Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
org
Contents
Editors Note
Jonathan Leeman
Page 17
Page 44
Resources on Membership
Q&As, audio resources, free membership class materials, and more on church membership.
Page 47
Book Review: The Gospel Commission: Recovering Gods Strategy for Making Disciples
by Michael Horton
Reviewed by Bobby Jamieson
Page 59
Book Review: Pauls Understanding of the Churchs Mission
By Robert Plummer
Reviewed by Kevin DeYoung
Page 62
Page 66
Book Review: Loving the Church: Gods People Flourishing in Gods Family
By John Crotts
Reviewed by Brian Croft
Page 69
Audio
Leadership Interviews
The Two Kingdoms and the Natural Law with David VanDrunen
Mark Dever asks David VanDrunen for a tutorial on the complex but important topic of a church's
role in political society. *Listen online Now
Posted on May 1, 2011
Culture of Discipling with Mark Dever
Mark Dever explains why he prioritizes relationship-building like he doesin the church, between
Christians, and among pastors. *Listen online Now
Posted on March 1, 2011
* This audio might not be supported by your particular device
Jonathan Leeman
Editors note:
E
vangelicals are good and maybe getting better at talking about the Christian mind, the Christian heart, even the
Christian hands and feet. We want to think, feel, and act as Christians.
But what about the skeleton? No one really talks about that. If a skeleton holds things together, what is the structure that
holds the Christian life together and gives it its shape?
The thing is, you can (sort of) exercise the Christian head, heart, and hands all by yourself. But when you start to
consider what the Bible says about the structure of the Christian lifewhat Im calling the skeletonyou find that it
necessarily involves other people. And I mean other people in an authoritative capacity.
Christ has authorized the congregation and its leaders to act with authority in our lives. Thats not a popular idea among
Westerners, but this is the skeleton which keeps the body, otherwise healthy, from slouching to the floor. Its the bowl
which keeps the soup from spilling everywhere. Looking across the evangelical landscape, do you know what I see? A
lot of splattered soup. Oh, its tasty soup, but it has nothing to contain it and the dogs have been licking it up for years.
One illustration of this: consider the stereotypical evangelical youth group. You get gospel teaching. Sometimes gospel
worldview formation. Sincere professions. And heart-felt worship. But theres little formal accountability, structure, and
discipline because the group is not a part of the church. Result: the kids go to college and the majority abandon the faith
or at least live like they have. You can see the splatter.
The real problem is, how many churches operate this way?
That brings us to this episode of the 9Marks Polity is Kool Show. Today we turn to the theme of church membership.
And, boy, do we have a show for you. Several brothers give us a biblical, historical, and sociological look. Several more
of us consider the importance of membership. And then a few more offer wise pastoral advice on implementing
membership in your church.
Also, watch out early next year for a new 9Marks book on membership for your leaders and members.
By Matt Chandler
Is Church Membership
Biblical?
and pure. She knows one home; she guards with chaste modesty the
sanctity of one couch. She keeps us for God. She appoints the sons
whom she has born for the kingdom. Whoever is separated from the
Church and is joined to an adulteress, is separated from the promises
of the Church; nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain to
the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger; he is profane; he is an enemy.
He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for
his mother.
was 28 when I became the pastor of Highland Village First Baptist Church (now known as The Village Church). I had
had a rough go early on in my church experience, and at that time I was not fully out of my disenchanted with the local
church phase.
In all honesty, I wasnt sure at the time that church membership was biblical. Despite that, the Spirit had made it all too
clear that I was going to be pastoring this small church in the suburbs of Dallas. That was one of the many ironies of my
life in those days.
Highland Village First Baptist Church was a seeker-sensitive church in the Willow Creek mold and had no formal
membership process, although they were actively working on one and wanted the new pastors input. I had a strong
understanding of the church universal but wasnt well versedand, as I said, somewhat skepticalabout the church
local. We started growing quickly with young and oftentimes disenchanted 20-somethings who usually had no church
background, or bad church backgrounds. They liked The Village because we were different. This always struck me as
strange because we werent doing anything but preaching and singing.
In conversations with these men and women I began to hear things like The church is corrupt; its just about money and
a pastors ego, or I love Jesus, its the church I have a problem with. My favorite one was, When you organize the
church it loses its power. Although something occasionally resonated in me with these comments (I, along with most of
my generation, have authority and commitment issues), I found them confusing since they were being made to me by
people who were attending the church where I was the pastor.
With conflicts already brewing over other doctrines that I viewed as far more central, I wondered if we should let this
church membership thing slide and come back to it later. I was preparing at the time to preach through the book of
Hebrews and happened to be in chapter 13 when verse 17 leapt off the page: 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.
Two questions occurred to me. First, if there is no biblical requirement to belong a local church, then which leaders
should an individual Christian obey and submit to? Second, and more personally, who will I as a pastor give an account
for?
These two questions started my search for a biblical understanding of the local church, and they began around the ideas
of authority and submission.
Regarding the first question, the Scriptures clearly command Christians to submit to and honor an elder body (Heb.
13:17, 1 Tim. 5:17). If there is no understanding of local church membership, then who are we to submit to and obey? Is
it anyone with the title elder from any church? Should you as a Christian obey and submit to those loons at Westboro
Baptist? In order to obey Scripture, must you picket soldiers funerals, as the pastor of Westboro seems to imply?
Regarding the second question, the Scriptures clearly command an elder body to care for specific people (1 Pet. 5:1-5;
also, Acts 20:29-30). Will I as a pastor be held accountable for all the Christians in the Dallas Metroplex? There are many
churches in Dallas that I have strong theological and philosophical differences with. Will I give account for what they
teach in their small group, how they spend their money, and what they do concerning international missions?
In this text we see criteria for who would or would not qualify for Ephesuss widow care program. The local church in
Ephesus is organized, and they are working out a plan.
We could go on and on here, asking questions about how we could be obedient to the commands of God in 1
Corinthians 12 or Romans 12 if we arent connected to a local covenant community of faith. But to unpack all the
possible texts would require longer than I have for this article.
Gods plan for his church is that we would belong to a local covenant
community of faith. This is for our own protection and maturation, and
for the good of others.
If you view church as some sort of ecclesiological buffet, then you severely limit the likelihood of your growing into
maturity. Growth into godliness can hurt. For instance, as I interact with others in my own local body, my own
slothfulness in zeal is exposed, as is my lack of patience, my prayerlessness, and my hesitancy to associate with the
lowly (Rom. 12:11-16). Yet this interaction also gives me the opportunity to be lovingly confronted by brothers and
sisters who are in the trenches with me, as well as a safe place to confess and repent. But when church is just a place
you attend without ever joining, like an ecclesiological buffet, you just might consider whether youre always leaving
whenever your heart begins to be exposed by the Spirit, and the real work is beginning to happen.
Whats the bottom line? Local church membership is a question of biblical obedience, not personal preference.
ow did a person join a congregation in the earliest days of Christianity? From one perspective, the question is easy
to answer. Simply put, believers baptism was the churchs rite of entry down to the early fourth century.
10
instruct or catechize people in the fundamental affirmations of the Christian creed. The church needed to teach people
about things like Gods creation of the world, and the life of virtue that flows from a true confession. Catechesis thus had
biblical, doctrinal, and moral components.
So, at least by the end of the second century, catechisms and the process of catechizing had developed. For example,
the only other extant writing from Irenaeus is a catechism, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching (early 190s). The
first half of this work details the history of salvation and the second half presents proofs for the truth of Christianity from
the Old Testament.
By the following century, there is clear evidencefor example, in the writings of Hippolytus of Rome (c.170c.236)that
catechizing could take up to three years. And while the person being so instructed, called a catechumen, was regarded
as a Christian, he or she could not receive the Lords Supper until baptism. As the second-century Christian author
Justin Martyr (died c.165) maintained: no one is allowed to partake of the Lords Supper except the one who believes
what we teach to be true, and who has been washedand who lives in exactly the way Christ handed down to us (First
Apology, 66).
During the period of catechesis, there was also a time in which catechumens could ask questions of the instructor, who
was usually a bishop. The late fourth-century authoress Egeria (flourished 381384) noted this when she visited
Jerusalem. She pointed out that the result of this catechizing was that all of the believers in the Jerusalem churches were
able to follow the Scriptures when they were read in the church service. Only with the spread of infant baptism in the fifth
and sixth centuries did this process of Christian catechism undergo decline.
A USABLE PAST
mean for our present-day situation? One thing is clear: many parts of a
biblical, doctrinal, and moral instruction that the early church found
necessary is once more becoming necessary for us.
