Welcome to Heritage Christian University

Although I have had the following statement reviewed by a number of wise and godly brethren, I know that as soon as it is posted I will have thought of a better way to say what I feel needs to be said. This statement is not intended to be the perfect "end of all statements", but rather it is an attempt to offer some clarity of position on certain issues that are paramount for this particular time in history. It is my prayer that the statement below will help you better understand and appreciate what Heritage Christian University is and what we consider to be precious and of utmost importance.

Dear Friends,

As July 8, 2007 8:04 PMsupported by members and congregations of churches of Christ, we at Heritage Christian University believe it is important to declare the course and direction we plan to take as we enter the new millennium.

The purpose of Heritage Christian University is to recruit, educate, and encourage effective communicators of the Gospel. Our goal is to be the first place where churches of Christ look for their ministers, church leaders, and missionaries.

Our passion is for world evangelism. The Lord's church can and must make evangelizing the world top priority. We believe that training full-time preachers and teachers of the Gospel is the most effective and efficient way of accomplishing the goal (2 Timothy 2:2).

Graduates of Heritage Christian are trained to be knowledgeable, practical, optimistic, balanced, dependable, energetic and most importantly, Christ like. It is our prayer that those who earn their Bachelors or Masters degree at HCU will be soul winners, builders and promoters of all that is good. We believe it is possible for preachers to teach God's word accurately without being cynical, harsh or extreme (I Corinthians 13:4-8).

The church of Christ is going through an era of upheaval much as it did about one hundred years ago. Some of our brethren are embracing a culturally driven movement that, we believe, sacrifices conviction to gain fellowship with the denominational world. While they seem to consider themselves spiritually superior to those on their right, these brethren appear to be losing their hold on certain Biblical teachings. The "line of demarcation," we believe, is the doctrine of baptism for forgiveness of sins. When those in this movement gain the boldness to admit that they do not believe baptism is necessary for salvation (the point of pardon), they will break away. We consider this a great tragedy and cause for grief.

There is another divisive element among our brethren, those who have overreacted to the "progressive" movement. They seem to display an air of self-righteousness, claiming the distinction of being the only ones who are "sound." It is very likely that their attitude, behavior, and customized ethics have contributed to the "progressive" movement by causing some to distance themselves from such extreme behavior. For these extremists, the litmus test for fellowship is so exhaustive that we wonder if the Lord Himself could meet their requirements. Those who have lost their balance in an attempt to expose false teachers have become a part of the problem instead of a part of the solution. We consider this also to be a tragedy.

Elitism abounds on both sides. One extreme gives credence to the other. Both do damage to the church and must be resisted.

We at Heritage Christian University are determined to maintain a gentle and humble spirit as we hold fast to evangelistic zeal and Biblical soundness. Our students will be taught the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).

Concerning God's plan of salvation, HCU students will be taught that we are saved from sin by the love and grace of God through the sacrifice that Jesus made when He took our place, suffering on the cross the penalty for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-5; Romans 5:6-10) which leads us to have faith in the resurrected Savior and to trust in the saving power of His innocent blood (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Our students will be taught that our faith is demonstrated by our belief (John 3:16), repentance (Acts 2:38), confession of faith (Romans 10:10), and baptism (Romans 6:3-4). They will be taught that, at the point of baptism, a penitent believer is cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus (Revelation 1:5; Acts 22:16), is born again and is added to the church, which is the body of Christ (Acts 2:47; Ephesians 1:22-23). After baptism, the Christian must faithfully worship, serve and glorify the Lord, trusting in Him for eternal life.

Further, our students will be taught that objective truth can be understood and determined by humbly seeking God's will through prayerful study of His inspired Word. They will be taught that while worship is vital in our spiritual life, instrumental music in worship is not authorized in the New Testament.

Finally, our students will be taught that it is unwise to allow themselves to become distracted from the Lord's work by engaging in pointless contests with other Christians as to who is the most spiritual or who surpasses all others in scriptural soundness. We believe faithfulness is more important than gaining popularity among those who stage competitive games of self-promotion by attempting to discredit others.

What direction is the Lord's work at Heritage Christian University taking? Though we are faced with many influences from all directions, you may be assured of this: We are not turning to the left, nor are we turning to the right (Joshua 1:7)!

WE ARE GOING FORWARD. We plan to stand firmly in the middle of the Bible, set our minds on things above, and faithfully love and serve our great brotherhood.

Who will join with us?

Dennis Jones, President