Covenental Membership

Welcome Message

Prayer

Scripture

Matthew 28:18-20

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of[a] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember,[b] I am with you always,[c] to the end of the age.”

I went back and forth on which scripture I should use here to lead into this message. I debated going with something from the Old Testament – like the Abrahamic Covenant – and then explaining how covenants work and then how Jesus’ death ushered in a new covenant and so on.

And of course, all of those things are true and good and we should know about them, but I think when you are talking about the Church – the collection or body of believers that join together in fellowship – you have to talk about it in light of the Mission.

And that’s because the Church exists solely for the purpose of expanding the worship of God to all Nations. So although we USE a covenant in the context of our Church, the covenant is really a means to an end – the end being that we are a body on Mission.

And in true fashion as God often does, submitting to His plan can bring joy unlike any other experience in life. So what does it mean to be a Covenantal Member of a local church in general and TCC in particular?

We covenant together as members of TCC, to be in an intentional relationship with God and each other to pursue our calling as a local church. The covenant is simply spelling out the expectations of this relationship. That’s it. Us pursuing covenantal membership isn’t about leaders trying to have control or authority or power over the membership...here’s a contract, sign it and we’re going to make sure you fulfill your end of the contract. Covenant relationship is not a contractual relationship, covenant is a family relationship.

God uses analogies throughout scripture to help us understand Biblical truth and the church is often described as a marriage between a bride “the Church” and the Bridgegroom being the Lord Jesus Christ.

Like wedding vows in which the bride and groom make specific promises to each other, so we want to be very clear what we are promising each other in being in relationship with each other as part of TCC.

So agreeing to certain things in our covenant is just one part of becoming a Member of TCC.

But becoming a CM of TCC involves –

1. being a part of a Missional Community “MC” for 3 months. We want you to know us, we want to know you. Not just on Sundays – but in everyday life. Jesse explained what MCs are in the last few weeks so if you missed that, you can check out the recording online or even better, talk to Jesse or really any member of TCC to understand more about what an MC is.

2. Reading a book – I am a Church Member by Thom Rainer – short, small read. Can be done in maybe an hour or two. Straightforward walk through the NT and what the Bible says a church member should be. We have copies of this book for you. You can also ask around and probably some others have a copy they have read and can lend to you.

3. Affirm our statement of faith. You can find that on our website. A set of doctrinal statements we require you to say – yes – I agree. We’re on the same page theologically. I do want to take a moment here and talk about this. Over the last couple of years there have been some very distressing divisions in the church over things that are not essential to the faith of a Christian. If you have been in church at all over the last couple of years you know exactly what I am talking about, mask wearing, vaccinations, political party affiliation etc. So let me be clear so you know what you are getting into if you decide to fellowship with us. We have a statement of faith so you know exactly which issues we say are non-negotiable to being a Christian and a member of TCC – which means necessarily, that other issues that are NOT covered in our statement of faith ARE negotiable – meaning we don’t divide or break fellowship over those issues. We reject extremism at TCC – and that is on both ends of the ideological spectrum.

We aren’t saying that you can’t be passionate about certain issues, but if those issues are not explicitly called out in our statement of faith, we expect our members to be grace filled with other members who may not agree with you. I’ll give some more specific examples as we walk through the actual covenant together in a few minutes.

4. Fill out a membership profile or be interviewed by one of our elders – Jarrod, Jospeh, or Jesse. The purpose of this is simply for us to know you. Tell us how you came alive in Christ. Tell us when you declared to the world your faith in Christ through baptism. Tell us where you are in life and how we can serve you as one of your elders. You can fill out the profile and email it to us or we can just walk through it in a conversation. Either way is fine. May take a little longer to schedule a conversation, but we’ll make it happen.

5. Sign a member’s covenant signifying your public commitment to be a member of TCC and your desire to chase this calling and vision together. And once you sign it, you can give that to your MC leader. This isn’t a contract, it’s more like a wedding ring in purpose and intent. It’s a public symbol of your declaration of commitment.

6. Attend a new member’s class. This is a one time class that will allow one of elders to be more specific about our calling and vision as a church and also give you an opportunity to ask questions in case you haven’t already. Once we have some folks who express a desire to pursue membership we will work out a time to have this class with you.

