Sermon Tone Analysis
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Receive Members
I. Membership
A. It is a privilege to welcome new members into the church!
1.
I have had opportunity to do so many, many times over the 13 years that I have been pastor here.
2. Praise God!
B. Normally I would not be doing this with an Annual Business Meeting coming up next week.
ARTICLE VI.
MEMBERSHIP; Section 2. Procedure for Membership Recognition
Those individuals eligible for membership who shall desire to become members of this church shall make written applications to the pastor or church board.
The church board shall have the right and authority to determine the eligibility and acceptability of all applicants for membership by majority vote.
Those approved for membership by the church board shall be received into the church publicly at any of its regular services, and their names thereupon added to the church membership roll.
No applicant for membership shall be accepted as a member within 30 days before an annual business meeting or within 10 days before a special business meeting.
Matthew and Paul applied for membership back in September of last year.
Rick & Teresa applied 4 days before the deadline.
All of their applications were accepted by the Board that same month.
The problem has been trying to get them into a membership class which we started doing for all members a few years ago.
Such a class is helpful to new members to know what membership at New Life Family Church is all about.
I have given all of them pieces of the class:
A copy of the Constitution.
A copy of the book: Bait of Satan
A copy of the brochure I created on resolving conflict in the church — since conflict is inevitable.
I hope to get all of these new members together in the next couple of weeks to discuss these and other things about our church.
C.Because, what is church membership all about?
Is it just about voting at Business Meetings?
Not at all.
Church membership is so much more.
At its heart is Family and how we relate to each other — how we build one another up in Jesus.
D. A couple of weeks ago I we discussed current trends in the American church.
One trend is to de-emphasize membership.
A lot of that has to do with most churches now being “nondenominational.”
Unfortunately, a lack of formal membership leads to a lack of church governance.
Such “non-governance” causes pastors to become untethered from accountability.
I’ve talked to people who recently joined this church who said that at their former church they:
Never had a business meeting.
They never knew anything about finances.
They didn’t know who made the decisions — big or small.
As we are constantly seeing, most churches decisions are being made by CEO-type pastors.
And too many are making not just bad decisions, but illegal decisions.
Folks, this is a congregational church.
The membership, through a majority vote, has the final word in all decisions.
But, I can tell you right now, that I, as the pastor, do not like to have 51/49% votes.
If we have that, I feel we need to go back to the drawing board — that’s why we didn’t change the service times when daylight savings kicked in — we didn’t have a consensus.
But, on the other hand, I feel good about the vote on the Digital sign
We had a good showing of members.
We had a good question/answer and discussion time.
We ended up with 26 for and 5 against a digital sign.
I read every one of the opinions expressed on the “Against” votes because EVERY vote is important.
E. And church membership is important.
1. Taking this formal step emphasizes that a light has come on in your thinking.
2. That you understand and want to obey God’s design for the Christian life.
i. BIBLICAL Christianity ALWAYS involves individual Christians being a part of a local Body of believers.
ii.
The Bible does NOT teach the concept of “Lone Ranger” Christians.
Yesterday, I was reading an email I get from Pastor Charlie.
He talked about the barrage of requests over the Christmas season.
People “asking” for money and other things.
He said: The posts typically offered a story of hardships, followed by a request for favors, gifts and/or money, and in one case there was a link to an Amazon wish list from which you could choose a gift to send the asker.
While I do not doubt that people have real needs, nor am I assuming these people were simply digital con artists trying to run a scam, there is a greater truth to be uncovered.
He goes on to talk about how his small church “partnered” with another small church to help meet the needs of families.
He says: We were determined that all the needs made known to that … church would be met.
So, what is the difference?
In a word “Community”!
While we did not know the children [and families] personally, we were working in the context of community or a fellowship.
Their church ministered to them and their families, their church leaders reached out to us and asked our church leaders to help.
Our church leaders led our church members to give.
One part of the body of Christ served another.
Our congregation’s giving was a force multiplier for our sister congregation’s ministry.
Too many people today have NO community.
3. BUT, Biblical Christians understand that God has placed them in “Community” in the Body of Christ.
i.
Whether or not you make a formal commitment you recognize:
ii. 1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 (NASB95) But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
D. Ephesians 3:10 reminds us that: His [God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
E. I like what Jeff Harris in his: Warrior Poet Daily Devotional .
Jeff Harris says about the church revealing the wisdom of God to all.
He says:
1. … The mystery of Jesus is revealed in the Church!
A Christianity devoid of community is an anomaly that is incongruent with Jesus’ vision and the reality of a unified body.
If you are to progress in your faith, the progress always includes the local body of believers, not just a select affinity group, but the messiness of the book of Acts.
To serve God divorced from the Body is to deny a local body its vitality.
No greater wounded-ness is revealed than by those who live their faith in Jesus alienated from a local body.
No amount of hyper-hermeneutics will slither through Jesus' intent through the local body.
F. Words to ponder and pray about!
G.
We need the local church to fulfill Jesus’ command in:
1. John 13:34–35 (NASB95) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
All people will know you are the disciples of Christ if you can love one another through the messiness church family relations.
Bring Members Forward
A. So, this morning New Life Family Church has the privilege of welcoming, loving and COVENENTING WITH 4 new ADULT members and 0 new junior members.
1. 4 more people who have elected to put down roots not only in Christ, but also in this church.
2. Matthew Huber, Paul Elliott and Rick & Teresa Wilcox, would come forward?
3. Please face the congregation.
B. Would the Board, Madeline, Jay, George, Michelle, and our newest Board Memeber (as of today) Cecelia Funderburk who is serving as Corporate Secretary.
Will all of you come and join these new members?
C.These newest members have…
1. … made proper application and have been approved by the Official Board of the church and are now ready to receive the right hand of fellowship by this congregation.
G. Our new members, and we as a church are going to remind each other of our responsibilities and privileges.
1.
Our FAMILY COVENANT together.
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