What is New Hope.

The Theology and Foundational Principles of New Hope:

By reading this you are joining thousands of people worldwide who choose to worship God using the New Hope Principles in their life.  Lutheran or Jew, Arab or African, independent of language or faith, we walk the New Hope path.


"All are called to serve."


Our path is simple.  It is to worship God through Apostleship and personal experience rather than preaching from written texts and bowing to formally established church authorities.


Since our family traditions and our culture are based on the Judeo-Christian tradition, we rely on these patterns to guide our path - but we do not hold them as superior to other faiths, other cultures and other traditions.

We of New Hope make a dedicated and active effort to follow early Jewish theology and Jesus Christ's call to Apostleship.  We study and choose to follow the known works and words of 1st century Jewish theologians and the life of the Rabbi/Savior Jesus Christ - but we study and interpret the Bible and Sacred Texts in private or in small groups, and always invite individual interpretation and even criticism of both ancient and modern religious texts,

We believe that if you want to hear the direct voice of God, you must listen and pay attention today.  The living word of God surrounds us - as we and everything in this moment are part of the infinite glory of God's reality.

During open fellowship we do not read to each other from the Bible or other books of faith, but only speak of them from memory and in an oral tradition.

We believe the Gospel is the real and living word of God whenever it is expressed orally from memory, through parables or as a sacred tradition.

We believe Jesus called all of his students to be Apostles, and actively invited all mankind to join him as a Savior.  He conferred upon all active Apostles the gift of miracle working - a gift which we all share as our heritage in faith.

We believe that fully realized Apostles are sprinkled through history and live among us.  The common label we use for these miraculous people is "Saints".

We believe in the confession of sin as a sacramental act, but do not place rules or boundaries on how to practice this essential act of faith.  We believe that for God to reach into our hearts and lives we must express our deepest thoughts, our fears, and even our sins out loud to another person.

Speaking the truth and seeking the truth are both Sacred and Sacramental.  We strive to be honest but compassionate as we speak and act.

We accept Christ's mandate in the Nag Hammadi Gospels to not build churches, but instead to hold sacred every dwelling, no matter how humble or grand.  "Every table an altar, every meal a Sacrament, every word of truth, love and kindness a part of God's infinite purpose."

We believe in one God Almighty in honor of the Sacred Traditions of our families and culture.  We respect all names for God, whether you call him Jehovah or Gaia, Allah or Rishnu, God is infinite - and everything that exists, from the blade of grass to the Human Spirit within you, are quite literally part of that infinity.

Because our own family and cultural traditions have put us here in Indiana at this point in human history, we often turn to the Savior known as Jesus of Nazareth - we accept his living example as evidence of his status as our prophesied Savior promised in Old Testament (Torah) ancient Judaic texts.

The countless faces of God (Hindu)

We believe that other places and other human cultures have their own human saviors who are sprinkled throughout human history.  They may call their Savior Muhammad, Buddha, Krishna or the millions of other labels mankind has used to try to name the unnameable glory that is all Creation.

We do not disrespect any Holy Book, and we study and learn from as many as we can.  God's truth is woven throughout all human faiths for those who choose to seek it.

We believe that the infinite life "hereafter" that is called "heaven" is a manner of living and speaking.  All moments are infinite - and a person can and will experience both Heaven and Hell during the infinite span of their lifetime.

The Buddha at one with the universe

"One moment of attention in this world, willingly taking your place in the moment and aware of the infinite glory of God, is an eternity in the world to come."

We believe that the word "God" and the word "Reality" are the same word.

Life is infinite.  Death is an illusion.

We are Pantheistic - God is everything.

We believe that God is infinite. One and all - and everything, is part of God's infinite whole.

Our own Holy Spirit or "soul" means we all contain an element of God - the infinite within ourselves.


We do not appoint Priests or other authority figures.  Each person is invited to learn, to think, and serve the God of their understanding as their own life and spirit chooses.

We acknowledge all faiths, especially the Christian and Judaic traditions that embody the faith of our Fathers and our culture at this place and time.

We acknowledge all religious professionals as fellow Apostles and teachers of faith.

We are nonviolent and will not participate in any war.  We are healers and will comfort the living and honor the blessed dead.  We seek to stand against cruelty and injustice by example and through action.