Now I want to take some time to walk through our covenant so you know exactly what to expect if you decide you want to be a part of TCC.

I covenant...

1. To submit to the authority of The Scriptures as the final word on all issues of life, faith, and practice (Psalm 19, Psalm 119, 2Timothy 3:14-17)

This is why we have a statement of faith. We believe that as Christians, as we go through life we will encounter various moral dilemma – how we interpret and respond to those dilemma must be informed by scripture. This is what is meant by having a Biblical “Worldview” - this is opposed to a worldview that is founded on secular philosophy or some other set of ethical or moral guidelines like you may find in other religions.

This is not to say that there is no value in moral or ethical ideas apart from scripture, but where they contradict, Scripture must take precedence.

On the flip side, where Scripture is not clear on an issue – we have grace and tolerance for the opinions of others.

In “I Am a Church Member” Thom Rainer describes a Biblical church member as A Unifying Church Member

John 13:35

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Ephesians 4:1-3

Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ

4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Love one another unconditionally. Honor the differences we have.

What are some things that Divisive?

1. Gossip and negative talk

Must follow Matthew 18 if offended

2. Forgiveness and Unity

2. To seek the Lord Jesus Christ through regular Bible reading, prayer, fellowship with His Body, and practicing other spiritual disciplines (Luke 18:1, Acts 17:11, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Ephesians 4:24-5:21)

As I just described, our worldview must be informed by Scripture first and foremost. How can we have a Biblical Worldview if we don’t know what is in the Bible?

Remember Jesus’ command to us in the Great Commission? We are to make disciples of all nations teaching them to obey the commands of Jesus. How can we teach others Biblical Truth if we don’t know what’s in the Bible?

The good news is that in only 15 minutes per day you can read through the entire Bible in one year. How much time do you spend on Tik Tok each day?

As Christians and functioning church members we also combine our study of God’s Word with prayer. Specifically, we pray for:

· Our Elders and their families

· Our own families

· Our Church body

· Our communities

· Our nation – to include our national leaders (even if we don’t agree with them politically)

In “I Am a Church Member” Thom Rainer specifically calls out the need for functioning members of a church to pray for their pastors. And he offers the following true story as a reason why:

Read Chapter 4 “I Am a Church Member”

Now, most of you know that I am not yet an elder of this church and I can tell you that I have never been through the kind of traumatic day described in that story, but I do know that our Elders have.

So, as a Biblical church member, let’s not neglect the men who sacrifice so much for us.

Now you may be saying – I want to do that, I want to pray, but I don’t know how. Whenever I try to pray, my mind just wanders and I just get so bored.

If you are saying this – first of all – please don’t feel ashamed – most of us have never been taught how to pray.

But remember that God never commands us to do anything that we cannot do. So he has equipped us with all the tools we need to have vibrant effective prayer lives.

In his Book “Praying the Bible” Donald S. Whitney describes how you can use scripture as a guide when praying. It is a very easy read and I recommend you grab a copy of the book on your way out today, but in summary, Whitney describes how you can combine prayer with your daily reading of the Bible, using actual scripture to inform how you pray. All of scripture can be used in this way, but the book of Psalms is specifically designed to be a book of prayers that can easily be used to help you pray.

3. To follow the command and example of Jesus by participating in the ordinances prescribed to His church:

a. To receive Believer’s Baptism

b. To regularly remember and celebrate the person and work of Jesus Christ through communion

So as I’ve mentioned before, we do practice believer’s baptism by immersion. The mode is not as important even though we do believe it is most biblical as the fact that you have been baptized as a believer And so if you have only received baptism as an infant and you want to join as a member of the TCC we would ask you to be baptized as a believer. If you were baptized as a believer but in a mode other than immersion, we would not ask you to be baptized as a believer by immersion. And if you have never been baptized, never publicly declared your allegiance to and identification with Jesus Christ which is what baptism is – we would ask you – please consider it. It doesn’t save, but it declares your salvation to the world. It’s following the example of Jesus. See someone in your MC. See your MC leader. Let’s walk through that together.

