Picking a New Church in a New City (part 4b)

In this series of posts, Teresa and I have tried to capture the process which God led us to become members of Covenant Fellowship church. Past topics included the preaching and worship at Covenant. The previous post introduced the topic of church membership: what are the responsibilities and privileges of joining a church. I ended with a description of the “Explore” class, which gave us lots of insight into the church.

Church membership, though, is much more than a class. There has to be some way for the pastors to know who is part of the church and who isn't. The purpose isn't to exclude people, but to have clarity on who is included. The leaders have to know who is part of the church if they are to be responsible for them on the Day of Judgment:

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:14).

SPIRITUAL CARE OF MEMBERS

Spiritual care and oversight looks different at different churches, and there isn't a one-size-fits-all. At Covenant Fellowship, each person who wants to be a member has to join a Community Group. This includes those in other Bible studies (i.e. campus ministry). A typical Community Group is 15-25 people and meets twice a month. It is a time of fellowship, encouragement, accountability, and prayer.

The community group also provides a way for the pastors to track attendance. This way, when someone begins to wander off, the leader or pastor can provide spiritual care. All too often, someone who is disillusioned with their church stops attending, but nobody notices until its too late. By then, they have either joined a different church, or worse, hardened their heart or turned their back on God. In America, countless people jump from one church to another or have completely left the church. What a sobering thought that many careless shepherds did little or nothing to care for wandering sheep and will be held accountable by God one day.

MEMBERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

Being part of a community group is the primary avenue for the members of Covenant Fellowship to love one another and show genuine love for our Lord (John 13:34-35). In addition, through the preaching and discipleship ministries, church members are urged to serve the body, serve those outside the church, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are two aspects of church membership that were new and somewhat surprising, though in a good way.

LAWSUITS AMONG BELIEVERS

The first was a commitment that no member of the church would ever sue another member. This is based on 1 Corinthians 6:

“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to the law before the unrighteous instead of he saints?....So, if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I saw this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? (1 Cor. 6:1-6)

Paul rebuked the Corinthian church because Christians were suing other Christians and tarnishing their witness for Christ. I've read this passage before, but I never thought that members of a church could make a commitment to one another not to sue but agree to an alternative ahead of time.

CHURCH DISCIPLINE

The other expectation was an agreement to submit to church discipline. This runs completely counter to our culture, which tells us to “Question authority.” Why would anyone submit themselves to yet another form of authority? Aren't bosses and the government intrusive enough?

But, if we dig a little deeper into scripture, church discipline is both necessary and good. A loving father doesn't let his children do whatever they want. My pastor at home has said, “Love does not mean let.” Just as fathers discipline their children, our Heavenly Father disciplines His children, that they might share in His holiness and be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. In the same way, when a church member falls into sin, the most loving thing a pastor can do is to bring him to repentance and faith. Not doing anything would be very unloving.

In most cases, church discipline is done positively, through the preaching of God's word, as the implanting of the word is able to save our souls (James 1:21). And fellow brothers and sisters have the responsibility to sharpen one another, as iron sharpens iron. But, in certain cases a pastor may need to confront someone who is living in sin (e.g. adultery). And in extreme cases where a church member continues in sin, he would need to be removed from church membership. Someone who openly lives in rebellion against God but still calls himself a “Christian” brings disgrace upon Christ and the church. Yet, discipline is for the good of the sinning church member, the purity of the church, and ultimately the glory of God.

PS -

Covenant Fellowship is part of a family of churches called “Sovereign Grace Ministries” (SGM). It's not a denomination, but there are similarities. The past few weeks have brought news of accusations of pride and poor leadership among the leaders of SGM (see here). The news is a sobering reminder that churches are imperfect as they are made up of imperfect people.

My goal in these posts is not to glorify Covenant Fellowship or SGM but to highlight what we have found encouraging and Biblical. The news reminds me that I myself am a sinner constantly and daily in need of the grace of God. The church is not for perfect people or good people, but for sick and sinful people. Our sickness reveals the glory of our Savior, who died so that sinful people could be forgiven and made righteous (2 Cor. 5:21).

