Our immediate response is that theology is a theory until it has a testimony. We have been invited into a relationship and not a rule book. That being said, we believe the Bible is absolute truth and we are accountable to an audience of One. Society will not govern our thinking. Christianity welcomes all people but it does not affirm all lifestyles. Truth without love is mean but the converse is also true, love without truth is meaningless.

As we probe, dig, test and meditate on God’s Word, we are opening our hearts to the One who makes all things new. When we practice what we learn, only then does the truth set us free. Bringing glory to God is all about our faithful and sincere application of His truth. It’s not the person who studies God’s Word that walks away blessed, it’s the one who obeys it. When we choose to study biblical truth we come as disciples, not as reporters, since we are searching for meaning and not just gathering facts. Ultimately the Bible informs us, to reform us into the image of Christ. The Bible informs us of our future, and God, through His Word, is reforming us for our future. We weaken our Christianity by what we add to it, in other words, the Bible plus my view, my opinion, my book, my good ideas, my habits, will all dilute its power. Adjusted truth is no longer the truth at all. Truth without passion is dry, while passion without truth is empty, so don’t just go through the Bible, let the Bible go through you. Don’t just read the Bible, let the Bible read you.

The Bible only speaks of apostles, teachers, pastors, evangelists, prophets, deacons and saints. All the aforementioned roles have functions attached to their definition so when they remain a title, we completely lose sight of God’s intention that there be no ‘fence-sitters’ or ‘pew spectators’. We all have purpose with a corresponding function in the body of Christ. As we serve faithfully with what God has entrusted to us, we may find that our function changes. It could well happen that you find yourself embracing increased responsibility that brings with it a level of authority and leadership. We believe the world needs leaders and God has a plan to grow them in His church.

May we hasten to say that ‘called persons’ understand stewardship. The task of a steward is simply to ‘properly manage something for the owner until the owner comes to take it back’. John the Baptiser knew that the crowd who left him to follow Christ were never his to keep in the first place. The local church should not be personality driven, on the contrary, it should be gift driven. While there will always be a ‘first among equals’, and someone will be appointed to be custodian of the vision of NCCB and also to lead the team that leads the work, there will always be plurality and a reliance on one another’s gifting and weighted anointing for the complete outworking of NCCB’s 100 year vision.

Change will always insist on an adjusted vision. With this in mind, God has placed you in this family for such a time as this. The Gospel message will always remain the same but the method of bringing it to a community will be different. God requires that the Church keep its relevance and its testimony and that we would not be overwhelmed as the future comes at us one second at a time. People follow courage before they follow wisdom, it is preferable to follow someone with both.

Three features are present in every awakening in the history of the Christian church:

1. A rediscovery of the ‘living Word’, ie. the Scriptures and their authority.
2. A rediscovery of the living Christ and His supremacy.
3. A rediscovery of the living Spirit and the Spirit’s gifts and power to manifest Christ in the context of that culture.

It’s not possible for a person to be who they fully ought to be, until they are also doing what they fully ought to do. We believe that the most distinct, independent entity on the earth today is the Church. The Church is God’s treasure house filled with gifted individuals. Paul describes us as being His workmanship and nothing God made, was made without purpose. Everything God made was described as ‘good’, in other words, ‘fit for purpose’. Spiritual gifts, as described by scripture, are given for the purpose of demonstrating the power of God over the strongholds of the devil. They have not vanished or become redundant in the age that we are living in. Wickedness has multiplied since the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, hence the need for us today to embrace these gifts wholeheartedly. Without the testimony of signs and wonders the Church will always appear powerless. In the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Tim 3:5, “having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” Here at NCCB we believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as well as the gifts he bestows on born-again believers.

