Starting Point Lesson #6 - NEXT STEPS

What is a Healthy Church Member:

Marks 9 and 10

A Healthy Church Member is a humble Follower

What Is a Healthy Church Member? Mark 9: A Healthy Church Member Is a Humble Follower

The health of a local church may ride exclusively on the membership’s response to the church’s leadership. How the congregation receives or rejects its leaders has a direct effect on the possibilities of faithful ministry and church health. Does

A healthy church member’s attitude towards Leadership

Honors the Elders

A healthy church member honors the elder’s office. He or she esteems it highly, is thankful for it, and respects those who serve the Lord’s people as elders. We honor our pastors because on the day of the Lord they shall be our boast (2 Cor. 1:14).

Shows Open- hearted love to the leaders

What Is a Healthy Church Member? A Healthy Church Member’s Attitude toward Leadership

. The honor and respect a church member gives an elder is not the distant and official honor a soldier gives a commanding officer. Coupled with the honor due a shepherd is an open-hearted love. Repeatedly, Paul called the Corinthian church to open their hearts to him as one who cared for them spiritually:

a healthy church member loves his pastors and cares for there needs

is teachable

What Is a Healthy Church Member? A Healthy Church Member’s Attitude toward Leadership

A healthy church member should also have a teachable spirit. A teachable spirit evidences humility of heart and a desire to grow in Christ. Without it, a people grow stiff-necked and incorrigible.

A healthy Church members Actions toward leadership

Participates in the selection of leaders

Obeys and submits to the Leaders ( Heb 13:17)

What Is a Healthy Church Member? Obeys and Submits to Leaders

Our obedience is to make their work a joy, not a burden. And our obedience redounds to our benefit, since it would be of no advantage for us to call men as leaders and then disobey them

Follow’s the leaders Example

What Is a Healthy Church Member? Follows the Leaders’ Example

Our leaders are the “motion picture” of following Jesus. They are called to be an example in everything (1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3).

Prays for the Leaders

What Is a Healthy Church Member? Prays for Leaders

Given all that church leaders must do and contend with, can you think of a more important thing to do than to pray for them?

Supports outside ministry and interaction of Leaders

Just like we all need to be encouraged pastors need to be encouraged also. A healthy church member encourages and supports their pastor in outside ministries meaning - encouraging him to attend and even speak at camps and conferences so that he can be encouraged too.

QUESTIONS

Mark 10: A Healthy Church Member is a Prayer Warrior

God answers our prayers as His children. The fact is, we cannot do anything with out Gods help in this church. We need God and the way that we cry out to him is through our prayers.

God speaks to us through His word and we respond back to him through our prayers.

5 things that the Bible says believer’s should pray for.

Pray for laborers and shepherds

Pray for all the Saints

Pray for those in authority

Pray for those who abuse and Persecute you

PRAY FOR THE LOST

A healthy church member is committed to praying for God to do a work that is impossible without God’s Help.

Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

QUESTIONS

BOOKLET STUDY - NEXT STEPS

Read from booklet: Intro text

You have received a gift, the free gift of eternal salvation. It includes forgiveness of sins by Christ’s death on the cross. It includes adoption by God the Father. It includes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And it includes becoming a part of the body of Christ. That’s right: membership in the body of Christ, the church, is gift from God. It’s not a legalistic obligation. It’s not country club perks. It’s not a license for entitlements. It’s a gift. A gift from God. A gift that we should treasure with great joy and anticipation.[1]

Become A Member

Who Can Become a Member?

Our church documents answer this question like this:

“Membership of this church shall be determined solely by the Word of God and the policies of this church.

Members must have salvation through a personal faith in Jesus Christ alone;

who have been baptized by immersion as believers in obedience to Christ;

who show evidence of regeneration through their character and conduct;

who submit without mental reservation to the teachings of our church as expressed in the Statement of Faith;

and who promise to keep the commitments expressed in the Church Covenant.”

What does each one of those phrases mean?

· “Salvation through a personal faith in Christ alone”

Romans 5:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1–2 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith [Faith Alone], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ[Christ Alone]. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace [grace Alone] in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God [ the Glory of God Alone].

to be a member of this church you must be completely dependent on Jesus alone for your salvation.

Think about it this way- if you found out jesus was all a hoax what would change in your salvation what would you fall back on? In christ Alone means that there is no safety net for your salvation its Christ + nothing.

· “Who have been baptized by immersion”

We have already talked about this in this class. The only example of baptism we see in the scriptures is those who have already accepted jesus as their savior.

This is believers baptism.

If you were baptized as a child or if you were baptized before you truly understood and accepted Jesus as your savior, those would not be a believers baptism.

A believers baptism is one that takes place after salvation and is an outward expression of what God has already accomplished through Salvation in your life.

· “Who show evidence of regeneration”

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

A believers life looks different and that difference is the evidence of Regeneration in their life.

When someone accepts Jesus their life changes and this change is the evidence of regeneration in their life.

In Matt. 7:15-20 Jesus said that you will know his followers by their fruit,.

