Newsletter #22

On Church Membership and Pastoral Ethics

By now most readers have heard of the arrest of a man who was plotting to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh. I feel like someone has expressed concern about and basically predicted this kind of thing before….here and here.

The Scope of Church Membership

This past Tuesday I presented a seminar at the State Association of Missouri Free Will Baptists entitled, “Reclaiming Biblical Church Membership.” In it I offered a definition of church membership, six reasons why it’s biblical and essential to church health and growth, and ten steps for how to reclaim it in our churches.

I didn’t find it difficult to compile the material and arguments for the seminar; I found it incredibly difficult to present it and take questions in a 50-minute slot. The truth is that membership isn’t a program that can be prepackaged and reduced to an 8- or 10-slide Powerpoint presentation. It gets to the heart of what it means to be the body of Christ. It’s a spiritual reality, theological concept, and exercise in commi…