Introduction
As Christians, we exist in a fractured history of divorce. Denominations break from denominations broken from denominations. Switchboard has a different approach. We believe the Spirit of unity will weave together the fragments of a divided Church. The garment often torn is, in part, mended by the faithfulness of Christ-followers joining together in partnership, worship, and fellowship. Switchboard creates connections from the Church to the Church. That demands a certain level of charity: we must be unified in the essentials and charitable in the non-essentials.
Unity in Essentials
The Creed is the summary of the triune God revealed in the Holy Scriptures and the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. In this story of the Lordship of the triune God and the redemption of humanity through the work of Christ, no Christ-followers shall make exceptions, interpolations, or reductions. When anyone in Switchboard affirms this statement of faith, they affirm this reality.
Charity in the Non-Essentials
Switchboard is a connection platform bringing together diverse gifts, diverse cultures, and diverse people. We ask all of those participants to be charitable in their dealings with one another where faith traditions differ.
C.S. Lewis describes “mere Christianity” as a hall with many rooms. Each room represents a different tradition or denomination within the Church. He offers this wisdom for those who belong to a denomination and look across the hall to other expressions of following Christ:
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. This is one of the rules common to the whole house.
Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis
It is this charity and prayerfulness which we require to partner together. Yet in that hall, with all of its rooms, should we not expect a break room? What about a common area? What about a mess hall? Charity in the non-essentials means joining together with other members in the diverse Body of Christ, whose gifts and expressions of faith may not look like our own. Sometimes that means meeting up at a common area in brotherly love, connecting and partnering for the sake of the Gospel. Switchboard is a common room where Christians of different stripes charitably partner for the Great Commission.
Back to the Creed
We promise all members of our platform that they are connecting with fellow Christ-followers who have affirmed this statement of faith. If you cannot in good conscience affirm this summary of Christian beliefs, we are sorry to hear it but understand that your convictions lie elsewhere. We pray that Switchboard will become a place of healing for the Church where connections will fuel the Great Commission where divisions have often hampered the ministry of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church.
