Luke 14:27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” NASB

Why do we do have the Gospel Class and why is it a prerequisite for covenant membership in Sojourn Church?

We recognize all born again Christians as being members of the Church (big “C”). Local churches are a part of and an expression of the universal Church. Local churches are congregations of the city church of whatever region they are in (Revelation 1-3). Sojourn Church is self described as a local church, but further defines biblical churches as “discipleship movements” (Matthew 28:19-20). This verbiage is to capture the essence of the process Jesus had in calling men and women to leave all to follow Him. That time was not only prelaunch of the Christian church, but was actually the description of what being a missional disciple/church was and is.

Christian pollsters and leaders indicate that there are many church members who do not fully understand the gospel, and have not surrendered to Christ. We live in day where it is not uncommon to have both easy-believism and careless membership practices within the context of local church practice. This is not the case for all churches. This is also not the biblical or historical record of the church. Church leaders will be held accountable for the way they led. Part of this is giving biblical, and therefore, healthy descriptions of covenant and church discipline.

A fellow Acts 29 pastor, Matt Ortiz, pointed out the following about the biblical roots of membership:

The instructions for church discipline
Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5 talk about putting a person out of the church (“remove” NASB, “expel” NIV) and treating him like an unbeliever. Now, since unbelievers were welcome at worship, removal must have indicated a distinct formal association.
The meaning of the word “join”
After the fiery end of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:13, no non-Christians “dared join them [the church], but the people esteemed them highly.” The Greek word for “join” has strong connotations of intense commitment. The same word is used to speak of sexual relationships (1Cor 6:16) and joining to the Lord (1Cor 6:17).
The meaning of “the whole church”
In 1Cor 14:23, Paul says “if the whole church comes together in one place…” How would the leaders know if the “whole church” was there if no formal relationship was established?
The instructions for pastoral oversight and spiritual leadership
Pastors/overseers/shepherds were to care for “all the flock” (Acts 20:28. cf. 1Tim 3, Acts 20, Phil 1:1, Titus 1). Leaders of the citywide churches must have had some listing of believers. Since leaders were accountable for the souls of the flock under their care (Heb 13:17), they must have had some commitment for care.
The biblical metaphors used to describe local churches
Flock, temple, body, and household are used specifically of local churches (Acts 20, Eph 2, 1Cor 12, 1Tim 3). Each of these metaphors has a clear distinction of who is part of the church, and who isn’t.

It was obvious that there was a strong commitment to one another in the early Christian church. Our objective is to make plain how we interpret this biblical concept within our cultural context. Enter the Gospel Class. This class will bring greater confidence for people to know that they are or are not supposed to be on journey with Sojourn Church.

Schedule:
Class One: The Scriptures
Class Two: God
Class Three: Sin and Creation
Class Four: Salvation
Class Five: The Missional Church
Class Six: Stewardship
Class Seven: Who we are. What we do. What we believe.
Class Eight: Member covenant.

A few other thoughts:

- Membership is not for the elite. Rather, it is for those who humble themselves before Christ, each other and the vision for this church.
- You do not have to be a member to participate in the family and journey of Sojourn Church. We invite Christ followers and non-Christians to join us as we imperfectly worship Christ and follow His ways.
- There is no rush in becoming a member of this church.

Our hope is that each attender would come to saving faith in Christ alone. Further, we desire to see a growing membership of people who have counted the cost of voluntary, covenental commitment to the beliefs and vision of Sojourn Church. We are excited to press forward with members, attenders, doubters, and pre-disciples in tow. Jesus made plain the cost of following Him. We must as well.

In summation, we do not equate non-membership with being a non-Christian. Our objective is for there to be clarity on what we believe, where we are headed and what is expected of those who commit to Sojourn Church. The challenge is that all who enter the membership covenant do so with conviction, calling, humility, confidence and joy. The question looms, “What does it mean to be Christ followers in Metro Huntsville moving in the same direction?” Much more could be written, but that is the purpose of the Gospel Class.

All because of grace,

–
David Thew
Sojourn Founding Pastor

__________________________
David Thew
Sojourn Pastor
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