Membership
Church Planting in the Same Building
By Matthew Spandler-Davison | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017Our church was getting full, and we knew we needed to do something. So, we planted a church . . . in the same building.
Lessons Learned from Church-Planting by Peaceable Division
By Colin Clark | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017Our three-year old church had 84 members. In order to plant a church, we split in half.
Church Mergers and Tolerable Irregularities
By Brad Wheeler | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017When should two churches merge despite the differences—and when should they stay separate precisely because of their differences?
What I Learned from Two Failed Church Mergers
By Matthew Cunningham | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017I’ve attempted to lead our church toward two church mergers, but neither have worked out. Here’s what I’ve learned.
You Can’t Plant a Church If You Don’t Know What a Church Is
By Nathan Knight | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.19.2017Ecclesiology can’t be assumed nor should it be considered a distraction to the church planter’s “mission.”
The Danger of “Church Shopping”
By Brett McCracken | 06.12.2017When a church becomes less about the demands of Scripture on our lives and more about our demands on the church to fit our preferences, it loses its power to transform us and subvert our idols.
Episode 17: On How to Receive and Dismiss Members
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 06.06.2017One of the most important and time-consuming tasks for a church and its pastors involves receiving and releasing members. And yet, it’s almost never talked about in books on the church or in seminary.
Mailbag #62: How to Encourage Attendance at Members’ Meetings; The Relationship between Baptism & Church Membership
By Jonathan Leeman | 05.19.2017— Could you provide some wisdom for how to handle situations where members are consistently neglectful of attending members’ meetings? — I understand that baptism should precede church membership. But must membership always follow baptism?
Why You Will Join the Wrong Church
By Sam Emadi | 05.15.2017Personal relationships were never meant to serve as the foundation for our sense of church commitment.
Mailbag #59: Two Questions on “Re-Baptism”; The Importance of a Church’s Architecture
By Jonathan Leeman | 04.14.2017— What are some of the pastoral principles, pitfalls, and guidelines when dealing with church members who doubt their baptism took place after their conversion? — A church member wants his daughter to be baptized twice, in two different churches. How should I respond? — As a church considers planting or revitalizing, how much should they take into account a building’s architecture?
Episode 7: How to Leave Your Church Well
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 03.28.2017Jonathan chats with Mark about good and bad reasons to leave a church, and offers principles for leaving well once the decision has been made.
Mailbag #56: Voting for a Pro-Choice Candidate; What Makes a “True” Church?
By Jonathan Leeman | 03.17.2017— Is it okay to tell my church members, “You should never vote for a pro-abortion candidate”? — Would you say churches that don’t practice membership or discipline are not true churches?
Church Membership and Prescriptive Implication
By Sean DeMars | 03.16.2017How can I say Christians ought to do something if the Bible doesn’t explicitly say that they should?
Mailbag #55: Explaining the “Care List”; When a Member Marries a Non-Christian
By Jonathan Leeman | 03.10.2017— Can you explain your church’s “care list”? — Does marrying an unbeliever warrant church discipline?
Mailbag #53: Women Voting in Congregational Meetings; Pastoral Oversight and Youth Ministry
By Jonathan Leeman | 02.24.2017— Does women voting in congregational gatherings violate 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14? — How should children’s ministry relate to pastoral oversight?