When we study the past, we must avoid privileging the questions which our own circumstances prompt. The past must
first be understood on its own terms, in relation to the questions that dominated that era. Nevertheless, God has given
us history as a vehicle of instruction (we could draw an analogy, for instance, with Romans 15:4). Thus, the search for a
usable past that sheds light on present circumstances is a legitimate exercise.
What then does the historical investigation undertaken above mean for our present-day situation? One thing is clear:
many parts of a once-Christian West are rapidly being paganized. Thus, the sort of biblical, doctrinal, and moral
instruction that the early church found necessary is once more becoming necessary for us.
As it was in the earliest days of the Christian faith, so it is again: entry into a local church should be by way of catechism,
creed, and baptismand in that order.
11
12
By Ed Roberts
oing theology involves expressing universal biblical constants in ways that are meaningful in a particular context.
Having spent the better part of two decades planting churches in foreign cultures, I could not have avoided this lesson
even if I wanted to. Cross-cultural church planters are continually challenged with the need to teach Christian doctrine
and at the same time urge contextually meaningful and appropriate applications of that doctrine.
How then do we formulate a contextually-sensitive doctrine of local church membership? Thats the question this article
will attempt to answer. Our doctrine of church membership should take us close to a universal biblical constant, but
formulating how that doctrine is lived out culturally and contextually introduces all kinds of particular expressions of the
universal constant.
13
The universal constant is that the local church must know who is
a joiner and who is still an outsider. Cultural concerns guide how that
constant is applied locally.
But in a pioneer, restrictive, or hostile context, the few believers probably all know one another. There may be only one
local church option, a not-so-public gathering in a local home or apartment. Or there might be a network of local
apartment churches. Here, keeping lists of members would be unwise, since it creates an unnecessary risk for the local
body when houses are searched and books and papers are confiscated. Further, there are no disconnected believers
and the borders of the local church are very clear to all. Persecution clarifies the borders even more. When a person is
baptized in such a context, it's very clear (to insiders and some outsiders) that he now belongs to Christ and this local
assembly. Desire for baptism in those contexts is an inherently credible profession of faith. When a believer is chased
from his hometown and must identify with another local underground church, he is usually already known by the
receiving church. News of persecution travels fast. There is usually no need for a written letter of recommendation. To
insist upon one is simply unnecessary.
In a more complex and diverse society where Christianity has been favored and local churches enjoy legal status, written
membership lists and letters of transfer are wise applications of identifiable membership.
14
The universal constant is that the local church must know who is a joiner and who is still an outsider. Cultural concerns
guide how that constant is applied locally.
15
16
BOOK REVIEW:
h dear. I was asked to review this book as a friendly dissenter, but I have struggled to dissent from it. So now I
am worried. Have I missed something? What is it that I am supposed to have objected to? Or what is my reputation that
someone should think I would object to Leemans argument? The title prepares us to be surprised and offended. My
only surprise was that I was not surprised, nor offended! But enough of my angst. I will do my best to take offence later
in this review.
17
Commitment
It begins with a helpful reflection on commitment in our culture. Individualism is not a rejection of community, argues
Leeman, so much as a rejection of authority. Individualism is the attempt to structure my life according to my word.
Church membership, therefore, begins with repentance.
Strange Swipes at People who Emphasize Community
This section is somewhat marred by strange swipes at people who emphasise community. Apparently we are influenced
by communitarian philosophy and liberal theology. I had always thought I was influenced by the Bibles central storyline
of Gods purpose to create a people who will be his people, but apparently not. What makes this strange is that more
than once Leeman expresses his agreement with the importance of community and relationships, and certainly the rest
of the book reflects this, especially his discussion of what church membership involves in the final chapter.
My guess is that the real issue is an emphasis on community as an alternative to an emphasis on the Word. I would
argue that you cannot have one without the other. A community which is not created by the Word is at best a social club
and so does not do justice to a biblical vision of community. And proclaiming the Word outside of true community means
the Word is never spoken to our hearts in the context of everyday life, creating people who are hearers of Gods Word,
but not doers of that Word.
Gods Love
Leeman begins his argument proper with a chapter on Gods love. This is superb and should be required reading for
anyone studying the doctrine of God, let alone anyone with an interest in church discipline. Gods love, argues Leeman,
is more than unconditional gift. True love affirms the beloved. In the case of Gods love, his love centers on himself. He
loves me not because I am lovely (and so from my perspective it is unconditional), but because Christ is lovely and I am
in Christ. All love is likewise oriented to God and the good of the other. So corrective discipline is not unloving, as our
culture assumes, but an expression of true love.
Authority
Chapter 3 moves on to a discussion of authority. Authority, argues Leeman, is the authorization we have from God to
create and give order to life (140). We rightly mistrust authority because sinful people so often misuse it. But Christs
life, death and resurrection present a different model of authority. He is the King who gives his life for his people. The
move I found particularly helpful was Leemans argument that the church is the new reality created by Christs authority.
Therefore, submission to the church as it proclaims Christs Word is where my submission to Christ is exercised in
concrete terms.
Key Biblical Passages on Membership and Discipline
Leeman then considers the key biblical passages (Matthew 16, 18, 28, and to a lesser extent 1 Corinthians 5). Christ, he
concludes, authorizes the local church to proclaim and protect the gospel, to recognize or affirm those who belong to
him, to unite them to itself, to oversee their discipleship, and to exclude any impostors (169). This matters not just for
the sake of church members, but because the church proclaims and displays gospel love.
The New Covenant and Church Covenants
This is followed by a chapter on covenants which, I must confess, lost me somewhat. It consists of an exposition of the
New Covenant and its relation to the Old. So far, so good. But this appears to be constructed as an argument for church
covenants. Leeman talks of a covenant-like commitment that believers make towards one another in the local
churchthough it is clear that his preference is for written church covenants (without the -like). Yet he distinguishes
18
church covenants from the New Covenant. Perhaps the argument is simply that membership is covenant-like and this is
what covenants look like, but Leeman seems to be suggesting something more than this.
Application
The final two chapters move to application. Again, there is much to commend. The discussion of how context affects the
practice of membership is handled wellthose tempted to skip the three cases studies in chapter six would be well
advised not to do so. A number of What about questions are handled well. The short discussion on the nature of
Christian freedom is worth the purchase price in itself. And the section on how membership means giving ourselves (and
not just of ourselves) physically, socially, affectionately, financially, vocationally, ethically and spiritually would be great
to read with members of your church. I was particularly challenged by his argument that resignation from membership
can only be by mutual consent. It cannot be used to pre-empt church discipline or avoid reconciliation. If someone
attempts to resign in order to escape discipline, then the church should enact church discipline in any case.
TWO HESITATIONS
I have two hesitations about the book. They are both issues of emphasis rather than argument and in both cases they
reflect a concern that the book does not go far enough.
Baptism and the Lords Supper vs. Classes, Covenants, and Lists
First, the theological sections speak of baptism as the initial act of joining the church and communion as the ongoing act
of belonging to the church. But in the practical chapters, this emphasis disappears and is replaced by an emphasis on
membership covenants, membership lists, and membership classes. We are told such things are not required by
Scripture, but they are clearly preferred by Leeman (the prose is suddenly littered with the words prudent and
prudential).
I have no objection to classes, covenants or lists. But they are non-biblical categories. Leeman concedes this, though
keeps saying the New Testament strongly implies their use. But the clear New Testament categories are baptism and the
Lords Supper. Your membership roll is the people who partake of the Lords Supper together. If you want to write their
names down on a list then so be it, but let the definition be shaped by the table. Church discipline in the New Testament
is not taking someone off a list, but excluding someone from the table. If your church is so big that you cannot name the
people who routinely participate in the Lords Supper, then it is hard to see how effective discipline can take place. If you
cope with numbers by discipling people through some kind of small groups, then make this the context for the Lords
Supper and for church discipline.
This helps with another concern that Leeman highlights. He criticizes the belonging before believing rubric. In our
church, we encourage people to involve their unbelieving friends into the life of the community because this is where
people see how we love one another (John 13:34-35) and where they see the gospel adorned. They are therefore
encouraged to belong to the community in the sense of sharing in its common life. But their need to belong to Christ
and his people is regularly enactednot by their exclusion from a list in a drawer somewhere, but publicly, whenever we
share the Lords Supper. It allows us to create a culture that welcomes unbelievers into our common life without
compromising the call for faith and repentance.
Needs More on the Countless Acts of Love and Discipline
Second, Leeman says that discipleship works through countless acts of love and discipline, both formative and
corrective (312). This is the one area where I think he needed to elaborate more. I recognize that criticizing a book for
what it does not say is often a cheap shota book cannot be expected to say everything. But I believe that countless
acts of discipline are central to Leemans stated intent. Church discipline is much more than excommunication and the
19
processes leading up to it. Indeed, excommunication often arises because the countless acts of corrective discipline
have not been taking place. Sin and unbelief go unchallenged until the situation is beyond recovery. Exhort one another
every day that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13). We need churches in which
rebuke and exhortation are normal, expected and welcome. I am sure Leeman would agree, but I would argue that this is
where we need to begin if we are going to create the disciplined churches Leeman rightly desires.
