Downtown Cornerstone Blog
Nov 11
2014

Why You Should Consider Becoming a Member

Church Membership | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

MembershipClass (fall 14 620x130)Every Christian is called by God to be passionately committed to a specific local church. Yet, when it comes to the Christian life, the church’s importance is often overlooked, minimized or misunderstood. Have you ever stopped to ask, “What is the church? What is God’s purpose for the church? What is church membership all about? Is that some sort of legalism or power-grab by the leadership? Is it essential or optional? Is membership a matter of obedience to Jesus Christ or a matter of personal preference?”

On Friday and Saturday November 21st-22nd we will have a church membership class that will address these questions and much more – sort of a Christianity 101 meets DCC 101.

» REGISTER HERE!

If you would like to learn more about the biblical rationale for church membership, and I hope you do, I encourage you to continue reading:

Q: How does Jesus feel about the church?

The truth is that the local church is central to God’s glorious purposes in the world – and we get to be part of that. The church is not one option among many options for followers of Jesus; it is the option. Jesus died and gave himself up, for the church (Eph 5:25; Jn 3:16-17). Jesus is the head of the church (Eph 1:22-23; 5:23; Col 1:8). Jesus cleanses, nourishes and cherishes the church (Eph 5:27,29). Jesus promises to build his church (Mt 16:18). Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of the church (Heb 3:1). Jesus lives to make intercession for the church (Heb 7:25). All of history is marching toward the day when Jesus will be with His church (Rev 19:6ff). Clearly, Jesus loves the church. If we love what Jesus loves, we too will love His church. But, you might ask, “Can’t I be part of Jesus’ church without being committed to a specific local church?” That’s a good question.

Q: Can I be part of Jesus’ church without being committed to a specific local church?

Jesus’s church is both visible (as we see it imperfectly) and invisible (as God sees it perfectly), universal (worldwide) and local (particular context). Many Christians wrongly believe the only thing that matters is belonging to the invisible and universal church (i.e. the worldwide body of true believers). Therefore, being intentionally committed to a local church is often viewed as being of little importance.  This goes against the emphasis that the Bible places on the local church. The term “church” is used 109 times in the NT and 93 of those are clear references to the local church. Only 16 signify the universal church. In other words, the overwhelming majority of references to the church in the NT refer to a specific, local, living and loving group of people who are committed to Christ and one another. The local church is the outward manifestation of the universal church in a specific local context. We demonstrate that we are committed part of the universal church through our commitment to the local church.

Q: What are some biblical evidences of church membership?


#1 Metaphors for the church.

There are a host of metaphors the Bible uses to explain the relationship of Jesus to his people, and Jesus’ people to Jesus – bride, flock, branches, building, crops, harvest, priesthood, house and more. The majority of these metaphors highlight that our relationship to Jesus is not merely individual, but corporate. Four metaphors seem to be central: citizensbodytemple and family. These images couldn’t merely be used to describe the universal church as it is impossible to be “family” or part of the same “body” with people you’re not in direct proximity to. Nor could these metaphors be used to describe a loose collection of isolated individuals that happen to gather once a week. God chose these particular metaphors to describe a brand new people that are vitally and organically committed to one another by nature of their faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, church membership represents the commitment to live out our corporate identity in Christ as citizens, the body of Christ, the living temple of God, and the adopted family of God, with other followers of Jesus, in a local context.

#2 Jesus loves the church. So should we. (Eph 5:25-27)

Church membership is a way to say, “I love the local church (i.e. people) and I’m going to demonstrate that by committing myself to these people for whom Jesus died and rose from the grave.” Church membership is a way of saying with our lives, “I’m committed to what Jesus is committed to – his people.”

#3 The first Christians corporately identify themselves as “churches”. (Acts 8:1; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 14:27; 15:3,4)

If you look closely, there are no examples of Christians in the Bible that lived separately from the local church. Church membership is a way of saying with our lives “I understand that essential to following Jesus is belonging to a specific, local family (or church) of Jesus.”

#4 The first Christians were “added” to the church. (Acts 2:14,47)

In other words, these new Christians did not merely become isolated Jesus-followers or choose a small group of fellow Christians to hang out with, but they were added to a people – the church. Church membership represents being “added” to a particular local church.

#5 An intentional record was kept. (Acts 1;15; 2:41; 4:4)

The early church seemed to be keeping track of those that demonstrated faith in Jesus Christ – likely for the purposes of planning and care (cf Acts 6). There is biblical evidence that the early church kept a list of widows (1Tim 5:9). If there were lists of widows it is very reasonable to conclude there were also lists of those who belonged to the church. Church membership is counting yourselves among those that belong to God’s people, in Christ, in a local context.

