A Sojourner's Quest

4 6 / A S O J O U R N E R ’ S Q U E S T

Sacred Roots Reforming Our Identity on the Apostolic Faith Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

One of our central passions is to help urban churches participate as fully functioning contributors to the Church worldwide. We contend that urban churches can embody and defend the historic orthodox faith, anchoring their faith on a Christ-focused reading of the Scriptures, informed by the Great Tradition. These “common roots” of the ancient Church represent the underlying tradition that particular movements and denominations draw upon, embrace, and confess. We unashamedly anchor our resources in a Christ-centered, biblical confession that coincides with the Nicene Creed. As an evangelical institution, we work with various other evangelical churches and organizations to confess the lordship of Jesus Christ, and to share the Good News of the Kingdom. We strive in all our endeavors to enable urban churches to confess a faith and live out a spirituality that is rooted in historic orthodoxy. As we rediscover the confession of Jesus Christ given to the Church from the Apostles, we are transformed, renewed, and mobilized to be Christ’s witnesses in the city. We move forward by looking back, going “back to the future,” as it were. As we remain true to the historic faith, we are empowered for a fresh urban cultural application of the ancient faith and practice. Our use of the phrase “Sacred Roots” refers to our efforts to retrieve and appropriate in broad outline the Great Tradition, i.e., that distinct and determinative Christian faith and practice which developed from the Scriptures from the time of the Lord Jesus Christ to the middle of the fifth century. With hearts determined to be both historically credible and freshly contemporary, we strive to understand this rich body of tra- dition, recognizing it to be the “sacred roots” of our Christian identity. Together we explore ways that these Christ-centered, biblical roots can renew evangelical faith and mission in the cities among the poor. Why We Must Explore Our Sacred Roots: To Retrieve the Great Tradition