Member Interviews, Intimidation, and Well-Being

By the time most of you read this, the OPC membership interviews will have already begun. Over the next several months members of our congregation will meet with a committee appointed by the Presbytery of Southern California in preparation for reception of our entire congregation into the Orthodox Presbyterian Church later this year. A number of you have expressed some anxiety about the interview process, and I am happy to discuss the process, help you “prepare,” and do what I can to put your mind at ease.

Most of you who feel intimidated are imagining this interview as being more than it really is. It is not an interrogation. It is not a theological examination. It is simply a conversation. The OPC does not require members to be Presbyterian in their convictions. You do not have to believe in Calvinism, covenant theology, or infant baptism. You do have to be a Christian. The membership vows are intended to ensure we believe in the God of the Bible, trust in Christ, are repentant, and will endeavor to serve the Lord faithfully. You do not need to be concerned about having the “right answers” to the committee’s questions; you simply need to give them honest answers.

This process is unfamiliar and a little frightening because so few have ever been in a well-ordered, biblically shepherded church. Many of us have come from churches that did not have formal membership or whose membership standards were so low they basically amounted to saying, “I believe in Jesus.” Of course, a Mormon or Muslim or Jehovah’s Witness could make that claim, so it is important to ask what people actually believe about Jesus, who he is, and whether they trust in him alone for their salvation.

Think of these membership interviews like going to the doctor for an annual check-up. (Don’t worry. There will not be any bloodwork or invasive exams.) It can be a little intimidating to go into an interview like this, but you are not there because there is a problem. You do not have to be afraid of what the committee may say. Our elders have already done their due diligence with regard to the membership of this local congregation. These conversations are to demonstrate to the OPC that we belong and to satisfy their duty to be diligent. The committee is there to welcome and get to know us, not to terrorize or judge us. These are brothers in Christ and friends.

How important are processes like these? I would argue they are very important. We have seen in this congregation’s own history the problems that develop when people are received into membership (or leadership) without a credible profession of faith. The committee is simply doing what the elders of this local church already do and will continue to do in the future: ensure that to the best of our knowledge the people we receive as communicant members are believers in Christ and endeavoring to be faithful to him. None of us can know perfectly what is in another’s heart, and each of us is responsible to God for our own salvation. But as shepherds of the flock, our elders are responsible to know, feed, guide, and protect the sheep (Acts 20:28; 1Pet. 5:1-4). Not every true church is well-ordered, healthy, and faithfully shepherded, but being part of such a church is truly a blessing and a joy. –JME

Should Local Churches Have Membership Criteria?

When the elders at RBC decided to implement a formal Membership Covenant, we knew some people would question or challenge its validity. After all, the New Testament never speaks of a formal membership covenant. Where in the Bible did anyone have to sign a pledge or affirm certain vows to be part of a local congregation?

If we believe formal membership in a local church is biblical, then it is necessary for some criteria to be established for fellowship. When Saul tried to “join” the saints in Jerusalem, they rejected him because “they did not believe he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26-27). Being a disciple of Jesus was a prerequisite for identifying with the saints in Jerusalem. When Paul instructed the Corinthians to excommunicate an immoral member of their fellowship (1Cor. 5), he did so because participation in the church presupposes a certain standard of conduct which that man no longer met (cf. vv.11-13; 2Thess. 3:6, 10-15). Jesus said the impenitent should be put out of the church (Matt. 18:15-17). Paul warned that false teachers and the divisive were to be excommunicated also (Rom. 16:17-18; Tit. 3:10-11). Such statements are incomprehensible unless we believe there is some sense in which a formal relationship (membership) in the local church exists and that relationship is dependent on specific qualifications of faith and life.

Elders must decide how a person’s qualification for fellowship in the local church is to be evaluated. There is a limit to how much can be investigated or known. But is it appropriate to ask a candidate for membership questions about his life and faith? Not only is it appropriate, it is necessary! Should we admit a person as a member who likes our music but does not believe in Jesus? Should we receive into fellowship someone who professes to believe in Jesus but lives in open, unrepentant immorality? Now consider our Membership Covenant. What does it ask that anyone can reasonably object to? What does it require that is not explicitly required of every Christian in the New Testament? In a perfect world no such questions would be necessary, but we live in a fallen world and one where Christianity is regularly redefined to include impenitent, disobedient unbelief. The Membership Covenant says this church takes our faith seriously.

Every congregation that recognizes those in spiritual fellowship (i.e. those attendees who are presumed to be in Christ and regenerate), whether such recognition is explicit or implicit, formal or informal, has membership criteria. The church is not charged with disciplining outsiders, only insiders (1Cor. 5:9-13). Unless a church is in the habit of calling on anyone and everyone who walks through their doors to lead the congregation in prayer, teach a Bible class, or preach the word, they have criteria by which they assess those in their midst. Every church must examine the Scriptures and determine who are accepted as brothers and sisters in Christ and who they must reject.

RBC’s Membership Covenant makes explicit what virtually every church practices explicitly or implicitly (and reflects what the majority of churches have practiced historically). In fact, while the New Testament does not specify the way in which current or prospective members are assessed, it does require such assessment and specifies the criteria by which that assessment is to be made. Thus the elders at RBC have deemed it expedient to have members affirm and sign a formal commitment as members. In doing so, we recognize the authority of the Scriptures in determining the necessary faith and life of the church’s membership.-JME

 Reformation Bible Church Covenants

RBC Membership Covenant: Submission to the Elders

Reformation Bible Church Covenants

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17)

Do you submit yourselves to the leadership and discipline of this church, agree to its General Statement of Faith, and promise to work for its purity and peace? (Question 5 in RBC Membership Covenant)

The fifth question in our Membership Covenant at RBC calls for a commitment to the “leadership and discipline” of the church. This means we expect those formally received as members to submit to the elders and to support the instruction, correction, and discipline they provide to our congregation. This commitment is based on Hebrews 13:17 which commands us to obey church leaders who watch over our souls. The elders have local, specific authority, and it is to be respected by the congregation they serve (Acts 20:28; 1Pet. 5:1-5).

It is important to understand what submission to the leadership does not mean. It does not mean following elders into error. It does not mean surrendering intellectual or personal freedom to anyone. It does not mean agreeing with everything the elders believe, teach, or do. We can disagree with leaders and still respect them.

What submission to the leaders means is respecting their authority and submitting to their lawful leadership in the Lord as those appointed to oversee the church. The Church is not a democracy. Christ-like submission is expected in the brotherhood (Eph. 5:21) and family (Eph. 5:22-24). We even are to submit to our government, to respect and pray for our rulers, though we will not always (or often?) approve of their actions (Rom. 13:1-7; 1Tim. 2:1-2).

No one is required to affirm the membership covenant, just as no one is required to become a formal member of this church. But should we ever wish to join a church where we do not trust the elders to guide us? And should a church ever receive members who refuse to promise to submit to its leaders? The answer seems obvious. -JME