Gene Wolfenbarger of The Gathering Church: Faith According to Gene Wolfenbarger

April 19, 2010 - PRLog -- Gene Wolfenbarger of The Gathering Church: Faith According to Gene Wolfenbarger

“Have Faith in me.” Typically, when someone asks this of you, what do they mean? Having faith can mean many things, actually. For Gene Wolfenbarger, having faith is believing in someone, or something, or having trust. At the Gathering Church, Gene Wolfenbarger teaches those who come to listen of the importance of having faith in God, and what exactly faith has been thought to be.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Definition: Faith is belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust; opposite of doubt.

Faith, as said by Gene Wolfenbarger, is the general confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, concept or thing. It is said that the English word is thought to date from 1200–50, from the Latin fidem or fidēs, meaning trust, derived from the verb fīdere, to trust.

The term is employed in a religious or theological context to refer to a confident belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, or a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. However, to Gene Wolfenbarger’s dismay, atheists and agnostics consider the term to be a euphemism for religious superstition.

Gene Wolfenbarger explains that since faith implies a trusting reliance upon future events or outcomes, it is often taken by its detractors as inevitably synonymous with a belief "not resting on logical proof or material evidence."

Faith in Christianity is based in and on the work and teaching of Jesus Christ.
Christianity declares not to be distinguished by its faith, but by the object of its faith. Basically, faith is an act of trust or reliance. Faith leads to an active life of obedience to the one being trusted, rather than being passive. It sees the mystery of God and his grace and seeks to know and become obedient to God. Gene Wolfenbarger has learned that, to Christians, faith is not static but causes one to learn more of God and grow; it has its origin in God. In Christianity faith causes change as it seeks a greater understanding of God. Faith is not fideism or simple obedience to a set of rules or statements. Before the Christian has faith, he must understand in whom and in what he has faith. Without understanding, there really cannot be true faith and that understanding is built on the foundation of the community of believers, the scriptures and traditions and on the personal experiences of the believer. In the New Testament, the word faith is derived from the Greek word πίστις - pistis or from the verb πιστεύω - pisteuo, meaning to trust, to have confidence, faithfulness, to be reliable, to assure. It is a conviction or a persuasion. In the New Testament book of James 2:17, it says, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being alone". Such is the case, in order for faith to truly thrive; conviction must be accompanied by an action. It is believed that such action is consistent with speaking. Just as Genesis 1:26, tells of God creating mankind in his image and likeness, granting man the ability to be like him; it is believed that one of the powers afforded man is the very same power seen in the beginning of Genesis, where God created the Heavens and Earth by speaking them into existence.

The word faith and faithfulness is mentioned twenty-six (26) times just in the book of Hebrews of the Christian faith. Hebrews 11:6 of the King James Version Bible reads, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

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Gene Wolfenbarger is the senior pastor of The Gathering Church in Sevierville, Tennessee. He preaches about love, faith, and how to become closer to God. Gene Wolfenbarger is highly respected amongst his peers at The Gathering Church, and hopes to see you attend soon.