Membership
A Sample Statement on Regular Church Attendance
By Garrett Kell | 09.01.2015Faithful attendance honors Christ and builds up His church. Non-attendance moves in the other direction. It makes light of His name and harms His church in many ways and for many reasons.
Congregationalism Doesn’t Stop at 8 p.m.
By C. Greggsen, S. Emadi | 08.26.2015When you reduce congregationalism down to just members’ meetings, you deprive yourself of much of the blessing the Lord intends to grant his church through good polity.
Mailbag #13: Baptism before Communion; Moderating Members’ Meetings; Cooperating with Other Churches in Church Discipline; How to Transition to Elders and Deacons
By Jonathan Leeman | 08.24.2015—Is the Lord’s Supper only for those who have been baptized? —Who should moderate members’ meetings? —What do you do when someone wants to join your church, but they’ve been disciplined by another church? —How does a church transition to elders and deacons?
Book Review: Disciple Making Is . . ., by Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey
Review by Adam Embry | 08.12.2015Earley and Dempsey offer a helpful book on discipleship that will excite and challenge church leaders to obey Jesus Christ and be on mission in fulfilling his Great Commission.
Mailbag #11—Why “Disowning” Family Members Isn’t an Option; Term Limits for Elders; Expedited Church Discipline; Can I Leave My Family’s Church?
By Jonathan Leeman | 08.07.2015—How should I treat my unrepentant father-in-law? —Should elders have term limits? —Is there ever a case where church discipline should be done immediately? —Can I leave the church I grew up in?
Mailbag #10—Lord’s Supper in Nursing Home; Christians Dating a Non-Christian; Role of Small Group Leaders; New Pastor in Need of Help
By Jonathan Leeman | 07.31.2015Lord’s Supper in Nursing Home » Christians Dating a Non-Christian » Role of Small Group Leaders » New Pastor in Need of Help » Mike, We get some version of … keep reading…
Book Review: The Prodigal Church, by Jared C. Wilson
Review by Alex Duke | 07.29.2015The Prodigal Church is more than just a demolition project. Atop the wreckage left by pragmatism and consumerism, Wilson attempts to rebuild scaffolding with different, yet more durable materials. In this, the book succeeds, though not perfectly.
A Conversation about Church Revitalization with Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 07.23.2015The more we reduce ministry to business, the more pastors are convinced to think like CEOs and less like shepherds.
Stop Launching Churches! Instead, Covenant Together
By Nathan Knight | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 07.17.2015I think we should stop talking about “launching” new church plants and instead refer to them “covenanting” for the first time.
Adopting and Choosing a Statement of Faith
By Will McCartney | 07.15.2015Not having a statement of faith exposes a church to every individual’s own interpretations of various doctrines, and opens the door for denials of biblical authority.
50 Quotes from Bobby Jamieson’s New Book “Going Public: Why Baptism Is Required for Church Membership”
By Matt Smethurst | 07.07.2015“After trusting Christ, baptism is the first thing faith does. It’s how faith shows itself before God, the church, and the world. Baptism is where faith goes public.”
Why Knowing Your Flock Is Critical to Meaningful Preaching
By Jared C. Wilson | 9Marks Journal: Expositional Preaching | 06.02.2015The ministry of preaching cannot be divorced from the ministry of soul care because it’s an extension of soul care.
Mailbag #8: Confidentiality among Elders; Meaningful Membership; Can an Elder Be Single?; and Young Earth Creationism
By Jonathan Leeman | 05.04.2015—How should elders practice confidentiality? —Can an elder/pastor be single? —How do I make membership more meaningful at my church? —Should young earth creationism be a test of orthodoxy?
Book Review: Searching for Sunday, by Rachel Held Evans
Review by Ray Ortlund | 04.28.2015I am not confident that, if I took this book to heart and swallowed its Christianity whole, I would be ready to stand before God on that great and final day.
