As members of the Christian community of Atonement Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wisconsin, we, being sinners and falling short, agree, with the help of God, to relate to each other through Christ, and thus hold ourselves and each other to:

1. Listen to each other.  "Let everyone be quick to hear and slow to speak…"  James 1:19.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer has stated:  "The first service that one owes to others In the fellowship consists of listening to them"  Life Together p 97
   

2. Respect the Privacy of Those Who Confide.  "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret."  Proverbs 11:13
   

3. Challenge each other with the truth.  Be willing to confront when it is important.  "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love."
   

4. Deal with people directly; don't complain to others.   "If one of my followers sins against you, to and point out what was wrong.  But do it in private, just between the two of you."  Matthew 18:15.  If someone complains to you about another member, help that person follow this principle.
   

5. Strengthen each other.  "[Speak] only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen."  Ephesians 4:29  Likewise, the test of true fellowship is to "make the individual free, strong and mature," not "weak and dependant."  Bonhoeffer, p. 88
   

6. Be gentle with one another.  "My friends, you are spiritual.  So if someone is trapped in sin, you should