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Featured Should We Require New Church Members

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by ktn4eg, Jun 25, 2013.

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  1. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    If the class is required, is there a potential to fail the class, and refuse membership to a professing Christian?

    I don't see how you could do so, unless sin was evident, and not taken care of.
     
  2. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    I don't use the same rubric in our classes that I would in my college classes so "failing" would have to be something pretty eggregious.

    Short of discovering some inconsistency in a person's testimony, "failing" would just mean a little extra counselling before membership.

    Remember, we're not trying to keep people out. We're trying to equip them for the ministry of the church.
     
  3. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    Church membership is a privilege and not a right.
     
  4. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    In the post I quoted, the hope was to reduce problems down the line.

    The problem discussed in that post, was a member who was admitted to not having been saved, after church discipline was imposed.

    The only way to reduce that problem, is by an attempt to see into the heart of man.

    These classes, as a pre-requisite, have a potential to bring evil and destruction to churches.

    As an option, they have potential to be a great tool for the Lord.
     
  5. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    True - especially if he dis-agreed with your church doctrine; or would you accept such a person into full voting membership

    MEx, what would you base that on?
     
  6. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    We are told how to handle such people, regardless of whether they have their name on a list or not.
     
  7. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    Scripture. It's pretty clearly taught in the Scriptures that there are requirements (prerequisites, if you prefer) to be a church member, that church membership has responsibilities, and that members should be disciplined if they do not uphold their responsibilities.

    I think churches have spent the last 30-odd years trying to woo people into the church for numbers' sake instead of making sure that they have a regenerate membership. Hence so many churches with huge numbers on the roll but only a small percentage attend, contribute, or get involved regularly.

    ANYONE may attend our church, but not everyone may join. To join they have to profess salvation, be baptized, and pledge to do these six things:

    (These six things are from the book I Am a Church Member)

    1) To be a functional church member- come faithfully, contribute their time, etc.

    2) To be a unifying church member- practice forgiveness, love and refuse to gossip

    3) To not let church become about their personal preferences and desires- be a servant of others as Jesus was

    4) To pray for church leaders- 'nuff said

    5) To lead their families to be healthy church members- serve together

    6) To treasure their church membership as a gift- a gift we receive as a bonus of our salvation. It should be treasured and appreciated.
     
  8. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    So what do you do with people, who cause divisions in the church, and are not members, just "attenders"?
     
  9. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    fully agree!:thumbs:
     
  10. thisnumbersdisconnected

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    Can you cite some passages, please, because as far as I can tell, there is absolutely nothing in the Bible about "church membership," beyond the need for salvation.

    http://www.gotquestions.org/church-membership.html#ixzz2XQfxyPRy

    As believers, we have our names written in the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 20:12), which is the only “membership roll” spoken of in Scripture.

    The New Testament churches apparently had no need of formal membership, relying instead on God to gather together believers in a local body.


    Acts 2:47, NASB
    46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
    47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.​

    This verse indicates that salvation was a prerequisite for being “added” to the church. Churches today who require salvation before membership are simply following the biblical model. See also 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

    Although there is no scriptural mandate for church membership, there is certainly nothing to prohibit it. Church membership is a way of officially identifying oneself with a local body of believers. Church membership is a statement that a Christian is in agreement with that local church and is willing to be identified as a representative of it. Church membership is also valuable for organizational purposes and a good way of determining who is allowed to vote on important church decisions and/or who is involved in official church positions and functions. Church membership is not required of Christians. It is simply a way of saying, "I am a Christian and I believe _____ church is a good church."

    Based on these, 99% of church members are disqualified.
     
    #70 thisnumbersdisconnected, Jun 27, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2013
  11. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    I wouldn't put it at 99%, but more like 40-50%. I don't always qualify. But at least we all know what we are shooting for instead of just guessing.

    The part you quoted above (and I bolded) is pretty good. There's nothing in the Bible prohibiting church membership just as there is nothing in the Bible prohibiting (or even supporting!) a whole bunch of other stuff we do in church.

