Glasgow Church of Christ – Membership Agreement
WHY WE NEED THIS DOCUMENT.
The church is a membership organisation. The leaders are called to shepherd their flock (1 Peter 5:2) and as such need to be clear about who the flock is. The basic ‘asks’ of this document are about ‘flocking’ together as Christians. Hence it just provides clarity about expectations in order to protect everyone concerned.
One of the great things about church is that it is open to all (who are willing to follow Jesus wholeheartedly). This means that we all can receive salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). This has an inherent downside, though: it means that the more people (sinners) we invite to church, the more likely it is that the love of the church is weakened by sin. It is the responsibility of the leaders to deal with the more grievous sin in the church to protect the flock, in line with scripture (Mark 8:15; Matthew 16:6,12). This may involve removing people from the membership to protect the flock as a whole, and the purity of the church (James 3:17; 1 Timothy 1:20). The intent of this is to allow everyone to thrive in a loving and godly community.
Like other membership organisations, the church has conditions for being maintained on the membership list. The following is not a doctrinal position statement; but just a simple and biblical code by which we can protect one another, and the church.
We think that members of the Glasgow Church of Christ must continue to do the four following things to make the church work in an orderly and biblical way.
1: RESPECT THE BIBLE AS AUTHORITY (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We are a Bible-believing and Bible-obeying church. The Bible is how we understand God. Not all churches respect the Bible, but we try to do this rigorously. If you do not wish to accept the Bible as the standard for guiding your life, you are encouraged to attend one of the many other churches or religious assemblies available.
2: WALK IN THE LIGHT (1 John 1:6-10)
In order for us to live out the truth, we must walk in the light. This requires us to be open about our sins, and repentant of them, as defined in scripture (1 John 1:6-10; 2 Timothy 2:25). This will purify us from all unrighteousness. If we do not do this, the unrighteousness can eclipse the love of the church community.
PROTECTION FROM OTHERS NOT WALKING IN THE LIGHT.
(i) If it comes to light that the church is being deceived by a member, or the core doctrine of the church is not being upheld, or the church is being misrepresented or brought into disrepute by a member, then immediate removal from the membership list may happen.
(ii) Anyone who conforms to the description in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:11; or Titus 3:10, or who simply does not assemble with the church for an extended period, may be taken off the membership list.
(iii) The opportunity to be in a community where a repentant spirit is nurtured and prized in all of the members is one of the important “club goods” of the church [Club goods are what one gets from belonging to an organisation]. This is refreshing to new members and old. In a similar way to 12-steps organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous that do not allow attendees to make light of transgressions; we will seek to remove anyone from membership who over the long-term does not appear to have a spirit of repentance and God-fearing.
3: REMAIN IN THE VINE (John 15:1-5)
We aim for there to be a ‘discipling network’ in the church, where each member is connected in some way to the leaders, and this in turn allows accountability to God (1 Peter 5:2), and to the legal trustees of our organisation. We choose to do this by close friendship and/or comradeship within the network. Hence if anyone does not have a close working relationship or friendship with someone in this network, it is demonstrable that they do not have a relationship with the church, and the obligations of the LG to God and the trustees cannot be maintained. This is how we help one-another to “remain in the vine”.
Note that in the interests of openness (walking in the light) and connection (remaining in the vine), it may be that disciplers will communicate with one another (in a way that we intend is helpful to restoration of righteousness) about individuals within the church. 1 Corinthians 1:11 & 1 Corinthians 5:1 indicate this happening in a biblical context.
4: FOLLOW (Matthew 19:16-30).
“Following” is one of the key things that Jesus commanded of his disciples. One of the unique features of our church among others in Glasgow is its commitment to close discipling (or mentoring).
In the bible there is an underlying narrative which describes Jesus as a Rabbi with followers, who commit themselves to adhering to his teaching. Because Jesus is not physically with us in the modern world, we commit ourselves to following those who are most closely following Jesus, or who are designated as leaders within the church.
