You can read along on pages 49 - 67
QUESTIONS from chapter 3 to evaluate our membership practice:
Does your church’s practice of membership (or its equivalent) make clear the type of commitment someone is making when they join? Or is it unclear what being a member actually involves?
Do your people know who has and has not made this formal commitment? Or is it invisible to all but church leaders?
Does becoming a member change the practical reality of how a person relates to the rest of the congregation? Or for all practical purposes, can someone fully participate in your church community without ever making the commitments to other believers that the Bible calls them to make?
Does your church’s practice of membership create a safe place for relationships to blossom? Or does being a member say little about a person’s commitment to the congregation?
Does your church’s practice of membership make clear that joining the church involves submission to the accountability and discipline of the church? Or is accountability to individuals and the full body never discussed in your church?
We have a fairly solid membership structure in the CRC, but its implementation has been fairly sloppy over the years. Since making a bunch of wholesale changes all at once would not be wise, what steps can we take over time to get to where we need to be?
Comments