Matthew 7:18–20 ESV

18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

What does this fruit look like

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

· “Who submit to the teaching of our church”

To be a member of a church means that you submit to the teachings and the doctrines of that church.

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

· “Who promise to keep the commitments expressed in the church covenant.”

We walked through our church covenant a couple of weeks ago. and remember what we said about that covenant - its a committment we make to God to one another in the church and to our selves.

and this commitment is that we will life a life worthy of the glory of God, That we will walk circumspectly. meaning that we will be a good example of Christ in our church, in our homes, and in our community.

One of the biggest blessings of being part of a church family is that we are not alone on our walk with jesus. we have a whole bunch of people around us holding one another accountable and building one another up in the Lord.

Questions

Any questions on these 5 statements on church membership.

How Do I Become a Member?

1. Attend the Starting Point Class

Starting Point is a six-week class that covers the beliefs and philosophy of Clear Lake Regular Baptist Church.

2. Write Your Testimony

· What does it mean to be a Christian? If you were to stand before God and He asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” What would your answer be?

· What should you share? Think about your life before and after Christ. The apostle Paul talks about our salvation like this:

Ephesians 2:1–6 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Here are some considerations as you write your testimony:

· Share the Gospel. Sharing your testimony should be a chance to share the gospel with others. Ask yourself, “What would an unbeliever learn about Jesus and salvation from my testimony?” In other words, focus on the “what” of your salvation, not just the “when.”

· Use Scripture. For example, what did Scripture show you about your sinfulness, the love of God, the Gospel?

· Exalt God, not yourself. Tell about the great things that God has done for you, not what you want to do for God.

· Prepare. A preacher may spend over ten hours working on a sermon that will last only 45 minutes. Yet many people worry that practicing will somehow ruin the effectiveness of their testimony. Effectiveness is not tied to spontaneity.

3. Identify with Jesus Through Baptism

· Many people come from other churches where they were baptized by immersion as believers. If that is your story, then include your baptism in your testimony.

If you need to be baptized as a believer, then we will help you learn more about baptism and schedule a Sunday for your baptism!

4. Meet with the Pastor and Deacons

· This is where you will share your written testimony with the leaders of the church, and also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may still have about membership.

This is a fun time, and a great opportunity for you to share why you love CLRBC, and why you desire to be a part of this local church body.

5. Sign the Covenant

We ask that new members sign the Church Covenant.

Don’t worry. It’s not anything weird.

Signing the covenant is a way to remind us all of the importance of membership and our commitment we make with one another to hold each other up in our walks with the Lord.

It’s a good thing to commit to doing what God has commanded you to do as his followers.

6. Be Welcomed by the Congregation

· Because our congregation is the final authority for membership in this church and we want the whole congregation to be encouraged, we will share your testimony with the congregation.

Then during one of our services the congregation will vote to welcome you into membership.

Thats the process of becoming a member of Clear Lake Baptist Church.

QUESTIONS

So now that we have looked at the process lets look one more time at the committment you are making as a member of this church,

Membership Commitment

Your Commitment as a Church Member

I will protect the UNITY of my church by:

o Acting in love toward other members

o Refusing to gossip, and talk badly about my brother and sisters in Christ

o Following and actively supporting my pastor and leadership (Romans 14:19, 15:5; 1 Peter 1:22; Ephesians 4:29)

I will share the RESPONSIBILITIES of my church by:

o Praying for its growth and well-being

o Inviting the unchurched to attend

o Warmly welcoming those who visit (1 Thessalonians 1:24; Philippians 1:3-8)

I will serve the MINISTRY of the church as God leads me by:

o Discovering my gifts and talents

o Equipping myself to serve at my pastor’s and leader’s side

o Developing a servant’s heart

o Developing spiritual discipline

(1 Peter 4:10-11; Ephesians 4:11-12; Philippians 2:3-7; 1 Tim. 4:1-16)

I will support the TESTIMONY of this church by:

o Attending faithfully

o Living a godly life

o Giving of my time, talents and treasure - regularly and joyfully (Hebrews 10:25; Philippians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 16:2)

Finally one of the main ways we make and equip disciples of Jesus in this church is through the ministry of our growth groups.

These groups are a way that our church covenant is lived out in our lives together and we encourage each of you to get involved in one of our growth Groups.

Join A Growth Group

Get involved with others in the church in a learning, growing and serving way.

Questions

in the final page of your booklet I have given you some recommended reading resources on different topics we have covered in this class.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

On Sharing the Gospel

Cross, John. The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus

Helm David. One-to-One Bible Reading

Payne, Tony and Philip Jensen. Two Ways to Live.

Vincent, Milton. A Gospel Primer

On Being a Church Member

Rainer, Thom. I Am a Church Member

Anyabwile, Thabiti. What Is a Healthy Church Member?

Leeman, Jonathan. Church Membership

On Learning Theology

Ryrie, Charles. Balancing the Christian Life

Whitney, Donald. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

Bridges, Jerry. The Discipline of Grace

Nation, Philip. Habits for Our Holiness

[1] Thom Rainer, I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2013), p. 71.

CLOSING

If any of you would like to take the next step in becoming a member of this church please come talk with me today.

PRAY