The specific event actually took place about a year before Deb and I arrived in Moscow to help with a new church and the establishing of a Bible College.  It was the process of forming that new church that shaped how I think about “membership”. 

Lenin at Red Square

When Russia opened up and a number of people in Moscow embraced Jesus Christ, they began to come together as an official church to meet on a regular basis.  The State allowed them to do so but required them to provide evidence showing that they were indeed a legal church entity abiding by the laws.  So the Russian authorities asked for at least a dozen people in the church to come forward and submit copies of their pass ports for proof of the organization’s legitimacy.  This they did.  At least 12 Russian adults who had grown up under the Iron Curtain complied and their information was submitted.  Now that doesn’t sound like too big of an issue for us in the West and especially in the U.S.  I mean, we give our Social Security and Driver’s license numbers often when filling out documents.  But the big deal for these folks is that by giving out their information they were possibly putting their lives on the line if the winds of politics changed in Russia and the old guard Soviet Union came back.  Many of these people had relatives or knew people who were taken by the Soviet KGB in years gone by for religious reasons. So this was a heavy decision for them.  But they cared so much about committing to a local body of believers that they were more than willing to take the risk.  They had a level of discipleship and commitment that many in the US simply don’t understand. 

So when it came down to it, I decided that it was more than acceptable if not expected to ask those wishing to join The Crossings to attend a class and sign a commitment card. 

But for those who are still chewing on this issue, check out the seven reasons below.  What would you add?  (or not add)

 Why Make a Commitment?

 The difference between “attendees” and “belonging” can be summed up in one word:  commitment.

 At The Cypress Crossings Christian Church we recognize the need to be a membership-based church and therefore ask you to commit to membership for a least seven reasons:

1.  A Biblical Reason:  Christ is committed to the church.  “Christ loved the church, and He gave his life for it.” Ephesians 5:25

2.  A Cultural Reason:  It is an antidote in our society.  We live in an age where very few want to be committed to anything; job, marriage, and country.  This attitude has produced a generation of church ‘shoppers and hoppers’.  Membership swims against the current of America’s consumer religion.  It provides a model for our society on the value of belonging.

3.  A Practical Reason:  It defines who can be counted upon.  Every team must have a roster.  Every school must have an enrollment.  Even our country takes a census and requires voter registration.  Membership identifies our family.

4.  A Personal Reason:  It produces spiritual growth.  The New Testament places a major emphasis on the need for Christians to be accountable to each other for spiritual growth.  You cannot be accountable when you are not committed to any specific church family.

5.  A Creative Reason:  It creates the type of future we desire.  Commitments are greatly misunderstood in our culture – they are often seen as something that ‘ties us down’ or holds us back.  But commitments aren’t constraints, they are road maps.  They are the tools that God uses to shape our future!  Our commitments help us create the type of life and future that will glorify God and fulfill us.  We make our commitments, but in the end our commitments make us.

6.  A “Same Page” Reason:  Membership does not mean uniformity, but it does mean unity.  As followers of Christ we are all different and there is really a lot of freedom in the Church of Jesus Christ for all kinds of practices.  But when we commit to the same mission and values of the church we commit to each other as a football team commits to the same play book.  By doing this we avoid division and commit to going forward together in strength and unity.

7.  A Legal Reason:  It shows our willing submission to the authorities.  In order for us to benefit from non-profit status and 501c3 standing, we must be able to clearly illustrate and define to the State what our membership is.  This shows that we are indeed a non-profit entity by their standards.

I’ve got a friend named Mike who has been trying to get a church planted in Bismarck, North Dakota for years.  But who wants to go to Bismarck?  There’s no fanfare there, no palm trees, no babes in bikinis.  But there are plenty of people there who desperately need the love of Christ.  So who would go there?  Well maybe someone who has a passion for Jesus and getting folks connected with Him no matter where they are.  Maybe someone who sees what could be and is passionate about making that happen no matter what the cost.  For all of us, maybe if we stop thinking about the flesh and start looking for open doors, passionate hearts, great needs, and divine connections above self-preservation we might see a whole lot more churches planted and people embracing the love of Christ.  Maybe if we stopped prioritizing our man made strategies over the leading of the Holy Spirit we might actually reach people in places all over the world.  Just maybe.  Just maybe.  So; anyone up for Siberia?  I think I can get you connected.

1. The existing churches we have now can’t keep up with population growth.

2. New churches are more focused on Evangelism.

3. The sad reality is that many of the established churches have plateaued or are dying and are not willing to make the necessary changes to reach out and grow.

4. The culture and ethnic makeup of the US is changing. We no longer have to go across the ocean to find different cultures; they are coming here. Therefore we need new churches which will reach these new groups. (This is a big one for me)

To See a Transformed World – or NOT!

When we go into ministry it is driven by passion, love, vision, and determination to see God work in our lives and see radical transformation through Jesus Christ in our local ministries and throughout the world. Too often it ends in frustration, disappointment, and defeat. The problem is not our heart or desire or even willingness – it’s our paradigm and understanding of our world. If we would see transformation:

1. We need a clear understanding of what the Great Commission is and what it isn’t. In my upcoming book that will be out in a few months I deal with what the Great Commission is – and move it from religious preacher work to disciple society engagement. Our current western understanding of the Great Commission is limiting us in being able to be a part of things where the Gospel is going viral.

2. We need to learn how God is working in the rest of the world and what the church looks like and how we contextualize that to where we are. Right now an Indonesian pastor is mentoring our church. It means that there are some sins in our culture that have infiltrated our church that we have to address in order to be a part of what God is doing.

3. We have to open our circles to others who may not look just like us or think just like us. I’m not talking about compromising the Bible or Jesus. I am talking about living beyond our own personal tribes.

4. We have to understand faith in a globalized context. All religions are all places and how we speak of faith is crucial because whatever we say, we say to everyone because of the internet, etc. That’s the book I’m working on right now!

5. We have to move from an 18th century model of missions of a 21st century model of global engagement (Glocalization). Businessmen and college students get this quicker and closer than most.

6. We have to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily, radically, with abandonment to follow God where he leads and respond in obedience immediately to the doors he opens. That messes up our plans and stifles “our” ministries – but it does get the Great Commission fulfilled. God already has his plan, and we must follow his, not ours.

7. We must not be overwhelmed by the world. I used to think guys didn’t engage the world because they were ignorant. I don’t believe, that they were lazy – I don’t believe that, they were self-centered and thought it was all about their own local ministry (I still believe that!), but I’m convinced, at least with young pastors the reason is two-fold. First, the world is overwhelming. Where do you start? Second, the models are outdated and they know it and they don’t know where to turn so they adopt the attitude that it is better to not get involved in something that is dying and outdated.

A huge lesson that I picked up over the past couple of years in the church plant that we did in Nor Cal is that the “Great Commission” of Christ was not to plant churches, but to make disciples. (Note Matt. 28) It’s real easy if you have enough money to draw a crowd. (unfortunately we never had enough money anyway) But it’s another thing to really bring people into discipleship with Jesus Christ. That’s the key. When that happens, then you really reproduce and multiply at exponential levels. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about Church Planting and hope to encourage a whole lot more of that. But the point is discipleship, not the institution.

Aug. 17th. Two great opportunities for potential church planters:

Endure Boot Camp, September 15-16, 2009 with Acts 29 Network.

Glocalnet. Church Planting Turbo with Northwood Church in Dallas. October 1st.