Membership at THE WELL
What is a Church, and specifically, what does it mean to be a 'member' of a Church?
(What are they going to do, brand me or something?)
Not quite.
Here's why we 'do' membership at THE WELL...
1) A Pastor has to KNOW who his 'flock' is because he's going to have to stand before Jesus someday and give an ACCOUNT for how he acquitted his ministry to that flock. I've always used the following catchphrase to remind myself of the importance of this:
"Who the FLOCK is my FLOCK?"
(good, right?)
Scripture references?
"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness..."
-James 3:1 (ESV)
"Teacher" is Biblically synonymous with "Pastor", "Elder" or "Overseer".
"17 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..."
-Heb 13:17 (ESV)
So, because the Elders/Pastors at THE WELL are going to be called on the carpet by Jesus someday for how they led you, those Elders/Pastors are determined to KNOW who 'the flock' their flock is.
Makes sense, right?
Now, when it comes to 'Members' the Bible is very clear that, if you're loving and following Jesus, you are a MEMBER of His Body.
That is typically taken to mean a 'MEMBER' of the Church Universal--THE CHURCH that has existed in all times and places and continues to do so. If you love Jesus you're a member of that WORLDWIDE, HISTORICAL, FORVER CHURCH.
Some Biblical references to explore:
Rom 12:4-8/1 Cor 12/Eph 2/Eph 4
But...
The Elders/Pastors of 'a' Church are going to be held to account by Jesus for their leadership of 'a' church (it would make no sense for Jesus to hold Todd accountable for his ministry in a church in Mozambique he'd never visited...) so said Elder/Pastor MUST design some system to determine who's 'really' a member of HIS church and who's not.
So...
Under Christ, we believe that Godly, Biblically Qualified Male Elders/Pastors have the authority to lead their Churches well, in accordance with the Scriptures, sound doctrine and in keeping with Church history and the cultural imperative of their day, according to their conscience as the Spirit leads them.
Which means...
The Elders/Pastors at THE WELL have set up a 'system' by which you can let them know that THE WELL is 'your church' and that they (the Elders) are 'your pastors'.
And here's what that means:
If you 'opt in' to membership at THE WELL, your Elders/Pastors will faithfully preach, teach and equip you for the work of the ministry per Ephesians 4...
"11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ..."
-Eph 4:11-12 (ESV)
Please note:
At THE WELL, we believe the Elders/Pastors job is TO FAITHFULLY PREACH, TEACH AND EQUIP YOU FOR THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY.
This means:
1) Preaching is of first importance, not programming.
2) We believe that most of the 'pastoral care' you require can be fulfilled by you sitting under, and submitting to, weekly, faithful, authoritative preaching from the Bible about Jesus.
3) Pastoral care is NOT primarily intended to meet your 'felt needs' but to EQUIP YOU for the WORK of the ministry, which means that YOU are to be missional in your ethic, treating THE WELL not as a socially-networked community that primarily serves your interests and meets your needs but as a faith-community that EXHORTS, CHALLENGES, INSPIRES and EQUIPS you to love, follow and obey Jesus WITH EVERYTHING YOU PARTICULARLY ARE AND HAVE.
4) Along the way--AS YOU DEMONSTRATE FRUITFUL MINISTRY--your Elders/Pastors WILL "Keep watch over your souls..." (Heb 13:17) which will mean that, in addition to their preaching work (and the strategic and tactical work required to build enough momentum to attract, build, house and serve a local church so that preaching can be ongoing to more and more people...) your Elders/Pastors will, either personally or through directing you to specifically gifted/called/released 'Associate Ministers/Deacons' make sure your soul is kept watch over, which will cover practical things like pre-marital counseling, prayer and ministry, performing marriages and funerals and baptisms and baby dedications etc.
Now, for YOUR JOB.
As a MEMBER at THE WELL your Elders/Pastors will expect you to:
1) TITHE. That means at least 10% of your income given to support the furtherance of God's Kingdom work as expressed at and fulfilled by THE WELL. For our 'take' on a theology of tithing, please click...
HERE.
2) SERVE. Simply put, we believe God made you, and has a grand purpose for your life that He is unfolding for you. Key to that grand purpose is the part you've been designed to play in the ongoing ministry of your local church in its local context. Very bluntly, if you feel like God is calling you to make THE WELL your church 'home', we believe that you are an absolutely integral part of THE WELL fulfilling its mandate here in the city of Burlington. We 'need' you because that's what God has intended. This means, that--if THE WELL is your church home--you will use your gifts/abilities/leverage/influence to further the work of our church in our context for God's glory. Practically, this means your Elders/Pastors will expect you to show INITIATIVE in rising up to 'do' what God has made you to 'do, here, with us at THE WELL.
3) GROW. We believe that you are an AMBASSADOR for Christ (2 Cor 5:20), here in the city of Burlington. This means that your Elders/Pastors will expect YOU to be the primary means of 'marketing' (if you'll forgive the term...) we employ at THE WELL. This is not to say we'll NEVER engage in traditional means such as flyers, billboards, targeted-mailers, TV and radio ads, web-marketing etc., but it is intended to illustrate that we believe that as YOU communicate and embody the growing love of Jesus that is at work in you as a result of your interaction with THE WELL, YOU will be the primary ATTRACTOR God uses as He draws people to 'check out' THE WELL. Your Elders/Pastors will EXPECT you to be doing/being this 'marketing' work for the sake of Jesus' fame in our city.
4) COMMIT. This means that, once you've decided you're 'in', your Elders/Pastors will expect you to WRITE (as in, a 'letter'--in the flesh or via email is fine...) a LETTER to us, outlining your commitment to THE WELL. We need you to tell us WHY you're 'in' and WHAT it's going to practically mean for you, based on the 'expectations' outlined above. IE: This is what it's going to look like for me/us to tithe... This is what it's going to look like for us to serve... (or: here's where we think we can contribute) Here are some of the way's we're thinking God's calling us to help 'grow' THE WELL and, therefore, this is our commitment.
Get it?
Tithe...
Serve...
Grow...
Commit
T.S.G.C
"To Serve God's Church".
Borderline cheesy, we know, but the goal is for you to REMEMBER it.
"TO SERVE GOD'S CHURCH"
So, that's it. A brief outline of what MEMBERSHIP looks like at THE WELL.
The Elders/Pastors of THE WELL will ONLY lead/pastor the MEMBERS at THE WELL, so if you're not a member please feel free to keep coming, we're glad you've stopped by, but when it comes to the 'nitty gritty' of ACTUALLY taking ownership of Biblically 'Pastoring' you, we're only going to ACTUALLY 'pastor' our MEMBERS.
Further, it is ONLY members of THE WELL, those who 1) Attend a 'Membership Night' 2) Carefully consider then write us a T.S.G.C letter that we have on file 3) Are faithfully ABIDING in that T.S.G.C commitment with EVIDENT FRUIT (tithing, serving, growing, committing) who will be ELIGIBLE for LEADERSHIP positions (Deacons/Elders) at THE WELL.
We'll hold 'MEMBERSHIP NIGHTS' three or four times a year so that you can come out and explore the above with us in-person, asking questions and getting honest, on-the-spot feedback from our Elders.
THE NEXT MEMBERSHIP NIGHT IS THIS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10TH, 6:30-9:00PM AT DOUG AND SANDY MCKENZIE'S HOUSE.
A MAP (google maps link) can be found...
HERE.
See you at 6:30pm.
