397. Our Membership Policy Explained, Again
Some members still seem to have questions about our membership policy, which is that we discourage “already-Christians” who are already attending a church from joining our church.
It is not an easy decision. It means we are giving up quick growth. We are also giving up financial growth in the short term, as it takes time for VIPs to give. Not that they are not generous, but they are not used to giving to church, unlike people who grew up in church. But our resolve is to build the church the way Jesus wanted, which is through conversion-growth, not transfer-growth.
Because this is not the law but a guideline, it is impossible to apply this strictly in all cases. Also, it is almost impossible to turn away all Christians who come. So, I try to discern whether the person genuinely desires to serve in a house church setting. The main thing I try to discern is whether this person would be a helpful partner to their future shepherd. If I sense such genuine desire in NFC (still subjective), I ask them to finish GPS, and Living Life within 1 year, while attending house church faithfully. The date they complete Living Life would be the date of their membership. I think it is enough of a commitment we are asking so it filters “out” those who view membership casually or hop churches. But it also filters “in” those who genuinely want to restore the New Testament church through house church ministry. We are not rejecting people; we are inviting the right people to sustain a missional and evangelistic culture, which is so difficult to build but so easy to lose.
As going through this process is energy-consuming, I hope our members understand why we have this policy, and stop inviting someone if they are already Christians. We are no perfect church, and they are likely to thrive in other good churches. We are actually doing them a favour by preventing their trial-and-error, as one’s view of “how a church should look like” (“ecclesiology” in fancy terms) does not easily change. Those who have been attending a traditional church are likely to force their view of the church on us (by expressing discontentment and arguing with their shepherds about the necessity or format of house church), instead of adapting to the house church-centric church life we have. We’ve seen this happen multiple times, and it is a waste of time for all who are involved.
Giving a perfect reason for allowing membership in some cases would be impossible. But I can always give a “reasonable” reason that reasonably explains why it was necessary if asked. It will still be a subjective reason, but out of trust, I hope our members choose to be content with knowing the “reasonable” reason, not the perfect reason.
