People often ask for our doctrinal statement partly, I think, because they assume we are a church or parachurch organization. I can understand why churches adopt creeds or doctrinal statements, because those who consider belonging to the church have a right to know what the church teaches.
But you won’t often find doctrinal statements at the front of commentaries or books by individuals. It is assumed that the commentary speaks for itself. CEM and Born to Win are more like a commentary than a church in that our belief system is fully contained in what we say and write. Creeds may be necessary for churches. I am not a pastor, but a Christian apologist.
Churches need non-denominational ministries like CEM to offer new views of old subjects and to promote doctrinal growth. Doctrinal creeds have the effect of blocking examination of issues that might have a bearing on the belief system. That is a two edged sword. It does serve to provide doctrinal stability for a church, but it also inhibits growth in knowledge.
Radio stations sometimes require adherence to their doctrinal statements, and we regret that we often cannot place the Born to Win program on those stations. Inevitably, a non-denominational ministry like ours will transgress one or more of the elements, and we may lose the station after having made a substantial investment in it.
We have a worldview instead of a creed. We believe the Bible is God's revelation of himself to man. We believe that everything has to be tested against the Bible, and the Bible informs our conscience about right and wrong, whether it be doctrine or conduct. Our worldview is informed in full by the Bible.
Our purpose is summed up in something God told Jeremiah:
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV).
Our objective is not to advance this or that belief system. It is to know and understand God on his terms, instead of our own. What we think or believe may have to change to be conformable to the Word of God, therefore being locked into a belief system seems unwise.
The best way to understand what we believe is simply to listen to the program and then evaluate what we say based on Scripture. Peter said it well: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” You can’t grow in knowledge if you already know it all.
For Ronald L Dart’s personal confession of faith, see this link.
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