Legacy Church Blog

"Why I'm signing on the dotted line..."

One of the things I’m learning as we implement a formalized church membership (what we call partnership) is how much people absolutely abhor signing their name to things and formalizing a current reality.

“It feels too corporate.” “I don’t know why it’s important.” “It’s not in the Bible.” “I’m already showing up.”

I have heard it all and I realize why most churches just don’t poke the sleeping dog. It seems like too much trouble and even threatens to run folks off. To be honest, it is much easier to just let people show. “Why can’t we all belong?”

We sign our name to thousands of documents in our lifetime to secure anything from homes to cell phone agreements and do it without even reading the contracts most of the time. When it comes to “belonging” to a people of God however, we turn into a conspiracy theorists and feel threatened. It’s an interesting thing to watch.

As I prepped the sermon for this week (5/24/15 “Why I Sign on the Dotted Line...”) something struck me as to how formalizing an already existing reality is something we already do without blinking an eye. When we marry each other and sign a marriage license and vow to love each other, we never feel like a signed covenant cheapens the union or is unnecessary. We are excited to do it because it is a celebration of the love we already have. Church partnership isn’t very different.

As Christians, we are already members of a body we don’t deserve to be in. Jesus is our head and we fit together to nurture and care for each other. This all came by the Gospel’s effect on our lives. We are truly members who cannot lose our membership because the dues were paid by Another.

This is why we use the word “partnership” to formalize the reality that already exists. We know most traditional churches refer to this as ‘membership” which is fine, but we believe that word is empty freight in our culture and is already taken Biblically through salvation. We aren’t trying to be hip, but clear.

Formalizing such a union (church partnership/membership) is a way we can know who we are responsible for as a church AND who we as leaders are responsible for. It also allows church discipline to occur to the glory of God. (See the sermon audio) Without it, we as leaders are unable to love and protect the body and serve it well.

To simply attend and volunteer at a local church without partnership is nothing more than “hedging your bets” as we are ready to extricate ourselves and cancel our “belonging” when it doesn’t fit. It’s saying, “I love this place and love coming, but want to remain a private individual with no responsibility or covering, and covenanting with you guys is too much.” It also reminds me of finally getting a heart tattoo on our arms but not putting a name inside the heart, because the "beloved" might change. 

My question is this, If signing and formalizing a covenant with your local church is too much for you to swallow, what will you be like when the persecution around us gets much hotter? If a signature causes us to balk, what about losing our reputation, or business, or life?

Jesus didn’t die to create a service where people went based on convenience, but to create a church where people were committed to each other and partnered with each other in a covenant. The local church is God’s instrument to change the world and to not partner to one is to be sitting the bench.

Jesus died and rose - we are good to leave the bench now.

Jesus died to glue you into community - you are good to stop being all about the individual

More resources on church membership

Legacy's Covenant Partnership Explanation (and Q&A)

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/submit-to-jesus-submit-to-his-bride

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/i_am_a_church_member

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-second-most-important-book-for-every-christian

http://9marks.org/membership-discipline/

In the Valley

Paul the Apostle sets forth an unusual turn of phrase in Ephesians 5:19. He says that we should "address one another with psalms". We tend to think that psalms are to be used to address God, and they are. However, we now see that they can be used to address one another. The phrase "one another" is seen throughout scripture, and it always relates to our community and fellowship with other Christians.   

So I would like to attempt to address you here with a Psalm. I specifically want to address your worries, stress, depression, and panic with the Gospel found in the Psalms. Let me try probably the most well-known and beloved psalm of all time: Psalm 23. This Psalm begins with David writing, meditating and singing about God. Do you notice how, at first, he speaks about God (not to God) in the third person? He says, "The Lord is my Shepherd...He makes me lie down in green pastures...He leads me...He restores", etc...  

First, the Psalmist starts out with acknowledging the great care that the Lord takes in the guiding and leading David. It is right (and encouraging) to acknowledge and thank God for the pleasant places where he mercifully leads us. David the shepherd is first thinking about good things that the Lord gives. He sings about His provision, the rest, stillness and peace that God causes to happen in David's soul. He proclaims how God sovereignly guides David to walk on the path that God wants him to walk upon, "the paths of righteousness."  

Then David gets real. He doesn't gloss over the bad stuff in His life. His mind (inspired by the Holy Spirit), begins to think about other paths that God has led him through. Not every path that David walks upon is lined with roses, rainbows and ice cream sandwiches. He remembers a time where a lion tried to kill him. He remembers being alone in the wilderness when he had to fight off a bear. He recalls how a man he loved and honored pursued David with a spear, intended to end his life. He describes these ugly places simply as "the valley". These paths are not so pleasant to David. They are nothing like the bright, happy paths that he just described. They are so dark, painful and lonely that David paints a picture of the valley being darkened by the shadow of death itself. Death is near. Life is ebbing away. As David walked along this path, fear stood at the door of his heart.   

Have you ever been in the valley?  

Me too. 

Hopefully we can learn something from David's poetic description of how the Lord handled his heart in the valley. Something changes. Something shifts in David's relationship and communion with God in the valley. Even the way he talks about God is different now. He no longer speaks of God in third person. Notice, he now speaks to God directly, not about God indirectly. He now says "You are with me, Your rod and staff...comfort...You prepare a table before me..." He is now in deep communion with God. Going through the valley was difficult. It was not a place he would have chosen to go. It was the place that God chose David to go, however, and David was the better for it. Why? Because now David knew in reality what he had formerly known only in theory. Before, he knew about the goodness of God, because the Rabbis taught him well. Afterward, he learned firsthand that God is so much better, because He is near. He is the One who came down from His lofty throne, and descended into David's little universe. He descended even further, by going into the valley with David, as a good shepherd should. Why was David unafraid? He said it himself: "...for You are with me." If the shepherd is with his sheep, they have no reason to fear.  The apostle Peter (quoting Isaiah 56) said: "For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." How did we return? Did we pull ourselves out of the valley of our own sin? Nope. We were unable. He did it. Our Shepherd Jesus (the One we should have been following but instead went our own way into the valley) followed us into the valley to set us back on His paths of righteousness.  

If a good Shepherd would do that for you when you first ran away from Him, how much more will He be with you in other valleys that you walk into, now that you are His? Are you anxious, worried, depressed, angry, or fearful? I beg you to find your comfort in knowing that God loves you, and is with you, even in the valley. Come to speak to Him directly. He hears and will comfort you. You will be so full that you will say along with David: "my cup overflows."