Distinctives & Practices.

The following are the distinctives and practices of Tulsa Boiler Room based on the foundational truths taught in the bible.

The Tulsa Boiler Room is a local church. The style and form of church that we have adopted is what we like to call simple church. The most obvious manifestation of this is that we tend to meet in homes or public places, rather than church buildings. This is not just a temporary solution until we get it together, it's an intentional strategy. We desire to grow, not by creating larger and larger gatherings, but by planting more and more house churches. Our leadership style is also simple - relying more on relationship than on position, and on serving than controlling. We try not to focus on programs and performances, but instead to go after genuine relationships and compassionate outreach.

When we gather together as the family of God, we each have a significant role to play. TheSpirit may speak through any one of us. One may have a testimony, another an exhortation, and another a request for prayer. Someone might share a poem or a song, and another a word of prophecy. We endeavor to make room for all of this. We also have recognized teachers who labor to study and expound God's Word for the community. We welcome children, and are ok with the messiness and chaos that can provide.

We are unified around the person of Jesus, and the teachings and traditions passed on by Him through the first apostles. We come from different backgrounds, and have contrary views on many issues. We differ in worship styles, politics, sports teams, interests, giftings, and so many other things. But we value one another, and we hope to allow ourselves to be continually stretched and increased by our association with those who are different. We long for our family to include people from different races, ages, faith backgrounds, etc.

God loves the poor. Jesus calls the poor blessed. As His people, it is essential for us to demonstrate this reality. We do this by not showing preference to the rich, or to those who seem to have it all together. We do it by welcoming all who come, and striving to treat each one as a special guest sent to us by Jesus Himself. We also do it by joining with other churches in the city to provide a weekly meal and fellowship for the homeless in downtown Tulsa. Through this event, we seek to build relationships and invite people into ever-increasing devotion to Christ and commitment to His body.

We seek to be a spiritual family centered on Jesus. Prayer helps this to be a reality. We try to focus on prayer in a number of ways. We have a prayer room in which we host periodic 24-7 prayer weeks, attempting to maintain day and night prayer for an entire week. We have seasons of weekly or daily corporate prayer. We incorporate everything from spontaneous to contemplative to liturgical. Intercession is our most powerful ministry, because through it God accomplishes His will and purposes in our lives and the world around us. Our desire is to learn to connect with the Father any way we can, and to encourage different expressions.

Jesus is worthy of our worship, at all times, in all places, and in every way. We value
worshipping through music, and are grateful for gifted worshippers who lead us. We also worship through regular, frequent celebrations of the Lord's Supper. Through this we are continually pointed to Jesus and reminded of the powerful truths of the Gospel. As we partake together, we are united as one family, enjoying a family meal and celebrating the adoption and the oneness that Jesus purchased for us. As we remember together what He has done, we remind ourselves that He is going to come again, and make everything right. Worship in all its forms moves us to turn our focus onto Jesus, and it leads us to an actual experience of His presence. We find that this experience with the risen Christ through His Spirit brings life and wholeness. In order to live out this value, we devote the first Friday evening of every month to all join together and worship the Lord. We take a break from other things in order to abandon ourselves to His worship.

We endeavor to make room for the Spirit to minister through one another however He will. We honor the prophetic, pray for the miraculous, and seek to call out the diverse ways the Spirit moves through each person. We also respect the work of teachers and preachers who labor in the Word to bring the community to greater knowledge of Christ and obedience to His instructions.

In obedience to Jesus, all believers are to follow Him in baptism after putting their faith in Him for salvation. Baptism represents entry into the new life that is in Christ through the forgiveness of sins. It is also a celebration of entrance into the family of God, in which the new believer is received into fellowship as a brother or sister.

We are continually evolving in our understanding of how to "do church." We
are ready experimenters, open to trying new things, and willing to fail. We strive to be tenaciously biblical while seeking to also be contextual and practical. We encourage creativity and love initiative. We are profoundly aware of our limitations and weaknesses, and have a voracious appetite to learn from others. We stumble frequently, but continue trying. We are intentional about offering grace to one another when it becomes clear that we've got it wrong yet again.