In Matthew 19:16-30 the young man (who is not immediately described as rich), comes to Jesus and claims he had obeyed all the commandments. Verse 21 says that Jesus was not satisfied until he was FOLLOWING. Verse 29 says that whoever has left the world behind will inherit eternal life. Verse 30 suggests that the converse might also be true (see also John 12:26a). Note the Abraham walks with God and follows faithfully (generally), as we must also. The most efficient way to do this is with a mentor (see 1 Corinthians 4:16-17) to remind us of Jesus.
Following humbly, as a disciple, is mentioned in this passage as a way to leave the world behind. To the godly-minded person, this is regarded as a good thing. Because this doctrine is so contrary to human nature and current secular culture, we have prepared a separate document on following/submission, to clarify what we understand it to be (and not to be).
ADDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS ON THE CHURCH LEADERS
5: PROTECTION FROM ABUSE BY MEMBERS, AND VISITORS
Note that the church has a double mandate from God to encourage repentance, facilitating forgiveness of offenders (Acts 10:42), and also to protect its flock (1 Peter 5:2; 1 Corinthians 13:7) These two requirements create a fine balancing-act which churches have to perform: with duty-of-care on one side, but also the ministry of grace and reconciliation on the other. Normally this is not a problem, but in order to do our best with this we will use the charity’s safeguarding policy. Please refer to the safeguarding policy document for further information on this.
6: PREVENTING POTENTIAL HARM BY APPLYING BIBLE DOCTRINE.
We understand that the corporate view of an organisation like a church, which exists largely to convey strong moral ideals within and around its community, can have a profound influence on how people feel about themselves. Sometimes this can give rise to mental-health concerns, or even situations which can be construed by some as ‘abuse’, or being ‘judged’. As we will not compromise our belief that following the bible is helpful to everyone who has a pure heart; the Leadership Group will endeavour to treat anyone with biblical righteousness if they feel ‘judged’, or they choose to leave or are asked to leave: God is the final arbiter of who is saved. People however, may still feel judged and we cannot help this.
DEALING WITH UNHEALTHY LEADERSHIP
This is a broad subject, and to cover it properly would greatly lengthen this document; but we have found three books to have good sections on the topic of dealing with unhelpful leaders or unhealthy leadership dynamics. These are…
TRUE FREEDOM (Steven Fry, Chosen Books. ISBN: 9780800794446). This is a thorough bible-based text on healthy authority. Ch.14, “Confronting Authority with Correction”, offers advice and biblical examples on confronting authority.
THE FATHER HEART OF GOD (2nd Edition, 2006. Floyd McClung, Pub: David C Cook. ISBN 9781842913277) App. B, “The use and abuse of authority”.
GOLDEN RULE MEMBERSHIP (John Oakes et al, IPI Books. 9781939086884) is also helpful on leader/member dynamics. Especially Ch.8.
We would encourage members with significant grievances toward leadership to refer to any of these texts as a guide. But we would be receptive to all admonitions presented to us in a respectful way, and we will treat them respectfully.
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE 1: CONSCIENCE
We feel strongly that no-one should be compelled to disobey their conscience. If someone feels that they cannot agree with the church Leadership Group on a matter of conscience, we will allow time and space for mediation, and ensure that bible principles are used to try to ameliorate the situation. If this were to become an impasse with the leadership group, then we would seek to allow the person to leave with dignity, where the situation allows it.
Academics cite one pre-requisite of non-abusive leadership as the freedom to leave the organisation without emotional ‘strings’ attached, which gives rise to No.6 above. If there are any emotional strings, they may come from the conscience, or God.
Overarching our consciences should be an obedience to the bible, and our consciences should, over the long-term, be informed and honed by scripture (1 Corinthians 4:4). Note that submission to authority helps us to keep a clean conscience (Romans 13:5).
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE 2: LONG-STANDING MEMBERS
Long-term membership of our church does not in itself indicate good-standing within the church, nor does it suggest that a person qualifies as a leader. The long-term carrying out of pastoral responsibility, and saving of souls are better indicators of this (1 Thessalonians 5:12,13; Proverbs 11:30).
Glasgow Church of Christ Leadership Group, (Updated) March 2024. {MJ, MJ , CC, SC}.
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