Related to the 2006 Plan for United Cooperation

1.  Why do we need a statement of belief?

The use of belief statements can be both positive and negative, but our heritage tends to focus on the negative.  This sincere posture seems to be derived from times past when religious America was so convicted about many things, and matters of opinion people divided over trivial points.  At its inception, the Restoration Movement took on creedalism, by rightly championing the Bible as the ultimate authority.   We hold, however, that early-on a posture of suspicion about all things written has become a significant liability in this post-modern, stand-for-little world.  There are many more of us who have greater concerns of the consequences of not stating our convictions than we do of putting them in writing.  There are also many brothers and sisters who are wondering where different congregations stand on specific issues of practice and doctrines.