We value God & His Word.

We value a complete surrender and commitment to God and His Word. Our supreme desire is to glorify God and love God with all of heart, mind and soul expressed by our spiritual disciplines. The Bible is our final authority for doctrine and practice and must be interpreted accurately. We emphasize obedience and humility as crucial ingredients to a correct understanding of the Bible. We aspire to have our values shaped by His Word rather than by the world.

The following resources were recorded at the Southeast Church Alliance(SECA) Regional Pastors’ Summit in the fall of 2025.

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“The Word – Breathed by God”

Presented by Mandy Fernandez (The Rock, Atlanta Georgia) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

God’s Word is our spiritual lifeline to God. It is God's inspired message to us. Therefore, we ought to delight in the Word and let it pierce our hearts. This is how Josiah responded.  He responded with a humble heart, quick obedience, and celebrated God’s love for him. The words of the Bible are not just idle words, but they are our life!

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • Our supreme desire is to glorify God. Our love for God and devotion to Him must be our deepest passion and greatest motivation—more than possessions, human relationships, and personal accomplishments, including ministry accomplishments

“The Word is Sufficient”

Presented by Dave Blum (Evergreen Community Church, Manassas, Virginia) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

The Bible is God-breathed and contains everything necessary for our salvation and living a life that is pleasing to God. It is God’s special revelation to mankind and the ultimate source of truth and special revelation to mankind. God desires everyone to know and experience His truth. Truth points to Jesus and salvation promise. Scripture is a believer’s weapon against world, flesh, and devil. Lifelong meditation and application are required

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • The Bible is our final authority for doctrine and practice and our instruction manual for life. It is God’s revealed communication for matters of our faith, for our personal lives, for raising our families, for our behavior in the workplace and for all ministry.

 

“The Word and Its Interpretation”

Presented by Jerry Van Dalen (The Rock, Miami, Florida) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

The Bible is to be accurately understood and rightly handled. There are six principles for proper biblical interpretation presented. We preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) not popular psychology, not the values of pop culture, not what we want it to say. We preach God’s Word in the power of the Spirit with God’s intended meaning (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • We recognize that the Bible is sometimes difficult to understand and was written in different languages and to different cultures than our own and that we must work hard to correctly understand it.

 

“The Word for the Heart”

Presented by Tim Haring (Chestnut Ridge Church, Morgantown, West Virginia) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

Leaders face a danger: Knowing the Bible in our heads but not allowing the Bible to affect our hearts and lives. Problems erupt if we only have “head knowledge.” What can we learn from the Pharisees? A focus on the “rules” of the Bible without a spirit of love and grace leads to arrogance and legalism.

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • We value a faith-filled, childlike approach of simply believing and obeying the Scriptures.
  • Obedience to God’s Word is crucial to an accurate understanding of the Bible. Without such an attitude of humility, His Word becomes mere knowledge which eventually leads to pride and possibly deception.

 

“The Word and Prayer”

Presented by Frak Liu (Awaken Church, Jacksonville, Florida) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

Leaders are to model great prayer to their churches. Prayer also “activates” God’s Word into our lives. Therefore,  leaders choose prayer. Leaders rely on God’s power through prayer. Leaders pray alongside other believers.

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • Our lives and our ministries must aspire to wholehearted devotion to God through worship, through prayer and through studying, memorizing, meditating upon, obeying, and teaching His Word.
  • We value a dependent attitude of faith, demonstrated through a reliance on God in prayer.

“The Word is the One Thing”

Presented by Tim Haring (Chestnut Ridge Church, Morgantown, West Virginia) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

The Word in our lives is the One Thing that is needed. According to Jesus, Mary chose it and Martha was not going to take it away. Job longed for it more than his daily bread (Job 23:12). David loved it more than gold (Ps. 119:127). Motivate our leaders to love the Word of God.

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • Our supreme desire is to glorify God. Our love for God and devotion to Him must be our deepest passion and greatest motivation—more than possessions, human relationships, and personal accomplishments, including ministry accomplishments.
  • Our lives and our ministries must aspire to wholehearted devotion to God through worship, through prayer and through studying, memorizing, meditating upon, obeying, and teaching His Word.

 

“Enhancing Our Daily Quiet Times”

Presented by Matt and Jan Gordon (Gator Christian Life, Gainesville, Florida ) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

Ideas on how to keep our time alone with God vibrant and fresh.

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • A common practice for a member in our network of churches is to have a daily devotional time, in prayer and reading the Bible.

 

“Evidence for the Creation Story”

Presented by Rich Suplita (Living Hope Church, Athens, Georgia) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

Why do we believe in a young Earth and that the Bible’s account of creation is true?

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • In determining truth, if there is a conflict between what we believe the Bible teaches and what we believe the sciences or social sciences teach, we will give precedence to our understanding of the Bible.

 

“Evidence for the Resurrection”

Presented by Jerry Van Dalen Jr. (The Rock, Miami, Florida) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

What evidence is there for the resurrection of Christ?

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • In determining truth, if there is a conflict between what we believe the Bible teaches and what we believe the sciences or social sciences teach, we will give precedence to our understanding of the Bible.

 

“Evidence for the Reliability of Scripture”

Presented by Andrew Roberts (Awaken Church, Jacksonville, Florida) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025. 

How do we know the Bible is true and reliable?

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • In determining truth, if there is a conflict between what we believe the Bible teaches and what we believe the sciences or social sciences teach, we will give precedence to our understanding of the Bible.

 

“Disciplines”

Presented by Tony Pierson (Ablaze Church, Blacksburg, Virginia) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

Ideas on the various disciplines God’s children engage in to connect with God, grow in our personal relationship with our Father, and grow in character.

 This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • Our lives and our ministries must aspire to wholehearted devotion to God through worship, through prayer and through studying, memorizing, meditating upon, obeying, and teaching His Word (Joshua 1:8; Ezra 7:10).
  • A common practice for a member in our network of churches is to have a daily devotional time, in prayer and reading the Bible.

 

“DAWG Days”

Presented by Lee Gordon (Seminole Christian Life, Tallahassee, Forida) at the SECA Regional Summit 2025.

Ideas on how to spend a DAWG = Day Alone With God.

This message reflects our core values in this way:

  • A common practice is for church members to have extended times alone with God (at times with fasting) for the sake of personal direction, encouragement, reflection, and spiritual nourishment.