Featured Should We Require New Church Members

John.....try finding a large body of water, then find a pier & take a long walk off of it. It would probably help us all if you cant swim cause nobody likes you.:smilewinkgrin:

 

Naaa, we all know who we are & where we are going :smilewinkgrin:

 

That's OK. I can't stand any of you, either.

 

Oh, almost forgot...we dont agree with SS either. You & Tommy Tune must be affiliated with the SBC. In my world, thats a Yuk Factor.

 

Man, you don't know what you are missing. We have the most interesting face-to-face debates in SS- sometimes I even debate myself!

Seriously, I would have a hard time going to a church which only had preaching and no small groups or SS. But that's another thread...

 

I don't perceive you as sarcastic, and I don't intend to be either.

I don't differentiate between those two things. I don't see church membership as it's practiced today, in the Bible.

 

Our Sunday School classes are more lecture based.

Our Bible School classes are modeled after college level classes, so there is lecture and interaction and that gets fun, particularly when we have pre-arranged debates.

They're fun, especially when you don't know which side you'll be arguing.

 

No it is not just "the thing to do".

 

If someone is discouraged by those things then maybe they are not ready yet.

 

You can probably find something on line that will give you a general idea of what is covered in one. Find one you like and then adapt it to your own situation.

 

I completely agree:thumbsup:

 

No. The Bible does not indicate such classes are necessary. Are they helpful? Yes. But they should not be a requirement for membership. Believe and be baptized is the command. Church discipline exists to deal with false professors.

 

I'm hearing several people say we shouldn't do it because the Bible doesn't tell us to, but I believe they fall under the category of discipleship, which is clearly taught in scripture.

 

"If you rejoice with me in receiving the ____________ family, please let them know it by saying AMEN."

I remember hearing those words said hundreds of times in nearly a dozen churches over the years and while I did (and do) rejoice when believers submit themselves for membership... there are pitfalls that come with no safeguards to church membership.

Just last year, my church was compelled to discipline one of our members. It was truly one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do in ministry, but in through the course of restoring the individual to membership (which was done... PTL!) he finally admitted that he probably wasn't saved in the first place. We received him as a transfer from another church.

I have always like the idea of having a "new members class" or some kind of orientation, but our experience lead us to make it a reality. We consulted with Mark Dever and 9marks ministries to develop our own materials/curriculum and we are actually moving through the course now on Wednesday evenings to allow all our current members to help work out the kinks. We have entitled it "Assimilate"... It's been a really great experience thus far.

I think we'll end up with a 6 to 8 week course that go as follows:

* Week 1/2: The Gospel. We make no assumptions about a person's spiritual condition. Just because a person says they are saved, doesn't necessarily mean they are. We take the first session to move through the gospel in an intentional way. Our hope is to, one more time, share the good news. It also doubles as evangelism training... never a bad thing.

*Week 3/4: Why Church Membership?: A course that moves through the OT and NT, exposing the truths behind church membership, what it means, and how it works.

*Week 5/6: What We Believe: An intentional, systematic exposure of our theology and doctrines using the church's statement of faith as the foundation.

*Week 7/8: What's Next?: How the member plugs into a small group (if they haven't already), jumps into ministry and missions. We also talk about what a church member should expect from the church and leaders and what the church expects from them. Most of that can be found even in the most generic membership covenants most Baptist churches have.

I recognize that not everyone favors a class like this, but as baptists we have traditionally believed in regenerate church membership. Living in a post-modern culture where still 80% of all people in the USA still identifies themselves as Christians, it is our hope this tool will help reduce problems down the line.

I will say, that Mark Dever, Capitol Hills Baptist Church, and 9Marks ministries have been an invaluable resource along the way.

 

Looks like a winner to me. We may move to something like this later down the road, but for now the book we are using will do.

 

Thank You!!! We have been pleased with how it's been received thus far by our existing members.

 

On this we agree.