Picking a New Church in a New City (part 4a)

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).

In his final meeting with the pastors of Ephesus, Paul reminds them that the Holy Spirit has set them apart to care for the church of God, which God obtained with His own blood. We were ransomed from sin and eternal punishment not with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19), something of infinite value!

Pastors are entrusted with something of infinite value in God's eyes. Not surprisingly, the writer of Hebrews encourages all believers to obey their leaders because leaders are accountable to God:

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:14).

What does this mean for the local church? What are the implications for church leaders?

We cannot think about spiritual care and responsibility apart from church membership. Church membership is often viewed as outdated. People move every few years and don't like being tied down to a particular place or employer.

It's not unusual to hear that someone goes to the worship service of one church but goes to a small group at another church. Or, someone may go to one church because of its fellowship, worship, etc... but go to another church (or a para-church ministry) for outreach or Bible study.

There's certainly nothing wrong with supplementing our knowledge or building relationships beyond the walls of the church. But, complications arise because those involved in multiple places have multiple spiritual leaders. How does a pastor provide spiritual care for people when it is unclear who is the spiritual authority? Which pastor or staff worker is responsible for their souls? Are leaders restricted to their spheres of influence (e.g. worship, small group, Bible study, etc...)?

The confusion for leaders extends to the church body. Who is allowed to vote or make decisions? Who is allowed to teach Sunday School or serve on the worship team? Basically, who will represent Christ within the church and outside its walls?

In this post and the next one, I'll walk through the process for how the pastors at our church bring in new members in order to provide spiritual care and oversight for them. This will include commitments and responsibilities for new members as well.

MEMBERSHIP CLASS

When Teresa and I were looking for a new church in a new city, we were planning to attend a membership class to learn about the church's beliefs and leaders.

Before we joined Covenant Fellowship, we attended a 10-week class called “Explore.” It was a class for us to explore whether we would commit ourselves to the church. A pastor taught for the first 30 minutes, and the second 30-minutes was a small-group discussion led by a pastor.

Initially, 10 weeks seemed like a big commitment. Who has time for that? We liked the free food (coffee, yogurt, bagels, donuts, fruit, and more!). We also liked the approach. The pastors weren't trying to build their empire by increasing numbers. Their primary concern was that we would join a Bible-believing church where God's word is preached and practiced. They even offered to recommend other good churches in the area.

We started going to “Explore” to get our feet wet. As the class progressed, we learned a lot. We understood Covenant Fellowship's view of

• SCRIPTURE - Is scripture one voice among many or do all other voices take a back seat to it?
• THE GOSPEL- Is the gospel primarily about making the world a better place or reconciling sinners to a holy God?
• SPIRITUAL GIFTS – Which gifts are practiced today?
• CHURCH LEADERSHIP – Who are the leaders, what are their qualifications, is there accountability, etc...
• CHURCH GOVERNMENT – Are decisions made by all members or only the pastors?
• CHURCH MEMBERSHIP – What are the responsibilities for church members?

There were other topics, but these are some highlights. The 10-week class served everyone well. There was plenty of time to understand the church and for the pastors to learn about the people wanting to join.

Any disagreements between a potential new member and the pastors could be discussed openly. Some topics are non-negotiable (e.g. the gospel of Jesus Christ). A person wouldn't be allowed to join if they had incorrect understanding of the gospel. So, church membership is also the way to make sure all incoming members are actually Christians who know and embrace the gospel, not just those who are religious or spiritual.

The class showed us that Covenant Fellowship takes church membership seriously- the pastors invest significant amount of time and energy into “Explore” (and so do all the participants!).

Church membership, though is more than attending a class. In the next post, I'll go through the responsibilities of membership. Rather than scare us away with requirements not expected at most other churches, it was encouraging to see scripture's teaching on the church taken very seriously.