Relying on the grace of God

...we will do our best to live the fruits of the spirit... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 5:22-23a], remembering that this is Christ's church and we are members, servants and stewards of His church and His community

...we will extend hospitality to all people and create an environment of inclusiveness

...we commit to communicating openly with our members about the life of the church and its mission

...we will discipline ourselves to pray daily for this body

...we will actively seek opportunities to work for the good of all [Galatians 6:10]

...we realize our words and our behaviors can communicate many things.  We interpret what we see and hear based on our own many experiences:  our faith, our fears, our visible and invisible loyalties, our sense of self and our sense of others

...we will celebrate and nurture the gifts and graces each of us brings to the table, recognizing that healthy church leadership requires a variety of gifts and that we have all been blessed in different ways [1st Corinthians 12]

...we believe that everyone is trying her/his best to bring glory to God through Church of the Apostles

...we will listen to, invite and encourage all points of view

...we will ask questions to clarify our understanding, or to raise another point of view, but not to put others down

...we will feel free to engage in critical discussion, saying what's on our minds, with no hidden agendas, speaking the truth in love [Ephesians 4:15]

...we will recognize our mutual accountability for success, supporting group decisions regardless of our own perspectives, striving to achieve consensus

...we will address words and behaviors that we feel are non-productive, disruptive, unhealthy or destructive

...we will not participate in negative or derogatory conversations about others and will encourage any brothers and sisters who try to engage us in these conversations to address these issues directly with the other person or persons [Galatians 5:19-21]

...we will try to avoid defensive reactions

...we will speak only for ourselves unless asked to bring an issue to the group on behalf of another person

...we will speak directly with anyone who feels that we have offended her/him, or anyone we feel has offended us, privately, in a timely manner.  We will not talk to anyone else about it unless we have agreed to ask a witness to be present.  When we make mistakes, we will admit them and make amends [Matthew 5:21-24, Matthew 18:15-20]