Evangelical Untouchables 4
Here is my latest installment for the Internet Monk’s Evangelical Untouchables series…the main article can be found here.
The Question -
Many evangelicals are abandoning the practice of formal church membership. What is your feeling about the practice of formally joining the local church? How do you relate your church’s practice to the mission of the church?
My Answer -
The only church I’ve ever been a part of that practiced formal membership was the Conservative Baptist Church, where I came to Christ as a teenager.
Calvary Chapel as a whole does not embrace the practice of church membership. I think there may be a few Calvary Chapels that have instituted the practice but by in large it’s not part of our tradition or ecclesiology.
For our church locally I think we have always seen church membership as something that happens on a spiritual level, we are baptized into one body (1 Cor. 12:12ff) and any effort to duplicate that falls short of the intended goal. Obviously church membership does not equate salvation, so the motivation generally falls under the category of discipleship. For which I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever. If the leadership of a local church believes that they can best fulfill the Great Commission by practicing formal membership then they would be sinful not to do it. Transversely if a church institutes or perpetuates membership so that they can obligate people to attend, serve, and give more faithfully I think they are traveling down a slippery slope.
I want people to identify with Jesus first and foremost. We are in fact Christians, which means that our identity should never be with “Calvary Chapel” or any other denomination. That being said the absence of formal membership does not insulate a church from this isolationist paradigm. My movement has been very guilty of turning its nose up at other Christian groups and that is a shame. Therefore in light of this desire to simply identify with Jesus and no man or group we have chosen not to adopt the practice of formal membership, and it hasn’t been a hindrance any in of the above areas of concern.
However in light of the Bible’s ambiguity regarding the subject I believe that each individual church needs to hear from God as to what practice will help them best achieve the mission of the local church.
Our mission at Calvary Chapel in Prineville, OR has been to make disciples of Jesus; to inform people that the kingdom of God has come near (Luke 10:11) and to allow the Holy Spirit to revolutionize lives with the power of the gospel. In keeping with that mission we want to bring broken people to His kingdom, which is far bigger than what we’re doing here. We are dedicated to pointing sinners to Jesus and allowing Him to covenant with them individually from which will flow a spontaneous response of faithfulness in the local church.
Here is an article that is related to the subject.
Piper on Death
I read this blog post from John Piper and I thought I would pass it along.
“CHRISTIAN:
Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me?
I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. Let me ask you a question, Death.
Where is your sting?
DEATH, sneeringly:
My sting is your sin.
CHRISTIAN:
I know that, Death. But that’s not what I asked you. I asked, where is your sting? I know what it is. But tell me where it is.
Why are you fidgeting, Death? Why are you looking away? Why are you turning to go? Wait, Death, you have not answered my question. Where is your sting?
Where is, my sin?
What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer?
O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that tree. God made Christ to be sin—my sin. When he died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more.
Farewell, Death. You need not show up here again to frighten me. God will tell you when to come next time. And when you come, you will be his servant. For me, you will have no sting.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)”
Evangelical Untouchables
Michael Spencer who blogs at Internet Monk is going to write a series of articles about the Evangelical Church and I am going to be writing from the Calvary Chapel perspective. His desire is to give people a glimspe of what is going on in different corners of the Church by allowing pastors from different flavors of Christianity to describe what they and their churches are doing to further the Kingdom and spread the gospel.
Why Pastors Should Blog
I recently came across this article written by Abraham Piper.
It’s 6 reasons pastors should blog…good insight.
Monday, Monday
I am totally stoked about our current series in the book of Luke.
Yesterday we looked at 5:12-32 and God’s plan of redemption. If you are interested in listening to or reading the notes from it or any of our messages in Luke click here.
Soon and very soon I will be switching my blog url to www.smalltownpreacher.com
I hope to have this site point to that one for a while and then phase this one out completely. If you have any insight about switching wordpress sites to private hosting please pass it on.
I’ve just spent the last few hours writing the text for the back of our bulletins. It’s funny the last time we made bulletins I forgot about the text for the back until the last minute and I ended up writing it in about 5 minutes at midnight to make the deadline before printing.
Here is the text (more…)
Tom Stipe Interview
(This picture may be a little old…kind of like Realtor’s pictures on their business cards)
Michael Newnham of the Phoenix Preacher recently interviewed Tom Stipe, a Calvary Chapel Pastor with whom I deeply respect. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Tom at the NWPC and what a privilege that was. Tom is intelligent, funny, and humble. Three things that pastors typically aren’t…wait I’m a pastor 
Tom is a great man and a voice that I wish more men in our movement would tune in to.
You can read the interview on the PP here…or I’ve included it below as well.
The Proper Focus
As most of you know I’ve been involved in what you might call a “blog blowup” over the last few weeks. My article called “What Are We Afraid Of?” was read thousands of times and commented on hundreds of times on various blogs around the internet.
Despite my article being misconstrued and blown completely out of proportion by some I truly believe that it will cause others to evaluate their own ministries and why they do what they do and say what they say. As I’ve stated in a few subsequent posts my heart was not to throw the movement that I love under the bus but to simply challenge pastors to hear from Jesus and not any man.
That brings me to the point of this post…yep Jesus.
In Colossians 1:17-18 Paul declares,
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.“
I’m currently teaching through Colossians on Sunday mornings and Paul’s main point in that letter is to focus the believers in Colosse upon Jesus. They were getting sucked into false teaching by weirdos who believed they had a deeper knowledge. The Gnostics, as a group, don’t exist anymore but their doctrines and proclivities live on today repackaged to appeal to this generation.
It is super easy for us to lose sight of Jesus. To make something else the focus of our life. You don’t realize it initially. Then the reality of our error hits us one day and we realize, “I’ve been focused on the wrong things”
Whatever side of this whole “What Are We Afraid Of?” blog war (or shall we call it a misunderstanding) you’ve fallen on I want us to refocus our attention upon Jesus and His amazing love.
We all have families to pour into…wives to love…husbands to submit to (I had to throw that in there) …children to love on. Many of us have churches to pastor…whether big or small those people that call us their pastor need Jesus and not some impostor. Are we pointing our people to Jesus? Do people leave each week reminded of what Jesus did for them or are they constantly being told what they need to do for Him?
Where is our focus? Who is preeminent in our lives and ministries? If it isn’t Jesus then something else will take His place. Maybe it’s our undying devotion to a movement or a man. It could just as easily be our unquenchable hatred for the same movement or man.
I love to write and will continue to do so candidly as the Lord leads. But my primary focus must be Jesus or I will have nothing to offer any of the people who look to me as their leader.
The Oasis
Michael Newnham of the Phoenix Preacher did an article about a ministry to the homeless and needy, that we oversee here in Prineville, called The Oasis.
Thank you Michael for taking the time and space on your blog to give some props to this important ministry.
You can read the article here
Blogging
I’ve always been an avid reader (I remember reading something like 200 books in 2nd grade). I’ve enjoyed writing since I was kid. I’ve always wanted to write a book. But since that isn’t going to happen anytime soon I’m getting my fix through blogging.