Jesus heals the sick

We do not appoint Priests.

Our community leaders are fully realized Apostles that we identify as Apostolic Ministers, and we call them "Deacon" - a word which we translate as "Rabbi" or "Teacher".  Both male and female members of our congregations are welcome as Apostles, Deacons and Apostolic Ministers.

We believe every table is an altar, every home is a sacred Temple, and every gathering is sacred.  We express our faith through words and actions.

We are establishing an oral tradition - we do not use the written word to create and share God's New Gospels and our faith.

We do not preach to convert or set one person above others as superior in knowledge of God and the truth.  We teach and learn individually and in small groups - and we together and individually seek the same essential knowledge of what God is, what life means, and where we might find guidance, hope, and our sacred purpose for existence.

We believe Jesus was a practicing Rabbi, and thus study and embrace the Apostolic theology of first century Judaism.  The Pirke Avot (Wisdom of the Jewish Sages) is our primary historic source for this knowledge.

We do study the traditional Christian Bible, Talmud and Torah, but we very deliberately seek to study and understand the original unedited early gospels of faith discovered in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea in 1946/47.  These gospels are commonly known as the "Nag Hammadi" or Dead Sea Scrolls.

The New Hope church fully embraces these original gospels.

We also hold sacred numerous modern sources such as the writings and living examples of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

It is our firm belief that all people have the opportunity and the ability to walk the Savior's path - to speak the truth, and change the world.

We believe the word of God is woven into our daily lives, and that to fully experience God a person should seek to be in the moment - aware, sensitive and compassionate.  This awareness to us is the definition of living by the law and the truth espoused in our shared Judeo/Christian heritage and taught by Jesus Christ.

In the church of New Hope we do our best to incorporate these learnings into our lives - lives that form what we believe is the 3rd testament of the Holy Bible, a new Torah, our own Living Testimony to the power and the glory that shines forth in evidence and fulfillment of Christ's promises to his Apostles as he granted them authority over life and death.

We are still undecided about whether our oral traditions and gospels should be recorded and saved - but for now we are purely a faith of oral expression of our studies, our experiences of incorporating these truths into our daily lives, and our lifelong commitments of Apostleship, service and following the Savior's path.

We bid all of you welcome, and invite you to join us and help us as we humbly seek the truth.  

We do not ask for your money, but would love for you to participate in this new method of living as Apostles in the modern world.

We seek to know you, to learn from you and we invite you to walk with us and participate in our shared journey of birth, life and death.

Continue Reading - "God Speaks", a Message of Hope to the Wrold.

Continue Reading - "Welcome to the New Hope Church"

Brief History and Update - January 1, 2018:

In the last 170 days since we published the "God Speaks" message and chose to move forward with the vision of founding a new religion, our membership has grown from 32 people to over 12,000 people in 21 countries.

We have seven people completing our seminary program.  Two are local, one is 17,000 miles away in Thailand.  Four are men, three are women.  

Our seminary offers both distance and in-person programs at our Fort Wayne Home and School.  Costs are minimal, essentially teaching expenses + books and materials.  

Full scholarships stand readily available to reduce or eliminate seminary costs.

Ordination can be granted in the context of a variety of "religions" and fields of research or study.  We also offer an extended program of education (both basic, and advanced) in World History and Comparative Theology.  

All classes and programs are open to people regardless of faith or atheism.



History:

We are relatively new.  Our walk of faith began in a very tiny way about 20 years ago by the living example of my Blessed Mother (now deceased).

The Blessed Bernice Catherine Hubertz, b 1917 - d 2009

"For she walked in miracles all the days of her life."

 The Church Theology began to be codified and formed in 2009.  Currently our Fort Wayne church has three Deacons (a word we teach is synonymous with 'Rabbi'), and a handful of active members.

Our foundational elders are John Hubertz of Fort Wayne, Michael Benedict of Fort Wayne, Rabbi Avram Freidman of Mobile, Alabama and Mister Carl Zehr, now deceased, who was an Old-Order Mennonite scholar and one of John's first spiritual teachers.



Yours in Christ at Fort Wayne, Indiana

John Hubertz

Learn more: Coexist - a perspective of life

Read more: God Speaks