20
21
By Al Jackson
Meaningless Church
Membership:
An SBC Perspective
W
hat do Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Bill Clinton and Al Gore have in common? If you answer, All four have been
members of Southern Baptist churches, you move to the head of the class.
These four individuals are found in the branch of Christianity that also includes Al Mohler, Mike Huckabee, Bobby
Bowden, and Billy Graham, among others. Our Southern Baptist churches include their share of prominent personalities.
Some bring honor to our denomination. Others bring dishonor.
22
discipline them. Actually, our lack of discipline reveals our lack of love
for these people who give little or no evidence of the new birth.
It is common for a man or woman to join a Southern Baptist church, but then to stop participating in worship and
fellowshipsometimes for decades. Yet when the church says or does nothing, the individual continues to believe he or
she is saved. This is the case because of our refusal to obey God in the matter of discipline.
We often say that we love inactive members too much to discipline them. Actually, our lack of discipline reveals our lack
of love for these people who give little or no evidence of the new birth. Many such people are under the just
condemnation of a holy God. This is the greatest and most grievous consequence of allowing them to maintain church
membership without church involvement.
It Harms Our Gospel Witness
Second, the fact that so many Southern Baptists live in open disobedience to Gods commands and have little
involvement with their fellow members greatly harms our denominations gospel witness.
Hypocrisy within our churches is common, and Southern Baptist churches almost universally fail to practice church
discipline. As a result, Christs bride is stained and soiled when she should be progressing toward radiance, holiness,
and blamelessness.
Church history professor Tom Nettles has said that holiness should pave the way for evangelism. In other words, the
holy lives of a congregation should undergird its gospel witness. Those who proclaim the gospel of Gods saving grace
in Christ Jesus should be able to point to an assembly of believers who are new creations in Christ.
Sadly, many lost men and women have been able to point to their own moral superiority when comparing themselves
with the immoral and deceitful lives of church members. As a result, they feel justified for not trusting in Christ.
It Makes for Some Ugly Business Meetings
23
Third, meaningless church membership periodically reveals its ugly face at church business meetings.
The typical Southern Baptist congregational meeting is characterized by routine motions and decisions. However,
occasionally, when the Spirit begins to move in God-glorifying ways, unregenerate church members who havent been
seen for years suddenly appear at business meetings. The result is not pretty. God-glorifying initiatives are halted, and
godly pastors are often voted out. The occasions on which this has happened are too numerous to count.
It Hinders our Missionary Efforts
Fourth, meaningless membership in Southern Baptist churches hinders our efforts to declare Gods glory to the nations.
Yes, it is true that we have the largest number of missionaries worldwide of any American denomination. Our 5,000
International Mission Board missionaries span the globe. Yet this translates to one missionary for every nine Southern
Baptist churches. In light of the Bibles clear teaching on missions, is it unrealistic to think that every church should have
a least one missionary serving internationally? More than 30,000 Southern Baptist churches have no missionary from
their ranks. How can this be? Where is the passion to declare Gods glory among the nations?
Consider one other missionary statistic: Southern Baptists gave approximately $150 million last year to the Lottie Moon
Christmas Offering for International Missions. Southern Baptists tend to take some satisfaction in knowing that the Lottie
Moon Offering is the largest missionary offering in the two thousand year history of Christianity. But do the math and
divide $150 million by 16 million Southern Baptists. You get less than $10 per Baptist. Apparently, obeying Jesus last
command to go and make disciples of all nations means very little to many.
Baptists are many but were not muchis as true today as it was
then.
24
By Jonathan Leeman
1. ts biblical. Jesus established the local church and all the apostles did their ministry through it. The Christian life in
the New Testament is church life. Christians today should expect and desire the same.
2. The church is its members. To be a church in the New Testament is to be one of its members (read through Acts).
And you want to be part of the church because thats who Jesus came to rescue and reconcile to himself.
3. Its a pre-requisite for the Lords Supper. The Lords Supper is a meal for the gathered church, that is, for members
(see 1 Cor. 11:20, 33). And you want to take the Lords Supper. Its the team jersey which makes the church team
visible to the nations.
4. Its how to officially represent Jesus. Membership is the churchs affirmation that you are a citizen of Christs
kingdom and therefore a card-carrying Jesus Representative before the nations. And you want to be an official Jesus
Representative. Closely related to this
5. Its how to declare ones highest allegiance. Your membership on the team, which becomes visible when you wear
the jersey, is a public testimony that your highest allegiance belongs to Jesus. Trials and persecution may come, but
your only words are, I am with Jesus.
25
6. Its how to embody and experience biblical images. Its within the accountability structures of the local church that
Christians live out or embody what it means to be the body of Christ, the temple of the Spirit, the family of God,
and so on for all the biblical metaphors (see 1 Cor. 12). And you want to experience the interconnectivity of his body, the
spiritual fullness of his temple, and the safety and intimacy and shared identity of his family.
7. Its how to serve other Christians. Membership helps you to know which Christians on Planet Earth you are
specifically responsible to love, serve, warn, and encourage. It enables you to fulfill your biblical responsibilities to
Christs body (for example, see Eph. 4:11-16; 25-32).
8. Its how to follow Christian leaders. Membership helps you to know which Christian leaders on Planet Earth you are
called to obey and follow. Again, it allows you to fulfill your biblical responsibility to them (see Heb. 13:7; 17).
9. It helps Christian leaders lead. Membership lets Christian leaders know which Christians on Planet Earth they will
give an account for (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2).
10. It enables church discipline. It gives you the biblically prescribed place to participate in the work of church
discipline responsibly, wisely, and lovingly (1 Cor. 5).
11. It gives structure to the Christian life. It places an individual Christians claim to obey and follow Jesus into a
real-life setting where authority is actually exercised over us (see John 14:15; 1 John 2:19; 4:20-21).
12. It builds a witness and invites the nations. Membership puts the alternative rule of Christ on display for the
watching universe (see Matt. 5:13; John 13:34-35; Eph. 3:10; 1 Peter 2:9-12). The very boundaries which are drawn
around the membership of a church yields a society of people which invites the nations to something better.
26
By John Folmar
Implementing Membership in
an Existing Church
H
The seasoned couple wanted to begin serving that very dayhosting small groups, leading Bible studies,
anything. Encouraged by their enthusiasm, I simply urged them to continue coming along and getting to know the
church better. The fact is, new attenders shouldnt be serving the church in any official ways, from serving coffee to
volunteering with childcare.
This isnt because were mean or unwelcoming. Its because we believe the most important question that should
confront a new person attending any church is this: Where do you stand with God? Have you been forgiven of your sins
and adopted into his family? Until you address these issues, your service in the church may simply distract you from
these most important questions.
27
care for them? Is it just those people who happened to appear at our weekly gatherings? Hebrews 13:17 says we will
give an account for the flock entrusted to us. Thus, its important to know who they are.
This is why my church began to observe formal church membership six years ago. By establishing membership, the
elders could know and care for the flock entrusted to them.
28
Through a steady diet of expositional preaching, point out church discipline in the New Testament (see, for example, Gal.
6:1-2, 2 Thess. 3:6-15, 1 Tim. 5:19-20, Tit. 3:10-11, Jude 22-23, etc.). Eventually people may wonder why they havent
seen discipline in their church lately. Church discipline is the clearest evidence in the Bible for church membership (for
example, Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5; also 2 Cor. 2:6).
A church is an identifiable group of believers who are self-consciously committed to each other. Their lives are not
perfect, but by Gods grace they are substantially, observably different from the world around them. As you underscore
what it means to be Gods holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9), membership will begin to make more sense.
4. Make corporate application in your sermons.
Dont only apply Scripture to individual believers. Ask people to consider what a passage says to the church as a whole.
Over time this will affect their orientation toward community and covenantal responsibility one with another.
5. Spread this vision among elders and other leaders.
Hand out Mark Devers brief booklet A Display of Gods Glory to up-and-coming leaders in your church. If your leaders
prefer comedy, try Mike McKinleys Church Planting is for Wimps. Talk them through the arguments for a biblically
ordered congregation.
6. Model robust community in your own life.
Make your life a microcosm of the strong corporate community you desire to see in your church. Be hospitable. Go to
lunch with men who are responding to your ministry. Begin to build a core community that recognizes the value of
accountability and fellowship. Start small, and be patient and prayerful in your interactions with others.
