Why Join Charlotte Chapel?
"What is the big deal about ‘Church’? Isn’t the important thing that I’m a Christian? Does it really matter whether I join in or not? If I do join in, do I have to become a member as well? Why join a Baptist Church?"
If any of these questions interest you, then this is for you. It does not pretend to cover all the issues in any depth, but its intention is to challenge you and to encourage you to think it through.
1. The ‘Local’ Church is as important as the ‘Universal’ Church
Some Christians are not too bothered about joining a particular church because they feel that it is more important to belong to ‘The Church’, i.e. being a Christian is more important than belonging to a church. While the head of the church should be Jesus (Ephesians 4:15), the ‘body’ is always expressed in the local church. In Acts the word ‘church’ is used in connection with specific local congregations (e.g. Acts 8:1; 11:22; 13:1; 15:3; 20:17). This is continued in the letters of the New Testament (e.g. 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:1).
2. Church involves reciprocal relationships
It is clear from the NT that church is so much more than simply meeting for a church service. Christians are not to be isolated, but to develop accountable relationships where love can be visibly shown (e.g. John 13:34, 35; Romans 12:5; Colossians 3:12-17; Hebrews 10:24). There is nothing better than the local church when it is working right!!!
3. Church involves mutual ministry
In Romans 12:3-8 Paul describes the church generally, but in particular, the church at Rome, as a ‘body’. In this body all the members belong to one another and the body works by all of them doing their part. Therefore everyone should have a part to play in their local church.
4. Church involves commitment
If we read Romans 12 and only think about ‘me doing what I think I’m gifted to do’, then we have missed a very important point. Paul says that "each member belongs to all the others". Everyone playing their part only works if there is some level of mutual commitment. Think about it... when a couple get married they need to talk about their roles in marriage. It is good to do that, but it does not make for a healthy relationship if on their wedding day the woman makes her vows for life, but the man only promises to play his part while he feels like it! Both on a spiritual and practical level it is not right to expect to be given a role to fulfil in the church if we are not prepared to accept the responsibility and commitment that goes with it. That is why we have formal Church membership.
5. Church involves giving
Along with Church membership, one other way that we demonstrate our commitment to one another is through giving (Hebrews 13:6). Charlotte Chapel is financially independent - our only source of income is the giving of those who come on a Sunday. It is not that we just want you for your money. Instead it is a sign of our commitment to the Lord, and to each other - how can we claim that we want people to know Jesus if we are not prepared to give of our time and money to this end? Giving is ‘putting your money where your mouth is!’ Therefore, as a Church, we also give from our resources to help support Missionaries and Charities across the globe. The more you give, the more we give!
6. Church involves Teaching and Leadership
Christians are not perfect people! This means that we all have to be encouraged to mature spiritually, ‘to grow up into Christ’ (Ephesians 4:11-16). As it says in Ephesians 4:11-13 and in Romans 12:7-8, God has given to the church Teachers and Leaders in order to bring us to maturity. A local church must have in place those with gifts of teaching and leadership. Whilst all of us are called to study the Bible for ourselves, those with the specific gifts of Teaching and Leadership are required to fulfil their roles too. Therefore we are taught from the Bible and also given clear direction. Teaching and leadership must go hand in hand to try to ensure that the church is led according to God’s design.
7. Church involves submitting to Church government and discipline
Points 1 to 6 make no sense at all unless they are combined with this point. Accountable relationships, mutual ministry and commitment are all impossible without submitting to the authority of the leadership of the church. If each individual member was responsible for deciding what job they did, or what the Bible has to say on all issues, then chaos would result. The leaders of this church are not perfect. However, they have been given a task to do by the members of the church and by God. Our job is to support them and to obey them (e.g. Hebrews 13:7, 17). Taking the step of Church membership means submitting to the authority of the leaders of the particular Church. It is impossible to carry out what it says in Hebrews 13:7 without being a member of a Church. Submitting to the authority of our leaders is not a popular concept today. However, it is one that runs throughout the New Testament.
