I have a high view of church membership. The book of Romans refers to followers of Christ being members of a body. I believe it to be a helpful way in which we can encourage one another and hold each other accountable.
At my church, we emphasize two key areas with church membership. The first is doctrine. The second is expectations. We ask members to work towards fulfilling seven expectations, which is also our church covenant. The seven expectations involve worship, growing, serving, giving, praying, seeking unity, and being sacrificial.
Agreeing on doctrine is the starting point. Doctrine lets people know upfront what you believe. You can no longer assume people understand historical denominational differences. Additionally, churches within the same denomination in the same town can be quite different now. Don’t surprise people. Don’t downplay doctrine. Don’t confuse people. Be clear about what you believe and who you are.
A statement of faith reveals the doctrine of the church. Our church asks members to be in general agreement with our statement of faith. Understandably, people might word things differently. Additionally, as the lead pastor and main teacher in the church, I also realize people will not agree with everything I preach. Expecting all people to agree with everything is more cult-like than Christ-like. However, we must have parameters of belief. Otherwise, the church will break under the stress of disunity. Read More
"...churches within the same denomination in the same town can be quite different now." This is particularly true in the case of the Anglican Church in North America and the other self-identified Anglican entities in Canada and the United States. In these entities disparate theological traditions vie with each other in their claim to represent authentic historic Anglicanism. A number of these traditions fall outside of the parameters of the historic Anglican formularies and the central Anglican theological tradition.
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