#6 Common commitment and mutual dependence. (Acts 2:42-47)

From the beginning those in the church were committed to and mutually dependent on one another. It is evident that the church was not just a random collection of isolated individuals who happened to gather once or twice a week. Church membership is demonstrating your common commitment to and mutual dependence on other followers of Christ in the context of a local church.

#7 Pastors/leaders are responsible for specific “sheep”. (1 Peter 5:2; Acts 20:28)

These verses tell us that the pastors/leaders knew who they were responsible for (i.e. the “flock”) and who they were to give an account for before Jesus Christ (Heb 13:17). In order to give an account, the pastors must know who they are accountable for. Clearly, this cannot mean that pastors/leaders are responsible for everyone, but only those who are part of their “flock”. Church membership allows the pastors to know who they are ultimately responsible for.

#8 Christians are responsible to follow specific pastors/leaders. (Heb 13:17; 1 Tim 5:17)

Just as pastors and leaders must know who they are responsible for, the church must know who they are to follow, emulate and who honor to. By becoming a member of a local church you are placing yourself under the watch and care of specific leaders who have been given the task of shepherding your soul. Without becoming a member of a local church it is impossible to actually obey these verses.

#9 Church discipline infers church membership. (1Cor 5:13; Titus 3:10; 1 Jn 2:19; Mt 18:15-20)

In each of the passages above, an individual living and persisting in stubborn, unrepentant sin is removed from among God’s people. The question this raises is “How can someone be removed from the church who has not first belonged to it?” Answer: they can’t. You can’t put someone out of the church if they have never officially been part of the church.

#10 The Apostle Paul planted churches not isolated Christians. (Acts 14:23; 15:41; 16:5)

Throughout the book of Acts the Apostle Paul’s aim was to plant churches, not merely convert isolated, independent individuals. We see this not only during his three missionary journeys, but also in his epistles which comprise the bulk of our New Testament – written in church (Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Corinthians, Thessalonians, etc). Church membership is an acknowledgement that God’s primary plan for the spread of the gospel is through the planting of local church-planting-churches.

#11 God gives spiritual gifts to followers of Jesus for the upbuilding of the church. (Rom 12:3-8; 1Cor 12:4-31)

On two occasions the Apostle Paul addresses the great reality that God gifts individual followers of Jesus in order to build up the church. Now some of these gifts benefit the universal church (e.g. apostleship), but the vast majority are given by God to be used for the benefit of the local churches (e.g. serving, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, mercy, etc). “For the body does not consist of one member but of many…if all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” (1Cor 12:14,19-20). Church membership is a way of saying, “I belong to this particular body and commit to exercising my God-given gifts here for its up-building and flourishing, alongside others who are doing the same.”

Summary

When you take all of this together, it becomes very clear that we are saved, in Christ, to be a living, loving, local people who are committed to Christ and one another. When you choose Jesus, you choose Jesus’ people too. If we’re to love what Jesus loves, we must love the church (universal and local), which he loved to the point of death on a cross. If we’re to be committed to what Jesus is committed to, we must be committed to the church – not merely in an abstract I’m-part-of-the-universal-church-sense, but in the sense that I belong to a real, flesh-and-blood, imperfect, local community of fellow believers. We demonstrate our common allegiance to Jesus and his people by becoming members of a specific local church, thus church membership.

Christ is all!
Pastor Adam

Oct 31
2014

Our Next Sermon Series: Philippians

Scripture, Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Philippians_620x130_1014_CS_f

Downtown Cornerstone, 

 This Sunday (Nov 2nd) we are beginning our next sermon series. Here’s a snapshot of what’s ahead:

“In the year 62, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to a church he planted in the Roman colony of Philippi, located in modern day Greece. Today, we call that letter Philippians. This letter is filled with pastoral warmth, deep joy and genuine affection. Paul’s primary purpose in writing was not to correct, like many of his other letters, but to encourage the church in Philippi (and us) to make progress in their faith as they followed Jesus together. At its very heart is Paul’s declaration, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (1:21). Philippians is a deeply Christ-centered letter and the best picture provided within the New Testament of what a maturing local church looks like. The major themes of this letter include: joy, thanksgiving, humility, unity, the advance of the gospel, perseverance, and over them all, the person of Jesus Christ. Join us as we learn from Paul what it looks like to follow Jesus together in our city, in our generation, for His glory and the good of as many as possible.” 

I am really looking forward to our time together in Philippians and what the Lord plans to do among us through it. Given all that is going on in our city, and within our church, this is the perfect letter for us in this season. Please pray for me as I continue to prepare the series. Please pray for us as a church that we’d have soft hearts that are hungry to learn, trust and follow. Please pray that Jesus would use this series to lead many to trust Him for the first time. Love you, all. See you on Sunday!

Christ is all,

Pastor Adam

 

Oct 23
2014

Annual Report: A Letter from Pastor Adam

, News, Prayer | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

AnnualReportBanner_620x130_1014_CSBeing part of a church plant is like watching God unfold a miracle over time. It was not long ago that we, as a people, did not even exist. God is gracious! It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to be part of what He is doing in and through this church. Without question, every church is a unique work of the Holy Spirit, but I am deeply grateful to be part of this one.

Though much has changed over our short amount of time together, our reason for being hasn’t. We exist to build a great city through the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God. We want to see as many people as possible, from the avenues to the alley-ways, meet Jesus and experience life as it was intended to be, in Him, now and forever. We are part of God’s unfolding story, in our generation, in our city.

In our early days we put together a prospectus that outlined who and what we believed Jesus was calling us to be and do in our city. That was four years ago and most of you were not with us then. In light of that, we have created this Annual Report—our first ever—as an updated resource that captures who we are and where, by God’s grace, we are going.

There’s a lot of grace contained within the pages of our Annual Report. In this report we recount evidences of God’s movement among us, articulate who we are, introduce leaders, provide ministry updates, highlight fun statistics, offer a brief financial recap, and share our prayerful focus for the next season of life and mission together. We hope you find it to be life-giving, faith-building and God-exalting.

Jesus is our cornerstone.

We love Him because He first loved us. May He keep us on fire for His supremacy in all things in the year to come. Let’s lean on who God is and all that He is for us, in Christ. His promises are true and they cannot fail. He alone is worthy of our days, dollars and devotion. We continue to envision thousands of people, from many churches and church plants, from many parts of Seattle, united under a new identity in Jesus and sent to love, serve and challenge the city with the gospel. I invite you to join us in being part of seeing that vision become even more of a reality in the days ahead. Together, as always, let’s ask Him to do what only He can.

Christ is all,

Adam Sinnett
Lead Pastor

Follow this link to read a full version of our Annual Report. 

Oct 17
2014

Helpful Ways to Stay Connected

, City Life, Event, News

Whether you’ve been running with us for some time now or are just beginning to check things out, you might be asking the question – what’s the best way to stay connected to all that’s happening at DCC? That’s a great question. Lots of ways actually. And we wanted to highlight a few of those for you this week!

#1 Blog and Website – www.downtowncornerstone.org

We are regularly updating our blog with events details, updates, answers to FAQ’s, and stories of the ways Jesus is at work in our church and across our city. If you’re reading this now, you’ve likely found our blog. That’s great. And we’d recommend checking back often for helpful info and snapshots into the life of our church here in Seattle.

#2 The City Network – dcc.onthecity.org

The City is an online social networking tool that we use to stay connected with one another throughout the week. It’s kind of like a virtual neighborhood. Event invites, casual meetups, prayer requests, and pastoral notes are just a few of the things you’ll find and enjoy about being connected to The City. To get connected to The City, drop by the Connect Desk on Sunday mornings or talk to your community leader. We’d love to invite you into our online network!

#3 Facebook – www.facebook.com/downtowncornerstone
Twitter – @DCCseattle

You’ll find a lot of useful information and updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Our desire is to make these channels useful as a resource for you to learn of creative ways to enjoy our city (e.g. festivals, spray parks, concerts, events), as well as keep you updated on what’s happening at DCC. You’ll also find regular quotes and verses to encourage your soul throughout the week. Like us or follow us online to get fun ideas, encouraging quotes, and event updates!

#4 DCC App – http://get.theapp.co/7c78

We are also thrilled to be able to offer our official DCC App! You can listen to past sermons, check out videos, read the blog, find a community, and even see the previous Sunday’s handout. Our app is available for iPhones/iPads, Windows and Android phones.

There are lots of great ways to stay connected! And if you are interested in learning more or even being a part of our newly-forming family in the heart of Seattle, we’d encourage you to visit us on Sunday mornings for our weekly gathering at 10am. You’ll get the best flavor for who we are as a people, what we value, how we do life together, and more by gathering us and getting connected to one of our community scattered across the city. For more information on our weekly gatherings or to get connected to a community in your area, feel free to visit our webpage HERE or email us at . We’d love for you to join us!