Sometimes we may not agree with the decisions that are made. When this happens there are channels of communication to pass on how we feel about things. There will be times when we are still not completely happy with the decision made, but we have to accept our leaders’ decisions. It is helpful to bear in mind that we will not always be in possession of all the facts. Ultimately we have to trust them, remembering that we are putting our final trust not in them, but in God and in his appointed leaders. If we feel that we cannot trust and obey them, then we cannot be members of this church. However, if we cannot respect the leaders of the church then we need to ask ourselves this question, "Why do I attend a church where I do not respect the leadership?" (Why get on a bus at all, when you don’t even want to go in the same direction as it is heading?)
8. Why join a Baptist Church?
Charlotte Baptist Chapel is a Baptist Church - the name gives it away! So, if becoming a member of a Christian Church is a Biblical idea, why join a Baptist Church in particular?
As a Baptist Church we would stand alongside all other Evangelical Christians. We are happy to co-operate with other Christians in spreading the Gospel throughout Edinburgh. However, there are obviously some things that are distinctive to us as a Baptist Church.
The two fundamental characteristics that mark a Baptist Church are: a) Congregational Church Government and b) Believers’ Baptism. Without getting into great theological debate, this basically means the following:
a) Congregational Government
As far as the running of the Church is concerned, this is done by the
congregation as a whole. Either by direct decisions (at a Church Business
Meeting) or by delegated authority (via appointed Elders and Deacons),
the congregation decide the direction of the Church. However, a clear
distinction must be made between this system and democracy. A democracy
is ruled by the will of the majority. It is a common misunderstanding
that a Baptist church is a democracy in this sense. Yet the Church in
the New Testament is never a democracy. Christ is the head of the Church
- so it is a monarchy (if anything). At meetings of the Elders and Deacons,
or at Church Business Meetings, the intention is to seek the mind of Christ,
not to vote on what the majority wants. Clearly this involves listening
carefully to the discernment of the Spiritual leadership of the Church,
and being sensitive to the leading of Christ’s Holy Spirit (Acts
16:7).
b) Believers’ Baptism
Again, while we would not want to cast doubt on the salvation of others
who do not hold this view, the following represents the firm conviction
of this Church of what the Bible teaches about Baptism. It is hard to
come up with any ‘normative’ pattern from the New Testament
as to the right way of doing any form of Church practice. However, this
Church believes that there is one crucial factor that does occur in the
book of Acts. Although circumstances may vary, the act of Baptism always
comes after faith/belief in the saving name of Jesus. Therefore we do
not baptise anyone until after they have come to faith in Jesus.
As mentioned earlier, we are happy to support other Bible-believing Christians who have different convictions over these two issues. However, these two issues are part of what makes us a Baptist Church. Therefore, if you disagree with either of them it will not be possible for you to become a full Church member. In this case we would suggest that you talk to someone and consider either becoming an Associate Member, or joining a Church where you could agree wholeheartedly with what they teach.
Conclusions
As far as the New Testament is concerned there are two types of churches. First of all there are false churches which are not biblically functioning communities and do not hold to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The correct response to such churches is to have nothing to do with them (e.g. 1 John 2:19). The other type of church in the New Testament is a group of imperfect people trying, with the enabling of the Holy Spirit, to be a biblically functioning community. The correct response to this type of church is to commit yourself to it. There is no third option.
We hope that this has helped you to think through the issues involved in joining a church like Charlotte Baptist Chapel. You are always welcome here, but we would specially encourage anyone who is a committed Christian to become a member. If you would like to find out more about church membership then please look out for the ‘Church Membership Information Meetings’ (as advertised in the bulletin), or speak to the Membership Secretary (Alex Watt) or phone the Church office on 0131 225 4812 to talk to a member of the Pastoral Team.