7. Pray that God would enrich the relationships in your church so that membership would make sense.
Without genuine Christian community, membership is just a shell. We are dependent on the Holy Spirit to create the
brotherly affection and maintain the unity which membership so beautifully displays. Be much in prayer for the fellowship
and relationships in your church. Encourage spiritual conversations. As relationships deepen in your church, confession
of sin and correction will become more normal.
8. Implement a church covenant to highlight corporate responsibility.
A covenant is a promise each member makes to love and care for the church. And it specifies the obligations believers
have to one another. If your church is more than 50 years old, you may already have a covenant lying around in storage
somewhere. Dust it off and re-introduce it to your church, but only after youve taught on the concepts at length. If you
dont have one, consider this one.
In order to make sure the covenant is actually a living document in your church, recite it together before the Lords
Supper or members meetings. True membership is comprised of those who have self-consciously covenanted with
others in your church. Without a covenant and membership, your church may be just a preaching point.
9. Prepare for objections.
Objection #1: Weve never done this before.
Answer: Allow the Bible, not tradition, to establish what you do in church. Consider the prevalence of church discipline in
the New Testament (e.g., Matt. 18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5, 2 Cor. 2:6). If one can be put out of an identifiable assembly, one can
also be put in. Thats membership. And the New Testament assumes that all Christians are members of churches.
29
loads the most important questions. The screening process and the
pastoral contact are vital for the church.
Answer: An elders fundamental calling is not to administer programs but to Keep watch over yourselves and all the
flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (Acts 20:28). What could be more integral to such a calling than
seeing new members in and old members out?
30
should allow the process of church membership to cause us to examine our faith because the question Am I really a
Christian? is one of the most important questions we can ever face.
31
By Mike McKinley
Implementing Membership
in a Church Plant
I
ts hard to know when and how a church plant should establish a formal membership.
At their inception, most church plants are not able to act as fully functioning congregations. In the absence of formal
church membership, the church cannot exercise church discipline or administer the Lords Supper or baptism in a
biblical way. So planters should feel a burden to establish membership as soon as its doable.
But what does it look like to move from a start-up to a congregation with membership?
32
Second, establishing church membership increases the accountability among the congregation and between the
congregation and the leadership.
Membership requires commitment, and it clarifies in biblical terms what it means to be a part of the church. When
someone moves from being a visitor to a member, they are promising to love and care and pray for the other people in
the church.
Membership also enables planters to know who they are responsible to care for and oversee. And it enables planters to
hold people accountable to their commitments.
3.
Third, establishing church membership enables the church to fulfill all its biblical responsibilities.
Without church membership, baptism and the Lords Supper lose an important part of their meaning (baptism as the
means of entrance into the covenant community and the Lords Supper as the sign of ongoing participation in that
community). In addition, commands like Hebrews 13:17 (Obey your leaders) and 1 Corinthians 5:13 (Purge the
immoral person from among you) can only be obeyed when the you of the church is clearly defined.
33
2.
Though no church has unanimous agreement on every doctrinal issue, a congregation should have a baseline of
consensus on essential issues such as the gospel, the Scriptures, the nature of the church, and the nature of the
Christian life. It is important not to wait too long before establishing a statement of faith, because you may find it difficult
to achieve a consensus once the church is larger.
At the least, you should make your doctrinal convictions widely known from the outset of the plant. For example, if you
are a Baptist, and you know that when the church constitutes it will be a Baptist church, its good to make that clear
from the beginning. I would suggest that you take your trendy new church name and affix the word Baptist to it, giving
you something like Kairos Baptist Church. Otherwise, you might wind up in a bait and switch situation where people
have become involved in the life of the congregation but may not be able to join it because of doctrinal differences.
Also, I would recommend using a statement of faith that has stood the test of time rather than writing your own from
scratch. It shouldnt be hard to find one that will fit the bill. If you cant find one that works for you, you are probably
either a heretic or just one of those people (if you catch my drift). You wife can probably help you determine which.
3.
A church covenant is an agreement that defines the responsibilities and privileges of membership. While it is not
absolutely necessary to have a formal document that outlines these things, there is a reason why churches have
benefited from spelling out these responsibilities in advance. At the very least, the new members of the church will need
to know what is expected of them.
4.
While few things are as boring as church bylaws, it is helpful to have them in place when you institute church
membership in your plant. In this way, the means of taking in and removing members in clearly established. It is also a
good idea to establish at the outset how leaders will be recognized and how decisions will be made by the membership.
As a planter, you will need to decide which of these four things you need before you are comfortable establishing church
membership. Once you have those things in place, you should move forward.
CONCLUSION
Church membership may not seem very important at the outset of a church plant. But at some point in the process, the
congregation will need to know who they are, so that they can fulfill the biblical commands for the church.
34
By Thabiti Anyabwile
ne practical challenge that we as pastors face is how to encourage a church attender toward active church
membership. How should we help individuals understand the necessity and joy of belonging to a local assembly of
believers?
Imagine inviting a visitor to have dinner with you and your family on Saturday afternoon. The visitor arrives, expecting to
meet your wife and children, but then you lead him or her through the home asking everyone their name and whether
theyre visitors too or whether they live there. The so-called introduction to your family completely falsifies the claim to
being family.
Likewise, when we speak of belonging to a local church, we ought to have in mind belonging to a particular family of
peoplereal, known, and loved people. Were inviting an attender to become a part of this living, breathing family. Our
invitation has faces and names. If we know those faces, names, and lives, then well be better able to introduce the
attender to the family.
35
36
37
services to more intentional discussions over meals. If we are patient and thoughtful in those conversations, we may
shepherd the attender through pains, disappointments, questions, and fears toward committed belonging. The aim is not
to win a membership argument, but to practically love the person in word and deed until the Lord grants light and love.
6. Encourage the attender to settle at another local church if not your own.
Finally, we must remember that the Lord has other faithful pastors and congregations. We should rejoice in that fact.
Were not in competition with those churches, but partners with them in the gospel.
From time to time we may encounter an attender whose objections to joining our church appear insurmountable.
Perhaps he disagrees with us about some important doctrine or practice. Or maybe she lives closer to another faithful
congregation and can be more actively involved there. In those cases, helping such people move from attender to
member might involve helping them join a local church other than our own.
This can be emotional for some peopleespecially those whove developed an attachment to the church but have never
joined. Such situations require pastoral patience and empathy. But we do this for the good of the attender, desiring what
we know God demands of him or heractive membershipwhich is better by far. Were trying to promote the gospel,
not our own churches. Were trying to grow Christians, not our membership rolls. Sometimes that means helping people
join elsewhere while we continue to shepherd the flock God has placed under our care (1 Pet. 5:1-4).
CONCLUSION
Its tempting for pastors to feel inconvenienced by those believers who attend but seem never to join. We can be
frustrated when things that seem basic to us are neglected by others. We have to guard our hearts against impatience
and self-righteousness. While we give the bulk of our time to our members because we are accountable for them in a
greater way, the attenders at our church need our ministry, too. Moving people from attendance to membership is an
opportunity to love. In a real sense, it is the ministry.
38
By Terry Johnson
ears ago I attended a Sunday night service at one of the largest and most prestigious evangelical churches in
Southern California. Attendance in the evenings had begun to wane in recent years, so a more informal approach was
being tested. The college pastor was leading the service. After the opening exercises he had us all stand, turn 90
degrees, and give the person next to us a standing back massage.
It was a bit disorienting to be giving back massages in such a grand sanctuary, right there in the pews. But there was
more. He then directed us to turn to the persons on either side of us, look into their eyes, and say, I love you. If
anything, this was even more awkward than the backrub.
REGULATED WORSHIP
The regulative principle addresses what the church may do when it assembles. Churches are not free to do whatever
they want to do, they must do what Scripture instructs and requires them to do. When the church gathers to worship, its
worship is to be according to Scripture.
Reformed Protestants traditionally have argued that Scripture requires a limited number of elements: reading Scripture,
preaching, prayer, sung praise, the administration of the sacraments, and oaths (e.g. WCF, XXI, XXII). However, they
allowed considerable freedom respecting the form a given element might take (e.g. written vs. extemporaneous prayers)
and the circumstances within which the service takes place (time of service, seating arrangement, means of voice
projections, lighting, etc., WCF I.6).
look into their eyes, and say, I love you. If anything, this was even
39
Historically a well-regulated service meant that Reformed Protestants knew pretty well what would happen in church
each week. There would be few surprises. No one would be asked to do anything strange. Those leading the services
wouldnt do anything embarrassing. The Word would be read, preached, sung, prayed, and the sacraments would be
administered. No dog and pony shows. No pyrotechnics. No one rambling about. The service consisted of the serious
application of the Word of God.
