So, bloated church numbers provide a faulty view of the state of faith these days. The fact that 8,000,000 Southern Baptists are missing every Sunday nation-wide simply means that the inflation rate at the local church level is astounding. Evidently, church membership just doesn't mean much these days. It's no wonder moral and ethical demographic stats are so dismal. Church influence is down!
So, in 2012, our church approved new by-laws requiring annual affirmation of the church covenant we adopted back in 2008. Response has been mixed although a large majority of our regular participants have submitted the signed documents. A few have been vocally opposed, perhaps because it's just new to them. One of our leaders said you'd have thought we asked the men to be circumcised, the occasional negative has been so loud.
So, change is something we usually do well. We did a Congregational Strength and Values Assessment a few years ago and it indicated that change for the sake of mission is a strength and value of this church. So, we moved into contemporary worship with a good spirit, changed schedules a couple of times, implemented three Life Connection Group hours each Sunday (that is Sunday School here), and tackled some local mission opportunities that many local congregations may have ignored. Still, the new church covenant provision has been challenging.
So, what's the deal with it? Of course, there are many angles, and as the one tasked with the responsibility of communicating them to the church, there's always some breakdown in what is said and what is heard. But, at heart is this one simple prayer: that the annual affirmation of the church covenant will confront each and every one of us with what it means to be a Christian and part of the Body of Christ.
To the church at Corinth Paul wrote, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?---unless you fail the test" (2 Corinthians 13:5).
If there's a trip wire for believers in this culture it may be the examination thing. How in the world do you hold autonomous, fallen humans to a standard? What is the standard, by the way? How do you balance accountability, church discipline, the speck in the eye thing, against our tendency to find fault in others? Surely the inquisition is not what Paul had in mind for the local body. At the same time, In all of his epistles he could not have meant that there be no accountability or discipline. In the end, there must be a standard.
Yes, of course, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is our standard, the model by which we live, the aspiration that under His grace we will be transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory. He has set the example and we are to follow it. But, being aware of our depravity and fallen nature, most of us will soft-peddle this expectation because we know it is impossible in this body. One day, he will bring us perfect, mature, ripe to stand before Him. We are flawed and broken till then.
Amen, brethren, the Bible is our standard. Certainly it is God's perfect Word, and we'll apply the words inerrant and infallible to underscore it's authority over us. So, every year we play advanced Bible trivia to ascertain fitness to the standard. Or, we'll ask all new believers to memorize the entire Bible as an indication of their aility to pass whatever test we can devise. Once again, any standard we adopt must be Scripturally and doctrinely sound. Still, we humans may be pretty selective in deciding which interpretation to use, or which version for that matter. We'll decide how to use the Bible more definitively when we're gathered that the city gates for the weekly stoning of disobedient children.
The list of potential standards is endless. The BF & M (2000, or previous versions), the creeds of the church, historic confessions of faith, The Royal Ambassador Pledge, a secret handshake, contribution levels, a version of the Bible, gospel tracts, dress codes, team colors, and just about any other hoop creative zealots can imagine to lend some credbility to a process.
But, the church covenant, one reflecting the values, doctrine, and mission of a local congregation can be an objective guide to help me measure what it means to be a Christian and church member right now. Affirming the church covenant every year places the heart of this congregation right in front of me, and confronts me with how faithfully I am pursuing the mission that is specified.
Self examination is tough. My reflection in the mirror is skewed by pipe dreams of a nice six-pack, bulging biceps, and a thirty four inch waist. When I think about college the accomplishments are inflated by faulty memory and my own tendency to glorify the good old days. Us preachers like the license for hyperbole anyway.
So, there's the covenant we adopted in 2008. Affirming it every year in writing will remind me what being a Christian and church members means right now, and give me an opportunity to reflect on my commitments.
One dear old church friend put it this way: "Jesus died for the church. Being a part of His body must matter. What believer would not be eager to touch base with that every year, and just as eager to affirm what should mean so much to us?"
Mmmmmmm. What believer indeed?
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