4. To regularly participate in the life of The Crossing Church by attending weekly worship gatherings, engaging in a missional community, and serving those within and outside of this church (Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:23-25, Titus 3:14)

Have you ever heard of a Country Club? If you don’t know what a country club is – it is a special facility that you have to pay a fee or “dues” regularly to be a part of. They often have rooms that can be used for parties, swimming pools, sometimes even a restaurant or bar. Similar to what you may find at most apartment complexes today – a set of facilities that you pay for and can use whenever you want within reason of course. The payment of your dues in effect gives you special privileges that people who aren’t members don’t have. And as such, you have a right to expect certain things – you are paying for that service after all so you are entitled to be able to use it.

When I was a kid, we would go to Mount Vernon country club up in the mountains in Colorado. Tell the story.

Many modern Christians, particularly in America – see the church as a country club. Their tithe is their “dues” and as such they believe that they have the right to dictate what messages are preached, what programs are done, what music is played, how the church is decorated etc.

This is FLATLY contradicted by scripture. We are not entitled to anything as members of the church, although we do receive incredible benefits, those benefits are but a side effect that God has chosen to bless His faithful people with.

Instead we are commanded in Phillipians 2:5-11 to:

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.[a] 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Now if anyone was entitled to exploit his equality with God, was it not the Lord Jesus? So if Jesus Himself, did not exploit that power which is rightfully His, then HOW MUCH MORE humble should we be as church members?

5. To be a faithful steward of all that God has given me – time, talents, spiritual gifts, and finances. I will give financial gifts, service, and time that is sacrificial, cheerful, and voluntary to the life of The Crossing Church. (Matthew 25:14-30, Romans 12;1-2, 2 Corinthians 8-9, 1 Peter 4:10-11).

God owns everything, we own nothing and everything we have as far as time, talents, and resources God has given to us graciously to use and manage to lay up treasure not on earth but in heaven and give glory to Him. So giving tithes and offerings isn’t about donating money to keep an organization going, or paying bills for lights and heat and staff, it’s really about each of us demonstrating to God our recognition that it all belongs to him and my gift of time, talents and resources is an act of worship. And because it’s worship I do it cheerfully, willing, sacrificially.

6. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, for the glory of God, I will walk in holiness in all areas of life. (1 Peter 1:13-16, 4:1-3).

To be Holy means to be “set apart” meaning that we do not allow love of this world to pull us away from God’s calling on our lives.

The Devil has done an amazing job of structuring the entire world to cater to the desires of our fallen flesh – it seems we can’t go five minutes without being tantalized by something.

But nothing is more destructive to our ability to fulfill the call that God has for our lives than Love for the world.

2 Timothy 4:9-11

9 Make every effort to come to me soon, 10 because Demas has deserted me, since he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

By all accounts Demas was a faithful Christian working alongside Paul in ministry, but in the end, he deserted Paul and the ministry of the gospel, because he loved this present world.

So at TCC we keep ourselves clean from the world. Following are some specific ways in which we do that:

7. I will maintain total sexual purity until married. If married, I will maintain complete faithfulness to my spouse. Fidelity and faithfulness requires purity and abstaining from all forms of sexual immorality such as adultery, premarital sex, and pornography. (Romans 13:11-14, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, 10:8, Ephesians 5:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Hebrews 13:4).

The Christian Sexual ethic is a hotly debated issue today, but fortunately scripture is very clear. It is easy to get pulled down an never-ending trail of “what ifs” or “what abouts” on this topic – so thank God that He has kept it very simple. Sexual relationships and desires are to be between one man and one woman for life within the bounds of a formal marriage covenant. Anything else is contrary to God’s plan for human sexuality. This includes divorce:

8. Because marriage is a commitment until death, my spouse and I will seek marriage reconciliation under the direction of my elders before pursuing divorce from my spouse. (Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12, Luke 16:18, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11).

9. I will abstain from illegal drug use, drunkenness, gossip and other sinful behaviors as described by the Bible (Romans 1:28-32, 13:13, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:18, James 3:3-18).

10.To refrain from activities that the Scripture would call foolish (Romans 14:14-23)

11.To recognize the teaching on Christian freedom, especially actions that could present a stumbling block to others (1Corinthians 8:1-13, Romans 14).