History tells us that there are two types of royal families. The first ones are those who put a padlock on their grain supply and the other ones are those who generously share everything they have. The church is described as a Royal Priesthood and therefore should surely live for the benefit of others. Biblical generosity calls for a generosity that is part of our everyday worship expression. When facing a financial challenge one’s reach often exceeds one’s grasp, but then that’s normal if you are called to pioneer and be forerunners. When we worship God with our finances it often feels like we only have ‘five loaves and two fish’, and when doing the sums, it mostly leaves us discouraged and we begin to ‘leak faith’, yet in God’s Word we are told that ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’. He reminds us that after feeding the five thousand with the 5 loaves and 2 fish, there were twelve baskets that remained. God is not an economist, He is our provider and responds to obedience. Nothing requires more faith than being a generous person. Everything money can buy has no value, whatever money can’t buy has value. Our salvation is a free gift from above. It never cost us a cent, so since we have received freely, we should give freely.

Here are several Biblical ways we can be generous:

• The Christian spirit is not a withholding spirit and since God never withheld His best from us we should do the same. Generosity is a choice.
• The offering. There are frequent ‘adhoc’ moments when opportunity is afforded us to contribute towards a particular project or event that pertains to the life of NCCB.
• Alms Giving. Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us. Sadly, many years of poor leadership has resulted in South Africa being at the forefront in the financial disparity between rich and poor. This presents NCCB with an opportunity to make a difference. We have established a ministry expression called “LOVE OUR CITY”, that at its heart brings Biblical justice to this dreadful reality. We encourage you to become involved in helping us to bring the change our nation so desperately needs.
• Apostolic Giving. There are many occasions in the New Testament where the local church extended its giving beyond its borders, some of those reasons included famine, individual support, Church plants etc. There will be moments where you will be afforded the opportunity to bless these initiatives financially.
• The Tithe. Yes we do believe in tithing. Tithing is a Biblical practice for all believers. The first reference for the tithe in scripture dates back to Abraham. This was long before Moses was given the Law described in Exodus and Leviticus. Again, in the book of Hebrews, reference is made to its relevance and importance to us as believers. The tithe is described as bringing the first fruits of your labor (10% of your gross income) into the ‘storehouse’. The ‘storehouse’ would be where you are being pastored and drawing your spiritual well-being from. Just as it would be considered unacceptable to enjoy a meal at Nandos and insist on paying Wimpy, if NCCB is your local church then this is where the Tithe is to be paid. The most significant resource the local church has will always be its people and when the sheep are well fed, loved and led, it’s easy for them to worship God from grateful hearts. Come to think of it, expense is no consideration in performing an act of devotion for someone you love.

In recent times, denominations/movements and the things that once distinguished them from one another, are beginning to fade. But what remains are the strong and trusting relationships that have been formed. For too long empires have been built in the name of the Church or even in the name of individuals and their ministry. So far, denominations and movements have been the prominent and accepted means of enabling us to get things done. How needed these initiatives have been but while raving about their success, their future is looking different. NCCB has no denominational ties but we do believe that we are only ever as good as the sustained counsel around us. Nothing we are called to should lack focus and to make an impact we must be specific. We are a congregation that participates in and with the larger Church of Johannesburg and the Gauteng region. The Elders work with several fraternals and will often prioritize bigger city and regional events over our calendar. There is always the bigger thing. On occasions we have found our address to be hosting these events which are meant to bless our City and the Nation. The elders meet regularly with other city leaders voluntarily, for purposes of encouragement, friendship and unity. Unity is a heart response before it becomes a signature on a document describing an alliance.

Undoubtedly prayer is Heaven’s breeze filling the sails of prophetic promises. Prayer is both spiritual and physical work that results in both spiritual and physical blessings. One quickly learns that you don’t have to be good at something to value it. We believe that prayer will take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. The book of Acts is filled with prayer meetings and every forward thrust that the early church made was immersed in prayer – it should be no different today! Prayer is not everything but everything needs prayer. Just because folk don’t pray doesn’t mean that prayer loses its place and value to believers. Actually when all things, pertaining to life are considered, prayer becomes everything. Just a casual glance at scripture and we notice that Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. God invites us to influence our community, our Nation, and the world, to be on our knees in prayer. Prayer is where the real battle is, for young and old alike. No person is greater than his prayer life. The ministry of preaching is open to a few, but the ministry of prayer is the highest ministry of all human offices and is open to everyone.