This was good, because members are required to be at services. Attendance is a duty of membership. Since members
have to attend, they should only be required to do what God requires them to do.
may require them to do only that which Scripture requires that they
do.
For instance, it may not require that worshipers bow to the east, genuflect, cross themselves, or wear ashes on their
foreheads. It may not require ministers to wear vestments, surplices, cassocks, stoles, and other garments that imply a
priestly clergy. It may not subject congregations to incense, extra-biblical readings, exorcisms, anointings, ceremonies,
rituals, or anything not authorized by Scripture. Not back massages. Not I love you rituals.
40
Since church members are a captive audience, church officials may require them to do only that which Scripture
requires that they do.
Thus not only are the consciences of believers free from the imposition of humanly devised ordinances, but the
sensibilities of believers are free from the bad taste of well-intending and foolish church officials. The regulative principle,
properly applied, means that church members are free from the threats of idolatry and weirdness, heresy and
tomfoolery.
CONCLUSION
Just as the regulative principle simplifies the worship of the church, its companion doctrine of church power simplifies
the life of the church. Recognizing that Jesus has authorized the church to do some things and not others helps to shift
our focus away from endless cant miss retreats and conferences and seminars; away from countless mid-week Bible
studies, prayer groups, accountability groups, discipleship groups, and support groups; and back to the ordinary means
of grace exercised in the ordinary services of the church on the Lords Day. It frees believers to stay home, love their
spouses, rear their children, and serve their neighbors.
The regulative principle is the great emancipator of the Christian life: from humanly devised ceremonies, however
ancient; from bizarre novelties, however modern; and from hyper-active church calendars, however well-meaning.
Pity that so many have seen it as limiting. In fact, it liberates.
41
42
43
By Matt Schmucker
hough I hear stories from church leaders around the country almost every day, I was still stunned by the following
email from a faithful deacon in a Baptist church:
"I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with you regarding cleaning up the church roll. I began compiling a list
of widows from our membership database yesterday and found that of the 141 total widows in our database, 38
were deceased and 4 had transferred membership to other churches (not counting the ones who are classified
as "Inactive" or "Non-Resident Members)."
You can just imagine how the late-night talk show hosts would poke fun at this: "Did you hear about the thirty-eight dead
members of Faith Alive Baptist Church? Talk about the need to change the churchs name!" This might be funny if it did
not characterize churches around our nation and others.
Bad records and outdated rolls trouble any faithful pastors existence. Yet before you sweep things clean, consider both
why and how this should be done.
You can just imagine how the late-night talk show hosts would
poke fun at this: "Did you hear about the thirty-eight dead members of
Faith Alive Baptist Church? Talk about the need to change the
churchs name!" This might be funny if it did not characterize churches
around our nation and others.Why should churches clean up their
membership roles?
1. Christs name and honor is at stake in the world. Think about the Apostle Pauls passionate concern for who was
associated with the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 5).
2. Membership in a church should reflect, as best as possible, membership in Christs Kingdom. We should neither
receive nor dismiss members lightly. "Dropping someone from the rolls" should be treated with utmost care, even if the
member himself has been careless.
44
3. Pastors, elders, and leaders will "give an account" to God someday for their shepherding (Heb. 13:17). God took
Israels shepherds to task for repeated unfaithfulness (e.g. Ezek. 34).
4. Congregations will also give an account to God for how they receive members. Consider who Paul addressed in 1
Corinthians 5!
5. Less mature Christians are at risk of being confused about the importance of the church in the growing Christians life
and could be led toward complacency themselves.
6. The member who has moved out of the area should be encouraged to link arms with a church in his new hometown
and make himself known to believers there. If he does not, his former church should encourage him to do so by letter or
phone. If he remains unresponsive, the church should inform him that they will remove his name in the next members
meeting, thereby sending the message that they can no longer account for his life.
Once again, out of love for your people, do not clean the roles
more quickly than your congregation can handle. For some, this may
take years to work through the different rings.
3. Absent and disinterested members. Our church had dozens of members who we found but who wanted nothing to do
with us. We found one woman in Germany who had become a Unitarian and was upset that we contacted her.
4. Members out of the area. These are people who are unable to attend on a regular basis due to distance, and any
meaningful accountability is near-impossible. You will no doubt encounter people who have a wrong understanding of
membership in this group: "Ive held my membership in that church since I sang in the Junior Choir in 1959" or "I walked
45
the aisle in that church in 1970, and I promised my mother I would remain a faithful member." Despite their emotional
attachment to your church, this group needs to be taught a right understanding of church membership. Remember
pastor, you will give an account for these individuals. Dont be caught with names on your rolls of people whom you
have never met. Make a motion to remove these individuals "for non-attendance" at your next business meeting.
5. Non-attending members in the area. Certainly weve reached one of the toughest circles. These people want to
maintain their membership and they can attend; but they want little to do with the church. This circle is often difficult
because of the relationships these individuals maintain with attending members. Maybe its a grown child or an old friend
from the choir. Again, teaching is required and movement must be slow.
These first five categories are the biggest and most obvious targets. There are other categories like "attends, but wont
sign the statement of faith" or "in the area, but cannot attend." Old age or an infirmity might prevent a member from
attending; they should not be dismissed, but specially cared for! Also, we encourage special charity toward elderly
members who have moved out of the area and into retirement homes. Why? They often grew up with a different
understanding of church membership and are unlikely to change. Out of love, consider allowing them to remain on the
rolls.
Once again, out of love for your people, do not clean the roles more quickly than your congregation can handle. For
some, this may take years to work through the different rings. Churches are too often divided over careless pastoral
exercises when the goal should be unity. Remember, each listing on your roll is more than a name; its a soul.
46
Resources on Church
Membership
I
f youre looking for some more practical resources on church membership, here are a few suggestions.
First, check out our Answers for Pastors on membership. Here youll find quick answers to questions such as:
Is church membership biblical?
Where do we see church membership in the New Testament?
According to Scripture, why should every Christian join a church?
What is meaningful membership?
How can I lead my church toward meaningful membership?
What should be required of someone in order to join a church?
Is church membership wrongly exclusive?
Must someone be a church member before being allowed to serve?
If youre thinking through your churchs membership process, check out Capitol Hill Baptist Churchs Membership
Matters class. Youre welcome to use and adapt this material for free.
If you want to dig deeper into the theological foundations of membership, check out Jonathan Leemans book The
Church and the Surprising Offense of Gods Love (Crossway, 2010). Also keep an eye out for a new, shorter book from
9Marks on membership in early 2012.
And here are some audio resources that address church membership:
The Surprising Offense of Gods Love: Church Membership with Jonathan Leeman
Membership and Congregationalism with Mark Dever
The Meaning of Membership with Mark Dever
47
By Owen Strachan
A Review Essay:
The Next Christians
Gabe Lyons, The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America. Doubleday, 2010. 240
pages. $19.99
abe Lyonss The Next Christians is a bold, fresh piece of evangelical strategy. Lyons is a well-known Christian
cultural guru, the creator of the Fermi Project. Hes made the letter Q coolan impressive accomplishmentthrough Q
Ideas, a kind of TED conference for the post-emergent crowd which looks to Scot McKnight, N. T. Wright, Brian
McLaren and others for its theological freight.1 Those who know Gabe, as I do, consider him to be a gracious, reflective,
and forward-thinking man who desires to be faithful to Christ and his call.
The Next Christians, published with a major secular press, is intended to make a major impact. It comes highly
commended, even in the exclamation point-happy world of book blurbs. Margaret Feinberg labels it The best book
youll read this year. Scot McKnight testifies that If I had to pick one leader for the next generation of Christians, it
would be Gabe Lyons.
This 230 page book is jam-packed with critical reflection on modern Christianity. I know Gabe to be a humble man,
though his text is ambitious and freighted with concern for American evangelicalism in our day. Two major ideas thread
their way through the text. First, Christian America is dead. He learned this by visiting Europe and Montreat, North
Carolina:
My trip to Europe and Montreat seemed to represent the two ends of our current situation. In Montreat, I met
with an icon from Christianitys past who recognizes how the faith is presently shifting. In Europe, I seemingly
caught a glimpse of Americas more secular future. Positioned between these poles was the empirical research
we had commissioned and the hundreds of conversations with a new generation of Christian leaders. Each
situation echoed the sentiment that many Christians have lost confidence in their faith. Our movement, as a
whole, was quickly declining in the West.2
48
The second major idea is that there is another, better way for Christians to choose in this confusing situation. Lyons
suggests a focus on restoration for those concerned by the post-Christian state of America:
After observing cultural trends, collecting data, and having hundreds of conversations with Christian leaders, I
see a new way forward. There is a whole movement of Christiansevangelicals, mainline Protestants, Orthodox,
Pentecostals, and othersasking these same questions and offering meaningful answers [to what it means to
be Christian today]. They want to be a force for restoration in a broken world even as we proclaim the Christian
Gospel. They want the label Christian to mean something good, intelligent, authentic, true, and beautiful.3
This language of seeing a new way forward based on a drive to restore and renew reappears throughout the book. As
we confront the possibilities that tomorrow may hold, our author says, I invite you to not only study the facts. I urge
you to reenvision your faith.4 According to Lyons, the consequences of failing to heed the restorative call are grave: I
believe this moment is unlike any other time in history. Its uniqueness demands an original response. If we fail to offer a
different way forward, we risk losing entire generations to apathy and cynicism.5
While I will register disagreements with Lyons in what follows, I commend his attempt to be faithful and creative in
working toward this end. Past evangelicals have not always steered clear of a nominal Christianity, and it is true that
poorly preached Christianity yields anemic faith. As one can see, Lyons wishes to help the church find its footing in a
confusing age. He wants to be a part of the solution, and toward that end he offers The Next Christians. We now
proceed to ask several high-level questions of the texts content. As well see, there is room for agreement and
disagreement in the answers Lyons provides to these questions.
