There are several assumptions I will begin with before discussing my confession. The first assumption is that Jesus, the crucified, is Lord and that God raised him from the dead. A second assumption is that, aside from the first assumption, all other aspects of my confession may be flawed or wrong. My beliefs about the nature of Scripture, God, Creation, Humanity and Sin, Jesus Christ, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, and the Church, while tied to the centrality of the Gospel, the Gospel itself does not depend on many of these things. Therefore, although my confession in relation to the above beliefs may change over time and with experience, the central belief of the gospel of Jesus Christ, however, will never change. In relation to the centrality of the gospel, I also believe that the God who raised Jesus from the dead is the creator of all things, and is intrinsically good, that God opposes evil in the world. I believe that God will ultimately bring a final judgment and healing to all things, which will restore the universe and the evil within it. Even though I believe all these things, provided by the evidence of the Scriptures, I do not believe that I will ever know all things of God and theology in this life and perhaps I should not worry about knowing all things of God and those things related to God. The writers of the biblical text were not interested in knowing all the things of God, but rather in having a relationship with God and trusting in that relationship. It is with these assumptions that I begin my confession. This confession seeks to: (1) convey a theology of Scripture, God, Creation, Humanity and Sin, Jesus Christ, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, Church and Ministry; and (2)... in the center of the sheet... is the communion of the body of Jesus Christ. It exists wherever two or three are together in the name of Jesus Christ to worship and serve. The church is holy in that it is set apart before God by the Holy Spirit. The church serves as God's dwelling place on earth and has the sole purpose of glorifying God among all people. It is also a community of discipleship and repentance. The church is universal because, as Roger E. Olson states, “it exists across linguistic, ethnic, cultural, and national barriers.” (Olson, 304) The universal church extends from Pentecost, until the return of Christ, and throughout eternity. The church is apostolic in that it is a continuation of the faith of the apostles of Jesus Christ who received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Wherever the apostles announce the Gospel, the Church is present. (Olson, 305)