So in all areas of life we want to walk worthy of the manner in which we have been called. In personal conduct, marriage Fidelity and health, partaking in freedom that we have because of Christ and the gospel, not overstepping our bounds into sin which includes causing a brother to stumble. We don’t want to draw these lines so tight that we all begin to just follow a list of rules. We want to take stands where Scriptures takes stands and where Scripture allows freedom we want to allow freedom.

We trust the Holy Spirit working through His word in His body to bring about correction. If someone or all of us start getting off the rails in certain areas of personal conduct – we trust the HS to bring conviction and correction. Which takes us to If the above commitments are openly violated, I commit to:

1. Confess my sin to God and to fellow believers when warranted

2. Repent and seek God’s help to put my sin to death (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5, James 5:16, 1 John 1:6-10)

3. To submit to the elders and other appointed leaders of the church and fight for the unity and peace within the church (Ephesians 4:1-3, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:5)

4. To follow the biblical procedures for church discipline when sin is evident in another – with the hope of repentance and restoration

5. To receive grace filled loving discipline when approached by a brother or sister in Christ (Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, Hebrews 12:5-11).

I want to take this opportunity to be very clear about what the purpose of church discipline is. You can see it in number 4 above – the key is RESTORATION.

Why? So that we can all get back on Mission together – God desires and rightly deserves the worship of all nations and people – so we need all the help we can get. We don’t want to see a single person sidelined by sin.

Now for those who have grown up in very unhealthy church environments, you may have seen church discipline abused. It may have been used to keep people in line with leadership decisions that were unbiblical, it may have been used to punish people for violating man-made rules as opposed to biblical commands.

In many cases these rules have nothing to do with living God honoring lives on mission, but more on preserving some sort of image that particular church prefers to be identified with. The danger of Phariseeism – meaning adherence to a code of rules without any sort of heart change – is very real and we must constantly be on guard against it.

Biblical analogies are always the best analogies so we should view each member of the local church just like a member of the human body. If I cut off my hand, I am going to be severely handicapped in my ability to live my life to its fullest potential – so in the same way, we desire to restore any member who is in sin and get them back healthy and connected to the rest of the body so we can get back on mission together and whole!

So now that we have walked through our covenant together, here a few more practical things that a healthy Biblical member of a local church should do:

Lead your family to be Healthy Church Members

In the same way that I am encouraging and admonishing you today to be a healthy church member, so should you also do the same for your household.

That means being intentional with our families about practically applying all of the things we have discussed today.

Husbands this responsibility falls to you. As the God appointed leaders of your families you will be held accountable to how well you have led.

In many spaces today including the church, unfortunately, the leadership of men in the home has been twisted into misogyny, treating leadership as privilege rather than a terrible responsibility for which we will be held accountable one day.

Verses like:

22 Wives, submit[a] to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

Are often used to justify this treatment. However, if we just continue reading, we learn the true order of things:

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b] her with the washing of water by the word.

So although it is true that wives are commanded to submit to the leadership of their husbands, husbands are commanded to love their wives so sacrificially that submission to them would not be oppressive but rather filled with the joy in the same way that the church submitting to Christ is not a burden but a joy.

So this is the responsibility of husbands, to love their wives as Christ loved the church. And in so doing, set a healthy example for their children.

This is the first and foremost way husbands/fathers can lead their families.

Praying together as a family

Worshipping together as a family both during and outside of the Sunday Gathering

This is one of the main reasons we keep our children with us during worship on Sundays, so that our children can observe us worshipping and we can encourage them to join us. I sometimes get the privilege to lead us in worship and I will never forget the Sunday that I lead and little Toby Rommen was singing “It Is Well” at the top of his lungs. Now in some churches, that would have been considered disruptive – but what in the world are we here for if not to encourage our children to worship the King of the Universe with their whole hearts and with total abandon?

And worship doesn’t end on Sunday mornings -

Psalm 34:1-4

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad. 3 Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together.

So throughout the week, be intentional about worshipping in your homes or in your cars or wherever you can. If you truly believe that God is your savior, how can you not sing to him?

Maybe you can’t play an instrument or sing very well – so what? Find some worship songs on Youtube and throw them up on the TV in the living room and sing with your kids or by yourself.

Finally – Remember that the Church is a GIFT. It is God designed to both bring Him glory and help us as we navigate through the challenges of life.

Read: “I Am a Church Member” summary pg 77

Pray