Service Required
As a pastor I don’t do drive by weddings. Now you’re thinking, “What is a drive by wedding?” A drive by wedding is when someone calls you up and says something like, “Hey pastor, I want to marry my girlfriend and was wondering if you were busy next Saturday?” Marriage is a major commitment and should be treated as such. I have a firm conviction that it is a commitment of until death do us part. Since I have such firm convictions when it comes to marriage I will only marry a couple when they agree to sit down with me and undergo several weeks of premarital counseling, regardless of who they are, how old or young they may be, or how long I’ve been their friend, family member, or pastor. If they expect me to do their wedding, they will undergo this premarital counseling, or they will have to find someone else to perform their wedding.
In the same way I believe that church membership is a major commitment. Marriage and family is certainly a higher calling and a greater commitment. Unlike marriage, people may have to move away or God may call them to different churches. Therefore, church membership doesn’t have the, until death do us part, commitment. However, it is a commitment that should be taken very seriously and valued with high regard. When people move or are called away their membership and commitment should be given to the new local church they become involved with.
In the same way that I do not do drive by weddings, I do not allow drive by church membership. In other words, I do not allow someone to simply walk down an aisle and say, “I want to become a member.” At the church I pastor we require everyone to go through a church membership class. If they go through the class they can decide not to become a member but if they don’t go through the class they cannot become a member. Every single member of our church has gone through our membership class.
In our churches membership class we first let them know who we are as a church. We are an evangelistic, mission minded church that is actively involved in missions, locally and globally, and that we are actively involved in evangelism and outreach in our own community. We are an Acts 1:8 church. We let them know that our heart as a church is to see people saved and the saved grow to be servants of the Most High God.
We then let them know what they should expect from us as a church. They should expect us to be there for them, to minister to them, train them, equip them, walk with them, and hold them accountable. We let them know that they are not in their Christian walk alone, that they are fully accepted as an equal and that they are more than just members, they are family.
After we let them know who we are and what they should expect from us as a church we let them know that we have very clear expectations from our members. We have many high expectations of which I will not take the time to get into. However, one of those expectations is service. We fully expect our church members, all of them, to serve the Lord within the realm of their gifting and calling. We also fully expect every member of our church to be actively involved in our church sponsored missions and outreach. Along with them being actively involved with their personal calling and our church sponsored missions and outreach we fully expect every single one of our members to be an active witness for the Lord. We obviously know that everyone is at a different stage in their walk with the Lord. However, we make it clear that if they are not fulfilling these biblically based requirements they are not in right standing with God and are therefore not in right standing with the church.
Nowhere in the bible do we see God calling Sunday morning saints or mediocre members. God has called all His children into fully dedicated service. Just as marriage and family is not easy, church membership should not be easy. However, just as in marriage and family the rewards for the labor far outweigh the hard work that is required. The fact is our easy do nothing church membership is killing our churches. As a result of our family chapels and our community clubhouses with a sign outside that says church we have allowed the lost to go to hell and the church become irrelevant.
When we assert these biblical requirements on the church, we will make those who are not active feel uncomfortable. Some will then leave Church. Although some who aren’t contributing to the church may leave, when the church starts being the church the kingdom of God will grow. The question we must answer is do we want to appease men or honor God? I choose to stand for what God stands for and honor God. After all, it’s His church, not ours. Since the church is God’s house we must play by His rules. Rusty Kuhn
In the same way I believe that church membership is a major commitment. Marriage and family is certainly a higher calling and a greater commitment. Unlike marriage, people may have to move away or God may call them to different churches. Therefore, church membership doesn’t have the, until death do us part, commitment. However, it is a commitment that should be taken very seriously and valued with high regard. When people move or are called away their membership and commitment should be given to the new local church they become involved with.
In the same way that I do not do drive by weddings, I do not allow drive by church membership. In other words, I do not allow someone to simply walk down an aisle and say, “I want to become a member.” At the church I pastor we require everyone to go through a church membership class. If they go through the class they can decide not to become a member but if they don’t go through the class they cannot become a member. Every single member of our church has gone through our membership class.
In our churches membership class we first let them know who we are as a church. We are an evangelistic, mission minded church that is actively involved in missions, locally and globally, and that we are actively involved in evangelism and outreach in our own community. We are an Acts 1:8 church. We let them know that our heart as a church is to see people saved and the saved grow to be servants of the Most High God.
We then let them know what they should expect from us as a church. They should expect us to be there for them, to minister to them, train them, equip them, walk with them, and hold them accountable. We let them know that they are not in their Christian walk alone, that they are fully accepted as an equal and that they are more than just members, they are family.
After we let them know who we are and what they should expect from us as a church we let them know that we have very clear expectations from our members. We have many high expectations of which I will not take the time to get into. However, one of those expectations is service. We fully expect our church members, all of them, to serve the Lord within the realm of their gifting and calling. We also fully expect every member of our church to be actively involved in our church sponsored missions and outreach. Along with them being actively involved with their personal calling and our church sponsored missions and outreach we fully expect every single one of our members to be an active witness for the Lord. We obviously know that everyone is at a different stage in their walk with the Lord. However, we make it clear that if they are not fulfilling these biblically based requirements they are not in right standing with God and are therefore not in right standing with the church.
Nowhere in the bible do we see God calling Sunday morning saints or mediocre members. God has called all His children into fully dedicated service. Just as marriage and family is not easy, church membership should not be easy. However, just as in marriage and family the rewards for the labor far outweigh the hard work that is required. The fact is our easy do nothing church membership is killing our churches. As a result of our family chapels and our community clubhouses with a sign outside that says church we have allowed the lost to go to hell and the church become irrelevant.
When we assert these biblical requirements on the church, we will make those who are not active feel uncomfortable. Some will then leave Church. Although some who aren’t contributing to the church may leave, when the church starts being the church the kingdom of God will grow. The question we must answer is do we want to appease men or honor God? I choose to stand for what God stands for and honor God. After all, it’s His church, not ours. Since the church is God’s house we must play by His rules. Rusty Kuhn
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