What Should A
Congregation Do When A Person Wants to Place Membership?
Recently I receive a
question dealing with a woman that came forward repenting of her sins and asking
to be identified with that congregation. She
had previously attended somewhere else. The
elders told her to first go back to where she attended and talk with those
elders. Afterward she would be
welcome to come back and be accepted. The
question asked if this was scriptural and if the elders had overstated their
authority?
In order to answer this
question we must ask if we have any situations in the New Testament where a
person wanted to join with a congregation and what was done in those cases.
Let us look at Paul and Apollos. After
Paul's conversion he went to
Arabia
and then
Damascus
(Acts 9.22) and remained there for a period of three years (Galatians 1.18).
At that point he went to
Jerusalem
and wanted to join with the disciples there but they were afraid because he had
previously persecuted the church (Acts 9.26). It was at that point
Barnabas spoke to the apostles on Paul's behalf. Notice the church was not
criticized for their hesitancy in accepting Paul. In the case of a
congregation with elders, the elders have the right to question a person that
wants to be identified with that congregation. A congregation without
elders should have a standing policy that the men of the congregation
will meet with anyone wanting to place membership. If a person would
come in one Sunday and tell us they have recently moved to Owensboro and wanted
to be a member here, we would and should asked them some pertinent questions.
Such as; are you a Christian? What does a person do to become a
Christian? Where did you previously attend? Did you leave in good
standing? And so on. If that person told us they had either been
withdrawn from or had sinned against someone in the previous congregation, then
we would tell them to first work out their problems (sins) with those in the
other congregation. True repentance would require them to go back and
clear up any sins at the other place first.
We also have the case of
Apollos in 18.27. This man had earlier been teaching error when
Aquila
and Priscilla taught him the truth. At that point he wanted to go to
Achaia and teach there. The brethren at
Ephesus
wrote a letter encouraging or exhorting the brethren in Achaia to receive
Apollos. Notice I did not say they wrote a letter telling or demanding the
brethren to receive Apollos, but exhorting them to receive him. It is
helpful when the elders of a congregation write a letter stating that this
person was a faithful member and left in good standing. The receiving
congregation can look at that letter and decide whether to accept this person as
a faithful member or not. Unless there are some extreme circumstances such
as the first congregation being involved in unscriptural practices, the
receiving congregation would accept this person. On a personal note, I had been
preaching at one place and decided to quit preaching and move back to
Kentucky
. We moved to
Butler
County
and told the brethren at
Antioch
we wanted to be identified with that congregation. The brethren there had
the aforementioned policy of asking for a letter from the previous congregation.
They wrote a letter to the elders of the earlier congregation. The elders
called the local preacher and told them that we left in good standing, but they
were not going to write any letter stating that fact. In this case they
got verbal, but not written confirmation of our faithfulness.
A congregation has the
right and obligation to fellowship those who are in fellowship with God.
In order to do so, the elders of a congregation should show due diligence in
asking questions and even writing or calling the former congregation to make
sure the information they are receiving is correct.
So I would say the elders
had the right to tell the lady to work out any problems she may have had where
she previously attended and then come back and place membership with them. –
Dennis Tucker
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