WE VALUE RELATIONSHIPS AS PRIMARY, ON AN ADULT-TO-ADULT BASIS

Building relationships is essential for "being" out of which flows "doing" Mark 3:14; "..... they were with Him, and then He sent them out to preach .....".

Relationships take root in the soil of intimacy and accountability. Self-disclosure, the freedom to fail, acceptance and truthfulness are all essential factors in growing relationships e.g. Jesus' relationship with Peter and the way He handled Peter's failure (e.g. John 21:15-22).
Relationships are built on commitment. (God relates to us in the context of covenant commitment.) Relationships are an end in themselves and are not to be used, exploited or manipulated for selfish gain. (John 15:13;I John 3:16).

Relationships built on love one for another are an extremely powerful and revolutionary factor in society. People identify us, and are drawn to us, and remain with us because of relationships. (John 13:34-35;  Acts 2:44-47).

Church structure is built on relationships, and not positions and titles (Matthew 20:24-28). These relationships are conducted on an adult-to-adult basis, and not parent-to-child or vice versa. This brings about strength, maturity and flexibility in the Church as a whole and in the people as individuals (which facilitated effective functioning of every part; Ephesians 4:15-16).

These relationships have a three-fold application:
a)  Our relationship with God
b)  Our relationship with ourselves
c)  Our relationship with one another. 

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