Doctrine. How does this word make you feel? Be honest. Did anyone cringe? Why? Maybe it has something to do with how it sounds like doctor, and shot needles at an early age gave most of us a healthy distrust of those MD’s in the white coats.

Perhaps there is more to your reaction than just the sound. The word has gotten a pretty bad rap. For many of us it just sounds boring and, even worse, non-applicable to life. Give me a good old how-to talk or maybe some steps to unprecedented success. I’ll be glad to accept some lists of things I need to do. I’ll take those in heaping blogpost spoonfuls. But doctrine? Not sure I really want any of that. They say that medicine is bubble gum flavor, but I sure wouldn’t keep chewing gum like that.

So to make this go down as smoothly as possible , please accept this blatant and unashamed compromise in the form of a list of three things you need to know about doctrine.

1. We need it. Without sound doctrine, we will get off course quickly and we will stay off until we are smack dab in the middle of ridiculous. Doctrine is the truth about God (who He is, His character, what He has done) and the teaching that He has given us. Our belief, knowledge, and understanding about God informs everything. And when I say everything, I actually mean everything.

“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16

2. Doctrine is practical. The idea may bring to your mind thoughts of lengthy lectures, confusing colloquies, or whopping words, but the truth is that when you embrace doctrine and begin to understand it you find that doctrine shows up in all of life. Your worship, your life on mission, your worldview, your relationships, your future, etc. Sound doctrine is the foundation for a life lived for the glory of God, which as you know is the bottom line.

3. You already embraced it. Speaking of the bottom line…Remember those core values we teach at iGo? Doctrine. Bottom Line, Ancient Work, Joy of the Sower, and Hope of the World are all doctrinal truths straight from the pages of Scripture. We love doctrine at iGo. We love teaching doctrine, we love seeing you embrace it, and we love seeing it impact your life.

When you come to Base Camp and when you come to The iGo Conference, you can expect to receive some doctrine. We aren’t doing our job if you don’t. But why stop there? This morning a friend told me about an idea for discussing theology with high school students on Tuesdays, and it gave me an idea for this here blog. So from time to time on Tuesdays we plan to serve up some doctrine to chew on. With a side of cucumbers and tomatoes of course.

But we need your help . Are there any doctrines that you would like for us to tackle? Need help understanding propitiation? Want to go deeper in your study of the gospel? Hit that comment button and let us know. Your question/comment might give us our first topic for the next Tuesdays are for Theology .