- God is one God in three persons, Father, Son (Word), and Holy Spirit. (Gen 1:26, Deut 6:4, Jn 17:11, 14:16-17, Mt 28:19)
- Jesus came as a physical man, never sinned, died as a payment for man’s sin, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return again. (Lk 24:46-47, Jn 3:16-18, Mk 16, Lk 24:51, Rev 22:7)
- All people are sinners (which is the breaking of God’s law) and must receive the gospel (number 2) to be saved from God’s wrath. Anyone who claims sin to be Holy or blameless is still under God’s wrath. (Rm 3:23, Rm 6:23, Jn 14:6, Rev 22:14-15)
- The Bible, in its original form, is the inerrant, inspired word of God. (2 Time 3:15-17)
- A greed/money-centric Gospel message is a false gospel. God loves to provide for ministries and believers in many different ways (Mt 6:25-34) but tremendous monetary wealth should never be the end goal in our gospel message for others or ourselves. (2 Pt 2:3, Mt 6:19-24)
This by no means is an exhaustive statement but captures the essence of what we believe are non-negotiable beliefs in being a true member of the family of God.
Q&A
Is 2 OR MORE a church?
2 OR MORE is a parachurch organization designed to help local churches and individuals in those churches connect with God. It does submit to the direction of a board of directors who are ministry leaders and/or elders in their respective local churches.
Does 2 OR MORE have a denominational affiliation?
2 OR MORE does not officially affiliate with any one specific denomination. As an organization, we work primarily with Reformed, Bible, Baptist, and Non-Denominational Churches, along with other churches that hold to a largely exegetical teaching model. We are always willing to work with those who affirm the key basic truths listed above and hold the Bible as the ultimate authority for their doctrine.
What is a “Bible-Centric Church”?
We view churches in one of three categories; Bible-centric, Spirit-centric, or Tradition-centric. Bible-centric churches focus their practices around the study of scripture. We are not suggesting that Bible-centric churches have no communion with the Spirit; we simply use this terminology to help define the kinds of churches and individuals 2 OR MORE is geared towards as a ministry.
Is 2 OR MORE theologically continuationist or cessationist in make up?
2 OR MORE does not require one position or the other to join its network of churches. We communicate with churches on the Biblical boundaries we set before prayer meetings and are willing to help meet people whatever their position may be. We do believe in a move of the Spirit, so why would we work with both sides of the aisle on this issue? Cause all authentic Christians believe that the Spirit is alive and active in some form or fashion and we love to see God work in His way through all of his people!
Are “Abiding Times” an effort to induce the gifts of the Spirit?
Prayer meeting abiding times (See “A Biblical Model For Praying Deeply Together”) are not an effort to induce the gifts of the Spirit, but are simply a facilitating time for connecting deeply with God and leaving room for Him to guide our time with Him. We do not prohibit the Biblical work of the Spirit in any setting. With that said, 2 OR MORE is always submitted to the guidelines of scripture and seeks never to leave the bounds of Spiritual Gifts, primarily outlined in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
How does 2 OR MORE handle hyper emotionalism (also known as sensationalism)?
We believe that people were designed to be emotional with God. This is an entirely scriptural concept. David was genuinely emotionally raw with God (read any of his Psalms and this story, as one example, from 2 Samuel 6:14-15), so was Jesus in communing with the Father (Mark 14:34-36), so was Paul in his intercession for other believer (Ephesians 3:14-21). These are only a few of many examples in scripture. God did not create us to operate in fear of emotion, or emotionally indifferent. With this stated, every person has been made different by God, so we recognize that emotional responses vary from person to person. We affirm that one person is not more holy because they are more or less expressive than another. It’s entirely a heart matter. We also affirm that the Christian life is not meant to operate as driven by experience exclusively. We believe that experiencing God through abiding, intercession, and fasting, based in scripture, are vehicles to accomplishing His desired will in our lives and in the world around us.
How does 2 OR MORE view the sovereignty of God and how does that affect intercession efforts?
We believe that God is sovereign and man is responsible. As an outworking of this belief, we believe that faith filled intercession is a key component of scripture as seen in the example of Abraham (Gn 18:16-33), Moses (Ex 32:11-14), David (1 Sam 17:45-47), Jesus’ teaching (Jn 14:13). Surrendering to God’s will is also a key component of intercession as seen in the prayer of Jesus (Lk 22:42), Mary (Lk 1:38), and many others. We believe in aligning our intercession with the desired will of God, praying with expectancy and faith that He wants to fulfill His desired will, and accepting the outcome, without doubting His goodness.
Who are some of the board members' favorite authors on prayer? (outside the Biblical ones)
Michael “Recently I’ve been going through some Leonard Raven Hill and Paul Miller, both of which have been impactful for me. Some normal go-tos for me are Francois Fenlon and The Valley of Vision.”
Daniel “One of my favorite works on prayer is this easy little book called The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Not only is it rich with a warmth of love for God that I can only imagine must have characterized Jesus’ interactions with the Father when he withdrew to the lonely places, but it’s also just insanely and simply practical on how, when, and where to connect with God in the mundanity of everyday life.”
Patrick “The stories of how God miraculously worked in the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire through committed prayer have really inspired me in my prayer life.”