49
glorious biblical truth. However, it is the salvation of sinners that occupies the center of this restoring work, not the other
way around. It is not the renewed creation, after all, that is the point of Gods redeeming work; it is the fact that his
blood-bought people will live and rule with him in a world of love.8 What Lyons calls the truncated gospel is the
gospel the scriptural authors proclaim.9 The gospel is a simple message. It has expansive and explosive implications, but
it is simple and salvifically oriented at its core.
Lyons is onto something, I think, because believers who recognize the conversionist nature of the gospel do not need to
struggle to see that the gospel frees them for service. It is joyfully true that atonement brings shalom as Graham Cole
has argued in his recent book God the Peacemaker.10 But this is different from arguing that the gospel is about cultural
restoration.
If we could push this discussion a bit further to a related quandary, there is not one category in the life of faith for gospel
and another for kingdom. We dont have a gospel team that preaches and a kingdom team that does mercy ministry.
The biblical gospel is the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14).11 All that we do as citizens of Gods kingdom
points to the transformative spiritual restoration carried out by the covenant Lord in order that a mass of perdition might
become a multitude of praise. To fix a decaying neighborhood, to tutor underprivileged students, to show kindness to
disabled people, and to make soul-stirring artall these can and very definitely do give glory to God when done with a
doxological heart. But these realities do not point to an abstract work of restoration. Rather, they testify to the power of
the cross, the death and resurrection of Christ, which clears the guilty and enfranchises them to serve as bearers of the
word of salvation in a thousand different spheres.
50
world.13 The point of Colossians 1 is what Christ has done. The closest it comes to discussing what we must do are
Pauls words about proclaiming the mystery of what Christ has done (Col. 1:28).14
Now, Paul says that one of the goals of his proclamation is to present believers mature in Christ, which, no doubt,
might include the types of things Lyons is after. Still, the text simply doesnt say that, because its not about that. Its
about Christs work. If Lyons still wants to insist that Paul means to imply all this, then he should take us to the text
which says so.
The danger here is assuming that Christians are responsible to do everything which Christ himself has accomplished and
will accomplish. First, we are not responsible to do everything he is responsible to do, such as die for sins or render
judgment on the nations. Second, we are not responsible to do what will only be accomplished at the end of history,
such as restoring the Edenic balance to nature when the wolf will lie down with the lamb (Isa. 11:6). The mistake of
equating Christs work with ours might seem harmless when someone is calling us to recycle, but its hardly harmless
when we begin to envision Christ as conqueror. Werent the Crusades justified at least in part by deducing a Christians
conquering work from Christs promise to conquer? No, Im not saying Lyons is responsible for the Crusades. I am
saying that we need to be very careful about drawing implications about the churchs mission out of texts that are about
Christs work. Lyons is rightly trying to understand the stratospheric nature of Christs redemption, but we need as much
exegetical and theological care on this point as we do on other scriptural themes.
51
Even as we recognize that Jesus is the one who said in John 3:36 that Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, we
know that he followed that with this: whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on
him.
The same is true of Paul, whom Lyons reads as an engager:
Apart from Jesus, a better example hardly exists for the restoration-minded Christian than Pauls. Not only did
he show up and engagehe showed compassion and grace to anyone who would listen. It appears his desire
for people to be restored to Christ overcame any urges to be offended by their sin.17
Both Jesus and Paul surely reached out to sinners with compassion. Paul is a model for us in our interactions with lost
people. But Lyonss effort to compel Christians to be provoked, not offended, and to ground this call in the example of
these men needs a bit of filling out. Paul was certainly offended by Peters separation from supposedly unclean
Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-13); he was offended by the sin of homosexuality and denounced it at length (Rom. 1); and more than
being offended, he was deeply angered by sexual immorality in the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 6). Paul had great concern
for holiness and so must we. Our first task as Christians is to present ourselves holy to the Lord through the power of the
Holy Spirit (1 Pet. 1:16). We will do well in some cases to avoid projecting an external sense of being offended by the
sins of the lost, as such is the natural outworking of our depraved natures, and so Lyons has a point here. His
understanding of Jesus and Paul, however, needs more substantive biblical engagement.
52
I appreciate an attempt to infuse daily Christian living with purpose. Many of us could use such a shot in the arm.
Furthermore, I do think that Lyons is right to some extent: churches can make it seem like the only meaningful Christian
activity is evangelism. That, to be frank, is not true.
But I do have some small quibbles with Lyonss language on this point. Can we really sum up the work of the church as
recorded in the book of Acts with the tagline Go tell others how to escape planet earth? Were the apostles bored by
sharing the gospel with people otherwise doomed to judgment? After Jesus ascended to heaven, did they loll about,
drinking iced tea, eating crab cakes, and growing discouraged over the lack of things to do? Did they find the gospel
boring, lounging in Jerusalem like some preteens outside of Hot Topic?
The Scripture says that the apostles turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6) in their tireless effort to share the good
news that the sin of man had met its match in the blood of Christ. In the apostolic age, when the gospel was loosed in
order to fulfill the Great Commission, awe came upon every soul (Acts 2:43) and the people of God were rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name (Acts 5:41). This is but the smallest sampling of the sense of
delight and privilege the early Christians felt in carrying out their evangelistic charge (from Matt. 28:16-20). Those who
understood the gospel and its significance were electrified by it, catalyzed to risk their lives for it, and mobilized to follow
their Lord into death if the spread of the gospel required it.
The passionate evangelism of the apostles and other disciples was driven by a clarion understanding of the wrath of God
and the prospect of eternal torment in hell for every unrepentant sinner. This reality is not boring or vocationally
deadening. In some circles, though, it is fast becoming as pass today as it was with liberal Christians of past
generations. We shouldnt think that evangelism is the only thing we can do to glorify Godwe glorify him by changing
diapers, in Martin Luthers famous phrase. We also shouldnt think that evangelism is boring. It certainly is not, and
neither are its effects.
53
owner of textile mills. The Clapham Sect and its protagonist, William Wilberforce, were supported by numerous English
philanthropists.22 The Tappan brothers single-handedly funded a substantial portion of the evangelical abolitionist cause
in the 19th century. Moody Bible Institute was founded by the largesse of Henry Parsons Crowell, the man who also
gave us Quaker Oats. Evangelical history is littered with gospel-minded Christians who used their wealth for noble ends,
just as the apostles were supported by rich Christiansa point in favor of managing wealth wisely, not despising it (or
spiritualizing poverty, on the other hand).
Evangelicals have historically showed great generosity to the needy. Douglas Sweeney has spoken to the benevolence
of Jonathan Edwards, pointing out that Edwards never made a show of it, but he loved to help the poor. In addition to
speaking about it from the pulpit, Edwards, in the words of his pupil Samuel Hopkins, practisd it in private to such an
extent that Hopkins judged that his Alms-deedsif known, would prove him to be as great an Instance of Charity as
any that can be produced in this Age.23 The theology of Edwards included a hugely influential and largely unknown idea
called disinterested benevolence that helped spawn what historians call the benevolent empire of the nineteenth
century in which countless Christians, imbued with a love for God and his gospel, gave their time and money to what
were called benevolent societies. This movement, profiled by Martin Marty, was one of the biggest cultural phenomena
of the nineteenth century.24 The National Association of Evangelicals, formed in 1942 and helmed by Harold Ockenga,
included a substantial social outreach component.25 Even the much-maligned fundamentalists of the twentieth century
devoted considerable time and attention to mercy ministry, as Joel Carpenter has shown.26 This trend continues into the
present and recent past. Jerry Falwell, whose death signaled for Lyons the death of Christian America, founded a
thriving, wide-ranging, and virtually unpublicized ministry to unwed pregnant mothers called the Liberty Godparent
Home, among other ventures.
