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Recovering a Biblical Maintenance of Church Membership
Approved by the messengers of the MBC, October 2006
Whereas, our 2005 Annual Church Profile reveals that though we have a total of 592,902
members, we run an average of 187,654 people in worship attendance , which includes non-members such as children, guests, and visitors; and
Whereas, the continual reporting of inflated membership numbers creates a distorted picture of ministry, can breed integrity problems, and perpetuates a misunderstanding of the nature and significance of membership in the local church; and
Whereas, a faithful New Testament church that maintains Biblical membership standards will
experience a broader more effective Gospel witness ; and
Whereas, the church is described as a family, a flock, a body, and a temple, all of which point to the importance of mutual love, support, accountability, and interdependency among the saints ; and
Whereas, the children of God live under God’s clear command to remain faithful participants in
corporate worship and ministry ; and
Whereas, Christ described the unfortunate reality that there are many who lack saving faith
though they profess to possess it , and the Apostle John cautioned that often those who leave us
Whereas, those who lack obedience in this area of corporate worship and ministry, which breeds a life of sin in other areas, dishonor the name of Jesus Christ and His church; and
Whereas, Christ spoke of the loving effort required in recovering sheep that stray ; and
Whereas, Scripture marks out a process we are obligated to follow in the removal of those who
prove to be false professors or unrepentant in their disobedience ; and
Whereas, we are to conduct our ministry in accordance with God’s wisdom and not man’s ; and
Whereas, historically, Baptists have remained committed to this message of Scripture in our
efforts to maintain a regenerate church membership;
Now Therefore Be It Resolved, that we, the messengers to the 172nd Annual Session of the Missouri Baptist Convention meeting in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, October 30 – November 1, 2006, call upon our denominational servants, pastors, and church members to seek wisdom and instruction prayerfully from God’s Holy Word regarding this issue; and
Be It Further Resolved, that we encourage open dialogue to arrive at a greater understanding of the cause, resolution, and future prevention of inflated membership roles; and
Be It Further Resolved, that we, like Israel who called upon Ezra to be courageous and act , call upon our pastors to take Biblical action and lead us with integrity back to an obedient posture regarding this issue; and
Be It Finally Resolved, that we call upon God for His grace and mercy in light of our failure as well as His strength and wisdom as we embark upon this corrective journey.
When we adjust the attendance figures to reflect only members in attendance we find that well over 68% of our members are no longer attending nor involved in ministry.
Jn. 17:18-21; Acts 2:41-47; Acts 5:11-14; Rom. 12:3-13; Eph. 4:1-16
Acts 20:28; 1 Jn. 3:1; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 2:19-22
1 Cor. 12:25-27; Eph. 4:7-16; Heb. 10:24,25
Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5; Gal. 6:1-5; 2 Thess. 3:14,15; 1 Tim. 5:19-22; James 5:19,20
1 Cor. 3:9-23; Gal. 1:10,11; 2 Tim. 3-4:1-8
Presented by Doug Richey
Copyright 2006, Doug Richey
112 Pisgah Drive, Excelsior Springs, MO 64024, USA
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