A Church Discipline Primer
By
What would you think of a coach who instructs his players but never drills them? Or a math teacher who explains the lesson but never corrects her students’ mistakes? Or a doctor who talks about health but ignores cancer?
You would probably say that all of them are doing half their job. Athletic training requires instructing and drilling. Teaching requires explaining and correcting. Doctoring requires encouraging health and fighting disease. Right?
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By Biblical Church Growth I Thessalonians 3:12-4:12
By
Toledo Reformed Theological Conference
27 April 2002
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Church Membership and the NCLHGA
By
What a Biblical Understanding of Church Membership and the NCLHGA Have in Common
In our previous article, we traced the theme of inclusion and exclusion throughout redemptive history. From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem, God promises to create a people for himself. This new people should be distinct from the rest of the world, both in their confession and in their conduct. Ultimately, we concluded that church membership was consistent with how God has worked through redemption history.
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Class II: Church Membership
By Jamie Dunlop
I. INTRODUCTION
Good morning and welcome! This is the second class in a thirteen-week course on living together as a church. This morning, we will consider the idea of church membership and how it facilitates unity within the church. Before we begin, let's pray.
Church Membership—Why Bother?
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Class IX: Church Discipline
By Jamie Dunlop
A central theme running through this course has been the tension between God's grand purpose for the church and our own sin. God intends the church to be the manifestation of his glory on earth, and yet we are sinful, selfish people. Therefore, much of what we've discussed has focused on how we can live together in God-glorifying love and unity.
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Church Membership in a World Without NASCAR
In our previous two articles on the topic of church membership, we saw the biblical support for the modern practice of local church membership. In this article, we will look at how some of our spiritual fathers thought about church membership.
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Wanted: Plotting and Provoking Church Members
By Greg Gilbert
If you’re like most pastors, the last thing you want to hear about is church members who, by all appearances, are continually plotting against unity in the church body. Whatever board they sit on, whatever class they teach, whatever friendships they have, they seem to provoke others to discontentedness, complaining, even bickering.
You might be surprised to learn that the book of Hebrews calls for church members to continually plot and provoke in the church body. It calls them to plot and provoke for good!
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The Power of Example
“Example is not the main thing in life—it is the only thing.” Through that sentence, the famous medical missionary and author, Albert Schweitzer, stated clearly the importance and power of example. How many of us reading this, have been influenced by the powerful life of some pastor, elder or other Christian that we saw early in our lives. If I mention “a faithful pastor,” whose image crops up in your mind? If I mention “a faithful Christian,” who do you think of?
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