I have listed a motley crew of examples, but the point seems worth pondering: the traditional gospel has not stifled
philanthropy, creativity, and cultural involvement. In diverse places and times, Christians of a wide range of
backgrounds, denominations and locations have sought, as an outworking of their gospel belief, to be salt and light in
this fallen world (Matt. 5:13-16). Perhaps further engagement with the many highlights and heroes, however flawed, of
the Christian past is warranted.
54
Christians to penetrate every level of society and to be involved to the extent they can in politics, entertainment, mercy
work, business, and journalism. It is a great thing to make beautiful, God-glorifying art. It would be terrific for more
Christians to have a robust view of their work and calling, for film producers to plot about how to make movies that
profoundly move the viewer, for Manhattan ad executives to bring their faith to bear on their work, for community
members to stand up for the voiceless folks in their neighborhood.
Lyons and many others have a heart for just this kind of work, and I love that heart. However, as I have argued
throughout this essay, I would urge exegetical and theological caution on this point. We need to avoid conflating our
doctrine of salvation with our doctrine of vocation. All that Christians do to glorify their Lord is a part our Christian
mission, yes; but not all that Christians do is the most important part of that mission.
Let us say, though, that Christians of differing perspectives on this issue can easily fall into a gospel vs. culture
dichotomy in which we favor either proclamation or action to the exclusion of the other. Too often, we seem to end up
on one team or the other. But those who rightly prioritize the mission of proclamation must not end up as enemies of all
activities and vocations save biblical preaching. On the other hand, those who enjoy the necessary work of cultural
engagement must not lose their sense of the importance of gospel proclamation.
What we need in a postmodern age is the historic gospel, however ironic that may be. It is this message, guarded by
centuries of Christians in diverse places and times in fulfillment of 2 Timothy 1, that is the answer for our cultural
moment. We dont need a reworked newness, but a freshly grasped oldness, a message of salvation with ancient bones
and trans-cultural, trans-temporal significance.
While we need always to consider attempts to think freshly and creatively about the gospel, we must also remember that
the euangelion is at its core a moral, spiritual and legal message. It does not come to us as a static proposition; rather, it
55
announces to us that we have a crisis on our hands, a crisis of the worst kind, for God requires perfect righteousness
and we have none. While we come to Christ from diverse backgrounds and experiences, at some level every sinner
must, like Luther, recognize this awful situation. The wrath of God is at our backs. It will consume us if we do not
discover a perfect righteousness, alien to us, but freely offered in the cross of Christ.
Jesus atoning death and triumphant resurrection sent shockwaves throughout the created order in a thousand glorious
ways, reshaping the existing order from its very foundations and overturning myriad effects of the curse. We should work
to understand and appreciate these benefits even as we remember that the work of Christ solves the central crisis
before us, our righteousness crisis.27 Like Luther, once driven to the brink of madness by his lack of holiness, we are
freed as Russ Moore has shown to exult in the cross-work of Jesus and to scream the Abba, father cry of the adopted
sinner.28 The God-man has triumphed over sin and death and enabled His people to escape wrath and to receive the
righteousness of Christ.
Though the world has changed and the church is challenged today, the need of the next Christians is that of past
Christians: a fresh vision of the majestic Lord who has, through the work of Christ announced in his gospel, justified the
ungodly.
56
57
58
BOOK REVIEW:
re evangelicals being distracted by mission creep? That is, are we allowing lots of other good things to creep in and
crowd out the central task Jesus sends the church into the world to do?
On the one hand, the rising groundswell of interest in social and cultural engagement among many evangelicals likely
reflects the flowering of a robust biblical view of creation and the Bibles command to love our neighbor. And many
Christians are engaging these issues in a way that keeps the message of the gospel front and center in their lives and in
the lives of local churches.
On the other hand, many voices insist that if the church as church is not engaging (insert favored social problem or
cultural activity here), then its not fulfilling its mission. Such critics assert that evangelical churches are too preoccupied
with member maintenance to pay attention to the real mission of Jesus among the poor, in the inner cities, and in the
places where culture is made.
A whole lot of theological issues are wrapped up in this question: the definition of the gospel, the distinction between the
church as a gathered institution and the church as a scattered organism, the nature of the inaugurated kingdom of
God and its implications for the present age, and, not least, the contours and scope of the mission Jesus gives to his
church.
59
60
church as an institution. This is a crucial theological guardrail for preserving the churchs faithfulness to our Masters
marching orders.
points out that this is how we must fulfill the Great Commission
because thisthe local churchis the means Jesus established for
carrying out his mission on earth.
Hortons theological work on gospel and kingdom is clarifying and pointedly edifying. Moreover, he glories in the
inauguration of the kingdom of God and the hope of the restoration of all things while carefully guarding against an overrealized eschatology. Further, his massive emphasis on the centrality of the institutional church in fulfilling the Great
Commission is a much-needed rallying cry. He muscles out room for the church as institution and then points out that
this is how we must fulfill the Great Commission because thisthe local churchis the means Jesus established for
carrying out his mission on earth. And Horton carefully deprograms several common misconceptions that keep
evangelicals from rightly understanding and carrying out the Great Commission. Among these are a consumeristic
understanding of contextualization (114-132), the idea that we live the gospel (266-285), the claim that the institutional
dimensions of the church are inimical to mission (285-290), and a misconstrual of the relationship between the church
and the kingdom (290-293).
I have to register a few representative disagreements for the sake of conscience, but these by no means vitiate the
books value. At times, Hortons claims about what is representatively evangelical strike me as somewhat tendentious.
I was not persuaded by his polemic for infant baptism. I dont think he gets the Sabbath and the Lords Day quite right.
And Id raise questions about some of his language about the sacraments.
But in all of this, I appreciate that Horton is fleshing out a biblical vision for mission in the muscles and ligaments of the
institutional church. Horton is dead right that the local church is at the heart of the Great Commission, and that the Great
Commission provides us with the message, mandate, and methods that Christ has ordained for his continuing mission
in the world (20). I hope that Hortons example of fleshing out this churchly vision for mission within his own convictional
and confessional framework will inspire many evangelicals to do the same.
This book is theologically rich, carefully critical, and it throbs with a missionary heartbeat. Reading it will both instruct
and inspire you to go and make disciples of all nations.
61
BOOK REVIEW:
f there is one thing we all know that God expects of us as Christians, its that we ought to share the gospel with those
who dont know Christ. Evangelical Christians are evangelistic. Its maybe the only thing self-proclaimed evangelicals
agree on: God wants us to tell others about Jesus.
Yet think for a moment. Can you give me a text that commands Christians to evangelize the lost? Okay, you got
Matthew 28:18-20, but keep your Bible closed and see if you can come up with another. The promise to Abraham to
bless the whole world through him doesnt count. Neither do the worship scenes in Revelation 5 and 7. I want verses
that do more than show Gods heart for the nations or his promise to make the nations glad in God. I want texts which
show that Gods people should be pursuing the nations with the good news of the gospel.
Keep thinking.
Keep thinking.
Its not as easy as it sounds to come up with texts on evangelism. I should clarify. Its very easy to come up with texts
that show Paul (or one of the apostles) as an evangelist, but not as simple to demonstrate that Paul expected the early
Christian communities to evangelize. Thats why Plummers book Pauls Understanding of the Churchs Mission is such
an important book.
62
AN OVERVIEW
In Chapter 1 Plummer surveys the scholarly field, placing various authors into one of four categories: 1) pre-1950
continuity, 2) pre-1950 discontinuity, 3) 1950-present discontinuity, 4) 1950-present continuity. Continuity in this scheme
means the scholars argue or assume that Paul expected his churches to evangelize; discontinuity means that the apostle
did not expect the early Christian communities to evangelize as he did.
In the earlier period of continuity we find scholars like Roland Allen and Adolf von Harnack. Pre-1950 discontinuity
scholars include Ernest Renan and William Wrede.
W.P. Bowers, David Bosch, and John Dickson (an Australian apologist who has written a number of popular, lay-level
books on mission related themes) are among the later scholars who argue that Paul did not expect local congregations
to evangelize.
In the last category (more recent arguments for continuity), Plummer examines several familiar names, including Peter T.
OBrien, I. Howard Marshall, Eckhard J. Schnabel, and G.K. Beale.
Plummers conclusion from the scholarly field is that there is no consensus, so we must give careful attention to the
biblical text.
In Chapter 2 Plummer argues that Pauls gospel was a dynamic entity that propelled him (as an apostle) and the
churches (as gospel-created and gospel-empowered entities) into the further spread of Gods word (67). In other words,
it is the nature of the gospel as a powerful force to go forth in mission. Plummer sees evidence of this dynamic gospel in
texts like 1 Corinthians 14:36, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Timothy 2:8-9, and Colossians 1:5-7.
