the Kingdom of God. In The Kingdom Reformation Vineyard theologian Derek Morphew provides an academic look at this shift.
A Church Called Tov — Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer
An unfortunate reality of the modern church is that we have inadvertently created systems that promote abuse of power from its leaders. This book provides a brief but personal diagnosis of the problem, then casts a positive vision for how we can create a different type of church culture marked by ‘tov’ (‘goodness’).
Questioning Christianity — Rian Roux and Dan Patterson
If you want one book to explain Christianity, this is it. Paterson and Roux clearly explain the core message of the bible from a narrative perspective, explain what it means to be a Christian, and then address some common questions. If you’re interested in Jesus, this comes highly recommended.
The Quest for the Radical Middle — Bill Jackson
It’s hard to properly explain the Vineyard—we often say it’s ‘caught not taught.’ However, if you want to get a feel for who we are, The Quest for the Radical Middle shares the story so far.
The Forgotten Ways — Alan Hirsch
Hirsch is fascinated by movements throughout the world (and history) that have seen massive, organic growth in the church. The Forgotten Ways explores the common elements in these movements and presents the key elements of their DNA that can help return the church to its missional roots.
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality — Peter Scazzero
Unfortunately, the church has bought in deeply to the Western idea of growth at all costs. This often leads to strategies that see people (and leaders) as a commodity to be burned through, rather than people to be loved. Scazzero casts a vision for a type of Christian life that leads to flourishing, not burnout.
The Bible for Normal People — Pete Enns and Jared Byas
OK, this isn’t a book per se, but a podcast… if you want to take the theology hat off for a while and try on biblical scholarship, this is a great, accessible introduction. Many of the ideas presented might be challenging to traditional Christian thinking, but we reckon God isn’t afraid of big questions and when we take the time to explore them, the result is a richer, deeper faith.
Curious?
Do you want to find out more about Jesus or Christianity? Are you looking for a church home in Toowoomba? We’d love to connect. Drop us a line or come visit us at a Sunday gathering: