Membership
Considering 7 Membership Exceptions
By Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019So what do you do about people who either are members or want to join, and are willing to attend regularly, but are not able?
How to Conduct a Membership Interview
By PJ Tibayan | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019The two-pronged goal of an interview is to (1) disciple the person, and (2) discern whether their profession of faith in Jesus is credible. You want to disciple and discern.
Why Australian Churches Need Membership
By Lyle Wetherston | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019If church membership runs against the grain of our natural and national inclinations, then we need to be wise as to how we promote it.
Mailbag #82: How to Confront Those Who Rarely Attend Church . . . How Does 1 Timothy 5:17’s “Double Honor” Apply to Non-Staff Elders?
By A. Duty, J. Rinne | 04.26.2019— How should pastors confront members or regular attenders who are mere consumers or whose attendance is inconsistent? — How do you apply 1 Timothy 5:17’s “double honor” to non-paid elders? Is it even right to use this passage when determining paid elder compensation?
Book Review: A Church You Can See, by Dennis Bills
Review by Justin Harris | 04.18.2019Bills presents a great case for uniting to a local congregation and receiving biblical instruction with brothers and sisters who live in your same zip code.
Mailbag #78: Can a Church Require Too Many Meetings? . . . Should the Church be Involved in a Pastor’s Decision to Leave? . . . Reformed Theology in the Church’s Teaching Ministry
By C. Humfrey, M. Livingston, S. Emadi | 03.22.2019Can a church require too many services? How can pastors shepherd their flock while transitioning out? How should pastors teach about Reformed theology?
Mailbag #77: How Much Agreement with a Statement of Faith Should Be Required for Membership?
By Brad Wheeler | 03.08.2019A man who was baptized as a believer wants to join our credobaptist church, though he is paedobaptistic and cannot affirm the church’s statement of faith on believer’s baptism. Should the elders of the church recommend this man to the church for membership?
Definite Atonement and Church Membership
By Stephen J. Wellum | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019What does definite atonement have to do with church membership?
7 Ministry Consequences of Calvinism
By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019The goal of this piece is not to argue with or even to address the non-Calvinist pastor. It is to say to the Calvinist, “If you believe this, your ministry should look like that.”
How We Fixed Our Sleepy and Unspiritual Members’ Meetings
Review by Josh de Koning | 01.18.2019About five years ago, I realized our members’ meetings were sleepy and overly informational. So we’ve changed them.
An Open Letter to Baptist Pastors Considering Open Membership
By Sam Emadi | 01.14.2019Baptism is an authorized declaration of the credibility of someone’s confession, not just a private judgment about whether we think someone is a Christian.
Practice Charity, Pursue Credibility: How to Respond to a Child’s Profession of Faith
By C. Greggsen, S. Emadi | 01.07.2019In every case, a church ought to be careful, weeding through words to attempt to discern the motivation behind a profession of faith―in other words, its credibility.
Best Books for Pastors in 2018
By Alex Duke | 12.21.2018We asked pastors from around the world a simple question: what books did you read in 2018 that helped you be a better pastor?
Episode 62: On How to Prepare a Church to Practice Discipline
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 10.30.2018Before a pastor leads a church to practice discipline, he must teach the church what the Bible teaches. It’s better to woo and win the church in the truth, than to wreck it in the pursuit of rightness.
What to Say When a Church Member Asks for Help
By Clint Darst | 9Marks Journal: The Pastor and Pornography | 10.30.2018When a church member first confesses pornography consumption, they’re usually relieved to admit their battle and get help in their fight.