More to the point, Plummer shows how the word of God, once received, then advances through those who received it.
This was especially evident in the Thessalonian church where the word was at work in the believers (1 Thess. 2:13-16),
the word was running ahead (2 Thess. 3:1), and the word was ringing and sounding forth (1 Thess. 1:8). Plummer makes
a convincing case that this language indicates evangelistic activity.
Chapter 3 is the most helpful section. Here Plummer examines specific, largely overlooked texts in which Paul tells his
churches to proclaim the gospel.
Philippians 1:12-18 suggests that Paul anticipated Christ being proclaimed in every way by the church in Philippi.
63
The shoes (part of the armor of God) in Ephesians 6:15 should make the believers ready to proclaim the gospel of
peace (NRSV).
1 Corinthians 4:16 exhorts the early church to imitate Pauls openness to suffer as a result of proclaiming the foolishness
of the cross.
Similarly, 1 Corinthians 11:1 calls Christians to imitate the Apostle in his salvific concern for outsiders.
We also see evidence that the Corinthians were to be concerned for the salvation of nonbelievers in 1 Corinthians 7:1216 and 14:23-25.
Besides these examples of actively sharing the gospel, several texts show how the early churches were to passively
bear witness to Christ. Texts such as 2 Corinthians 6:3-7, 1 Thessalonians 2:5-12, and Titus 2:1-10 demonstrate that all
the various segments of the Christian community are to live praiseworthy livesnot simply for the sake of obeying God,
but also because their behavior will commend or detract from the gospel (104-5).
convincing case that Paul did in fact expect the early Christian
communities to evangelize. This may seem obvious to most
evangelicals, but it is important we see this conclusion backed by
solid scholarship.
In Chapter 4 Plummer offers incidental evidence to support the claims made in Chapters 2 and 3. He points to three
other facets of the apostolic mission that were to be replicated in the life of the church.
1. Miracles. Signs and wonders would serve a dual purpose of strengthening Christians and attracting the notice of
outsiders.
2. Prayer. Paul prayed for non-believers (Rom. 10:1), gave thanks for churches missionary activity (Phil. 1:3-5; 1 Thess.
1:2-8), and prayed about his congregations relationship with outsiders (1 Thess. 3:12). These sorts of prayers were to
continue in the churches themselves.
3. Teaching and building. Pauls expansive missionary vision did not end with frontier evangelism but spilled over in the
edifying of the churches he planted. This is another example of apostolic mission that was expected to be replicated in
the early church.
Finally, Plummer wraps things up with conclusions and implications in Chapter 5. After a summary of the ground already
covered, Plummer offers this final advice to todays church:
Just like the ancient churches that Paul addressed, modern churches should be active in proclaiming the gospel,
suffering for the gospel, authenticating the gospel by their behavior, confirming the gospel through miracles,
building-up the church, and praying for missions and the church. (144)
Amen and amen.
64
65
BOOK REVIEW:
40 Questions About
Interpreting the Bible
Robert Plummer. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible. Grand Rapids, Kregel, 2010. 352 pages. $17.99
or many people, reading the Bible can feel like getting lost in the woods, rather than taking a pleasant guided tour
along a well-marked trail. Thankfully, Robert Plummers new book 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible provides a
reliable trail map for understanding and applying all of Scripture.
As the title suggests, this book features forty key questions concerning the topic of biblical interpretation, along with
Plummers succinct answers. The author helpfully grouped the forty questions into four parts: (1) Getting Started: Text,
Canon, and Translation; (2) Approaching the Bible Generally; (3) Approaching Specific Texts; and (4) Issues in Recent
Discussion. These four parts of the book are like a series of well-placed information booths positioned along the trail in a
national park.
66
Booth 2A (interpretation) contains 6 pamphlets that address (1) why interpretation is important, (2) how it has been done
throughout church history, (3 and 4) what some general interpretive principles are, (5) how to improve at interpreting the
Bible, and (6) what tools are helpful for interpreting the Bible.
Booth 2B (meaning) contains 7 more pamphlets on big questions like (1) who determines meaning, (2) if there is only one
meaning per text, (3) the role of the Spirit in determining meaning, (4) the overall message of the Bible, (5) if the Bible is
really all about Jesus, (6) if all the commands still apply today, and (7) why there is so much disagreement about what
the Bible means.
The hiker now begins the longest leg of the journey (100 pages). The pamphlets in booth 3 are like pamphlets that you
stick in your back pocket and pull out as you encounter various sights along the way (i.e., different literary genres). The
questions here naturally subdivide into three sections: 3A (genres found in both the OT and the NT), 3B (genres found
primarily in the OT), and 3C (genres found primarily in the NT).
Booth 3A has 7 pamphlets. The first covers how to interpret literary genre and why it matters, while 2 to 7 give guidelines
for interpreting (2) historical narrative, (3) prophecy in general, (4) typological prophecy, (5) apocalyptic literature, (6)
exaggerated language, and (7) figures of speech.
Booth 3B has four OT pamphlets dealing with how to interpret (1) proverbs, (2) poetry, (3) psalms in terms of
classification, and (4) psalms in terms of interpretive principles, while booth 3C has four NT pamphlets covering (1) the
history of interpreting parables, (2) general guidelines for parables, (3) the structure and nature of letters, and (4) general
guidelines for letters.
When the traveler reaches the end of the trail, they find one last booth. Booth 4 (Part 4) contains informational pamphlets
that discuss recent trends and issues raised by other travelers like (1) what the Bible says about the future, (2) what
biblical criticism is, (3) what speech act theory is, (4) what the Theological Interpretation of Scripture is, and (5) other
recent trends in biblical interpretation.
REQUIRED READING
This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the Scriptures. First, it is extremely wellwritten. Bruce Wares endorsement on the back cover is right on target: how appropriate that this book on
understanding the Bible is itself eminently understandable, crystal clear, and thoroughly engaging.
Second, the book has a helpful and intuitive format. The question and answer structure of Kregels 40 Questions series
honors an important principle: people often read books because they have specific questions that they want answered.
We could call this the pamphlet principle. Someone who wanted to read this book as a whole would undoubtedly attain
a more comprehensive understanding of how to interpret the Bible, but others who want to investigate specific issues
will also be well served.
As someone who teaches biblical interpretation at the seminary level, I have given this book my highest endorsement by
adopting it as a textbook for my class. It is not my main text because the condensed nature of the question and answer
67
format sometimes means that the book does not provide enough detailed help on specific issues, especially for
seminary students. Thus, Plummers book should be accompanied by the works of others like Klein, Blomberg, and
Hubbards Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Thomas Nelson, 2004) which shine in ways that this book does not.
I hope that its easy to see why this books strengths are important to me as a seminary teacher: I want students
studying for the ministry of the Word to understand the Word! But my endorsement runs deeper. I have also found that
its important to provide people with models that exemplify what you want them to learn. This book is a sterling example
of how to answer specific questions clearly and succinctly, which is something all who teach the Bible must learn to do
well.
68
BOOK REVIEW:
n the last several years, many evangelical Christians have begun to take two vital institutions more seriously: the family
and the local church. Yet what would happen if, instead of seeing these two institutions as partners, we began to pit one
against the other? Hard to imagine.
Nevertheless, it is happening. This is the primary reason why John Crotts, pastor of Faith Bible Church in Sharpsburg,
Georgia, wrote Loving the Church: Gods People Flourishing in Gods Family.
69
Through his fictional dialogue, Crotts addresses some of the questions that Christians who neglect the church most
commonly ask about the church. Further, Crotts highlights some key aspects of the church, such as Christs headship,
the authority of Gods Word, elders, deacons, and the role that each Christian is to play (ch. 5).
Section two applies section ones biblical arguments in order to help the reader understand how to act upon what Gods
Word has revealed. Though the authors focus is on families, every chapter can easily be applied to an individual
Christian.
This section is practical and accessible. It accurately lays out how Christian families should see the local church as not
only central in Gods plan for them, but also as a tremendous benefit, not a burden, to them. Through many helpful
illustrations, Crotts shows how it is a benefit to a Christian and their family to submit to Christ and his plan for the church
(ch. 7), to allow pastors/elders to teach and shepherd them (ch. 8), to serve alongside deacons (ch. 9), and to embrace
the fellowship and accountability that every Christian needs in order to walk faithfully with Christ (ch. 10).
70
This book speaks a piercing word to pastors. It reminds us of the biblical standard to which God calls us. And it reminds
us why we must continue in faithfulness to that standard, for the sake of our own family as well as the local church that
has been entrusted to us (1 Tim. 3:4-5).
71