    As for Scripture, we have the model of the Corinthian church in 1&2 Corinthians and how Paul instructed them to handle the problem of sin in their midst. Each local church is independent and can handle the issue of church membership as they see it within the bounds of Scripture, but there are some definite requirements for membership.

    God cherishes the unity of the local church- 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Philippians 1:27, 2:1-4; Romans 15:1-7 and there are many others. In order to maintain unity the members need to have rules and goals. In our church we put those things upfront. I just think that is the proper way to do it, especially in this day and age where there is so much confusion regarding what "Church" is, as well as the dangers our local churches will face as our country becomes more and more corrupt.
     
  12. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    They don't get a vote. And they are not likely to be around long.
     
  13. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    You would be comfortable with allowing disputes to take place, and waiting around assuming the problem will just go away?

    A professing member can't bring a professing non-member before the church in a disagreement?

    Professing non-members don't get the love and respect, and the desire of restoring to the faith through church discipline?

    Vice-versa?

    That is not scriptural at all.
     
  14. Tom Bryant

    Tom Bryant Well-Known Member

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    I am not MexDeaf, but you are reading way too much into the comment.
     
  15. PeterM

    PeterM Member

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    We have a skeleton we are working with now... not something I would give away yet as we are still "beta testing" the materials as we run them through the church family.

    The other key component I failed to mention is the church covenant. Lots of churches have them but they are usually a page in the by-laws and are not often referred to... hence they don't have much practical meaning. The first step in the process was to develop a membership covenant that reflected our doctrine and values and then used that to work back from to develop the curriculum. So far, it's worked pretty well. We grabbed covenants from several churches we love and respect around the country and built one with elements we prayerfully considered to be necessary.

    What I can share is that we developed session 1 (What is the Gospel?) using materials from 9Marks Ministries and spreadtruth.com (probably some of the best stuff I've seen). Their gospel tracts they've developed are well put together, one of which is a free app for your smartphone and can be shared.

    Session 3 used our own articles of faith as the platform. Something most churches have already. Using the individual statements and the supporting Scriptures, this may have been the easiest of sessions to develop.

    When we get the materials to a point where we are satisfied, I would be happy to share them!!!
     
    #75 PeterM, Jun 27, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2013
  16. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    Well it was part of a discussion, not a response to a single comment.

    But while you're here, it's an open discussion.

    How do you handle church discipline differently, with Christians who are members of your local church, and Christians who just attend?

    I indeed am not trying to be assumptive of MexDeafs statement, or his intended meaning. But read as is in response to my question, I was hoping for clarification.
     
  17. PeterM

    PeterM Member

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    JDF spoke to this well...

    I would contend that the purpose is 2-fold. First, to discern the credibility of a person's testimony. This may sound "judgemental", but living in the bible belt south, everybody says they're a Christian... the reality we've discovered is that they aren't. When churches aren't intentional to determine credibility, there is a strong potential "lost" people end up as church members. Giving Satan a foothold and the potential for division and conflict.

    Second would be to protect the integrity of the bride... the church. Yes we want people to have a genuine relationship with Jesus, but the integrity of a church's reputation in the community it serves is vital. Church conflict and divisions damage so we want to be intentional on the front end as much as possible. The class (especially the first and third sessions) are designed to expose the person to the gospel and essentials of the faith. Our hope and prayer is that these will help sift out either those who aren't Christians or those who may be unsure as to what that means.

    The only way, a person could "fail" (don't like that term, but it was the one used) would be that there was no discernable/credible testimony of faith or if the individual was living in conflict with the Scriptures (open sin) and was unrepentant. If they refused the gospel and/or continued to live in open disobedience, membership would be refused. Ministry to that person would be relentless from that point to love and instruct them into truth. In my mind, that's not failing... that's a win... for both the individual and the church family.
     
  18. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    Exactly. If they are a visitor, meaning non-member, they will be dealt with gently but firmly.
     
  19. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    There is no such thing as church discipline for people who are not members of the church. Do you spank other people's kids?
     
  20. pk4life

    pk4life Member

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    I have never once attempted to, or have been, voted into a membership of a local church. Why should I be exempt from church discipline, simply for not joining?

    You cannot find that separation of disciplining believers in the Bible.
     
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