Mailbag #86: Considering the Danger, Should Muslim-Background Believers Be Baptized . . . My Friends Who Want to Be Pastors Think Polity Is Boring. How Can I Help Them?
By A. Menikoff, A. Duty | 07.12.2019— Should we encourage Muslim-background believers to be baptized, even when it endangers their lives? — My friends want to be pastors. But they have no interest in polity. How can I help them see its importance?
7 Well-Meaning Objections to Church Discipline — And How Pastors Ought to Respond to Them
By C. Greggsen, S. Emadi | 07.05.2019Let’s briefly consider some of the “good-faith” objections to discipline we’ve encountered and how we try to help church members understand the theological principles undergirding discipline.
Two Reasons a Church Shouldn’t Have Multiple Gatherings
By Kyle Schwahn | 07.01.2019I’ve pastored my church for over twelve years. We’ve always had two morning services, and I never gave them much thought. Until . . .
Episode 92: Are Healthy Churches Enough for Today’s Problems?
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 06.17.2019Our world is full of problems. But what can healthy churches do about it?
Why “Belonging Before Believing” Is (Usually) a Bad Idea
By Brian Davis | 05.29.2019Belonging before believing is usually a bad idea because it tries to turn the body of Christ into a kind of Frankenstein, attaching dead parts to what’s meant to be fully alive.
Episode 89: On Baptism and Church Membership (with Ligon Duncan)
By J. Leeman, L. Duncan, M. Dever | 05.28.2019Credobaptists and paedobaptists don’t agree on what baptism is, but they both agree that it must precede church membership.
Episode 87: On Church Membership
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.14.2019In this episode of Pastors’ Talk, Jonathan chats with Mark about our new Journal—Church Membership: Following the Lord Together.
Metaphors and Membership: How Biblical Metaphors for the Church Require Church Membership
By Sam Emadi | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019If you’re looking for the words “thou shalt be a church member” in Scripture, you won’t find them. But if that troubles you, let me encourage you to think a little differently about how to arrive at biblical conclusions.
Church Membership Is an Office and a Job
By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019Church membership is an office, too. It’s a job that comes with authority and responsibility.
Youth and Church Membership—Or, Stop Baptizing Children into the Ether
By Alex Duke | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019A church should not baptize young people apart from church membership. To do so is unbiblical, unhelpful, and unloving.
Why Russian Churches Need Membership
By Evgeny Bakhmutsky | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019If we want to see the gospel advance in Russia, then our churches must return to meaningful and biblical church membership—embracing the heritage left to us by Scripture and faithful Russian churches in previous generations.
Why African Churches Need Membership
By Chopo Mwanza | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019Churches in Africa needs to teach and practice biblical church membership because it helps address the false sense of community, nominal Christianity, and the subtle relativism.
How to Talk about Membership on the West Coast
By Kyle Schwahn | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019How should we talk about membership on the West Coast? Let me offer three ways that have proven helpful within our body over the past few years.
Meaningful Membership in a Small, Rural Area
By Josh Myrick | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019Pastors in rural areas must take into account certain challenges while leading Christ’s bride to experience the joy of meaningful membership.
Why Swedish Churches Need Membership
By Johnny Lithell | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019I’ve often been asked, in a setting like Sweden, whether church membership is even wise. Won’t it simply turn people away?
