Accepting Members

This one's about who to accept into membership of the Church. In the Congregational Church, this is the decision of the members themselves. Having said that ... my own view is that we are not clubbish, not sectarian. We are defined by the fact that we belong to Christ -- which is bigger than the various views that we hold. In other words, people's "distinctives" usually don't matter. Not everyone begins their membership in the same place. Through the Spirit, the Body grows together over time. OBSERVATION: A typical Congregational Constitution states: "The Church shall not require of any person subscription to any formal creed, but shall deem it sufficient that they affirm their faith in Jesus Christ, and the sufficiency of Holy Scripture." A problem arises when a prospective member thinks that faith in Jesus Christ is not sufficient.

POSTSCRIPT: There was a phase in ministry where I was accused of shifting "what the Church was" through who I was accepting into membership. I said that, firstly, the Church was shaped by the Holy Spirit, and secondly, no new member was accepted but through a vote of the members themselves. It didn't have much to do with me.