Dr. Ken Keathley, blogging at Between the Times, has written a helpful post reflecting on a case of undisciplined church discipline. In his article, Keathley addresses that, while it is appropriate in cases of obstinence and indifference, disciplining the weak Christian is not in order. He writes, There is a world of difference between the [...]
Archive for the ‘Church Membership’ category
More Than Endorsements and Hat Tips
June 18, 2008In a recent blogpost, Denny Burk shares his thoughts on the passing of Resolution #6 (on regenerate church membership). After expressing his appreciation and encouragement about its passing, Burk writes, For those who think that resolution 6 was mainly about membership numbers, I think that idea really misses the point. The inflated membership numbers aren’t [...]
Tried and Deemed Credible: Mere Words Alone Do Not Suffice
June 17, 2008On the heels of my previous post where Dagg argues that, while churches are not infallible in their judgment, they should consider the profession of faith and evidence of regeneration when assessing candidates for church membership, I want to present an argument in support of Dagg, providing excerpts and a brief commentary on this important [...]
Sam Rainer on Regenerate Church Membership
June 16, 2008A couple of months ago, Sam Rainer shared the story of how his church is pursuing integrity in church membership. While referring to the massive disparity between membership statistics and church attendance in the SBC at large, Rainer shared the following: Our church is no different. In fact, we are one of the worst offenders. [...]
I Quote – You Decide
June 12, 2008Two quotes, no commentary, for your consideration: Quote 1: “We have to be very careful. If you try to take this (regenerate church membership) to the lowest common denominator, before too long, you’ll find the pastors and the church leadership to try to separate the sheep from the goats (an allusion to a parable about [...]
Norman Jameson At It Again
June 12, 2008At the conclusion of the Building Bridges Conference, many Southern Baptists were encouraged by what took place. Not Norman Jameson, editor of North Carolina’s Biblical Recorder, who took opportunity to misrepresent “creeping” Calvinists. As an alarmist, Jameson shared his “befuddlement” and overall disdain over what the Building Bridges conference represented. That was December of last [...]
The Duty of Every Southern Baptist Church
June 12, 2008On the heels of the convention consensus regarding the necessity of a regenerate church membership and our corporate repentance thereof, I thought it would be pertinent to provide this quote by John L. Dagg, who has arguably written the best book on Baptist polity among Southern Baptists. Exactly 150 years ago, Dagg wrote the following, [...]
On Regenerate Church Membership
June 9, 2008Though I plan on posting more on this issue, given that this is the week of the SBC Annual Meeting, I though it would be profitable to compile the previous posts on church membership here for anyone interested in checking them out. To date, beginning with most recent: 1. Repent of Unregenerate Church Membership? Dockery [...]
Repent of Unregenerate Church Membership? Dockery Says “Yes”
June 6, 2008In a Baptist Press article yesterday, David Dockery shared his thoughts on regenerate church membership, not the least of which was an affirmation of the need to repent of our failure to hold to this cardinal Baptist distinctive. Responding to the toleration of non-attending members, Dockery states, “It seems to me that we are doing [...]
SBC Bloggers, Ascol in USA Today
June 4, 2008In a recent article in USA Today, Cathy Lynn Grossman writes about SBC bloggers: The six candidates range from conservatives backed by the leaders of the denomination’s sharp turn toward doctrinal strictness in the 1970s to younger pastors who take a less hard-line stance and are promoted by bloggers. The winner will succeed Frank Page, [...]
Why Pursue Regenerate Church Membership?
May 30, 2008John Hammett has written one of the best books on Baptist ecclesiology in recent years, entitled Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology. In it, Hammett devotes nearly 70 pages to the issue of regenerate church membership. In this brief excerpt, I want to provide the four reasons Hammett gives for why we should [...]
Tolerated Nonattendance Raises Questions
May 29, 2008Mark Dever has questions–good questions–that I believe warrant our consideration and merit an honest, biblical response. Regarding the unregenerate state of church membership today, he writes: A member’s regular, tolerated nonattendance begins to raise further questions. What kind of leadership must a church have to allow such a misrepresentation to arise and flourish? What expectations [...]
Criminal Negligence Notwithstanding
May 29, 2008John L. Dagg, in his excellent book Manual of Church Order, writes the following: In our definition of a church, we have called it an assembly of believers in Christ. This definition tells what a church is according to the revealed will of God, and not what it becomes by the criminal negligence of its [...]
Calling for Truth, Tom Ascol, and Regenerate Church Membership
May 28, 2008A little more than a week ago, Dr. Paul Dean who hosts the Calling for Truth radio program, interviewed Tom Ascol regarding the resolution on regenerate church membership. You can access this interview by listening online or by downloading it (MP3) to your computer. As the conversation continues, I hope to provide more excerpts on [...]
The Challenges to Regenerate Church Membership
May 26, 2008R. Stanton Norman, in his book, The Baptist Way: Distinctives of a Baptist Church, shares an excerpt from an article written by Dr. James Leo Garrett in 1961 entitled “Seeking a Regenerate Church Membership” (published by Southwestern Journal of Theology vol. 3/2) in which he gives five challenges churches face in the recovery or implementation [...]
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