WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.080 Music. 00:00:12.471 --> 00:00:16.671 Welcome back to the Life on 11 podcast, where we turn the volume up on kingdom 00:00:16.671 --> 00:00:19.771 living and faith, not halfway, but all the way. 00:00:19.971 --> 00:00:24.351 Today, we are diving into one of the most misunderstood questions in all of 00:00:24.351 --> 00:00:26.491 Christianity, church membership. 00:00:26.891 --> 00:00:29.891 Is it about having your name on a roll in the church, or is it something deeper? 00:00:30.291 --> 00:00:33.111 We'll look at what scripture says, why belonging to a church matters, 00:00:33.371 --> 00:00:36.251 and how membership can shape your faith and community. 00:00:36.431 --> 00:00:38.991 So whether you're already a member of a church and you're just attending, 00:00:39.191 --> 00:00:41.791 or you're wondering if it really actually makes a difference, 00:00:41.791 --> 00:00:46.211 This conversation is for you, so let's turn it up and talk about life and the 00:00:46.211 --> 00:00:49.171 body of Christ. What's going on, dawg? 00:00:49.651 --> 00:00:54.751 What's happening, my man? How we doing tonight? I'm doing really good tonight. 00:00:54.751 --> 00:00:58.091 I have been loving the weather recently. 00:00:58.251 --> 00:01:00.231 Dude, it's been amazing. It has been fabulous. It has been. 00:01:00.431 --> 00:01:05.391 Shandor Valley weather has been rocking. It's not typical for the end of August 00:01:05.391 --> 00:01:07.071 because usually it's blazing hot. 00:01:07.451 --> 00:01:09.991 But, I mean, the past, I'm going 00:01:09.991 --> 00:01:12.691 to say the past week, I've had to put my sweatshirt on in the mornings. 00:01:13.091 --> 00:01:17.551 Oh, yeah. And I love it. Oh, yeah. I drove to your house the other night in the Mustang. 00:01:17.911 --> 00:01:20.851 And you got cold? Did you get cold? I was a little cold in my way home. 00:01:20.891 --> 00:01:22.611 Oh, baby. A little cold in my way home. 00:01:22.951 --> 00:01:26.751 So, I just haven't acclimated to the nighttime. 00:01:27.791 --> 00:01:29.791 Haven't acclimated. That's right. That's right. But this is, 00:01:29.851 --> 00:01:33.011 it's getting to be that time of year. Oh, man. It's so great. Hey, you know what? 00:01:33.811 --> 00:01:39.131 What? Football. Yes. Football. we are like two nights away from the first NFL 00:01:39.131 --> 00:01:44.471 game yep this is this is the no more Sundays without NFL football, 00:01:45.338 --> 00:01:48.798 until February. Yes. I like it. And college. College is in full swing. 00:01:48.858 --> 00:01:49.898 A lot of upsets over the weekend. 00:01:50.158 --> 00:01:55.218 I mean, were they really upsets week one? I mean, you're just going off with 00:01:55.218 --> 00:01:56.438 the talking heads to think. 00:01:57.038 --> 00:01:59.678 Well, I don't want to tell you this, but you're on a podcast, 00:01:59.678 --> 00:02:02.538 so that makes you, in fact, a talking head. 00:02:03.158 --> 00:02:08.718 I mean, that's debatable. I'm a rambling head. Shout out. 00:02:09.998 --> 00:02:12.778 Shout out. Anyway, it's been good. 00:02:12.918 --> 00:02:17.598 It's been good hey we had i hope you had a great memorial day weekend memorial day i mean labor day. 00:02:19.038 --> 00:02:25.058 We're at the end of summer labor day i did i did have a great great weekend did you labor, 00:02:25.598 --> 00:02:30.558 my i did a little bit of laboring but i also did a little bit of napping as 00:02:30.558 --> 00:02:36.978 well i got some napping on sunday afternoon and on monday afternoon like double 00:02:36.978 --> 00:02:40.718 nappage double nappage oh yeah it was great that's fantastic yeah it was that's 00:02:40.718 --> 00:02:42.798 good that's good i'm glad I'm glad for you. Yep. 00:02:43.058 --> 00:02:46.098 I'm glad for you. Got to spend some time with some homies over the weekend, 00:02:46.198 --> 00:02:47.218 so that was good too. Yep. 00:02:47.678 --> 00:02:52.298 Yep. It's always good to get around the people that you love on weekends like that. Yep. 00:02:52.618 --> 00:02:55.778 It's very good. How about you? It was good. We, yeah, we, like you, 00:02:55.858 --> 00:02:59.278 spent some time with some of our friends and got to do some fun stuff. 00:02:59.438 --> 00:03:01.418 Church was great on Sunday. At least I thought so. 00:03:01.598 --> 00:03:05.478 I thought it was good. It was a good service. And we went to King's Dominion yesterday. 00:03:05.878 --> 00:03:09.398 Whoop, whoop. Spent the day there with all the fam and the girls, 00:03:09.638 --> 00:03:11.398 the boys' girlfriends. Whoa. 00:03:11.938 --> 00:03:15.998 Yep. How many more Kings Dominion adventures you reckon you have left this year? 00:03:16.318 --> 00:03:18.738 I'm going to put the over under at probably three. 00:03:19.178 --> 00:03:22.078 Oh, okay. All right. I think I'm going to take the under on that. 00:03:22.298 --> 00:03:24.338 I'm going to take the under? Yeah. Yeah. You don't think so? 00:03:24.938 --> 00:03:31.778 No. No. I don't think so. I know we have to go at least one more time before October. Okay. 00:03:32.698 --> 00:03:36.418 Because Haley has some birthday gifts that she wants from Kings Dominion. 00:03:36.558 --> 00:03:39.558 Oh. So we've got to go pick those up before her birthday. Okay. 00:03:40.458 --> 00:03:43.658 And we want to go at least once for the haunt. We might... 00:03:44.393 --> 00:03:49.613 Get a sitter for the younger ones and just take the teens and their girlfriends 00:03:49.613 --> 00:03:53.433 and Jess and I and go do the haunt and get the, get the holiness scared out 00:03:53.433 --> 00:03:54.313 of us for a couple of days. 00:03:54.413 --> 00:03:56.753 Gotcha. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? 00:03:57.213 --> 00:04:01.893 Word. I like it, but it's good. Good stuff. It's good. So yeah, we're rolling, dude. 00:04:02.073 --> 00:04:05.993 Hey, the layer, dude, this, this is looking good. 00:04:06.113 --> 00:04:11.753 It's like, it's like 98, 99%. Yeah. A little finishing touches. 00:04:11.993 --> 00:04:14.793 We got some little stuff to go. But we'll have to put pictures up when it's 00:04:14.793 --> 00:04:17.433 done. I mean, it won't be as good because people haven't seen the before and the after. 00:04:17.753 --> 00:04:21.953 True. But it's there, man. Yeah, it's a whole different place. 00:04:21.993 --> 00:04:24.253 It's going to be ready for football on Sunday. 00:04:24.833 --> 00:04:29.373 Sunday. Yeah, we're looking forward to it. Some Jaden Daniels touchdowns. Boop, boop. 00:04:29.653 --> 00:04:31.933 Ready for it. Bring it. It's going to be great. All right, anyway, 00:04:32.053 --> 00:04:33.673 sorry. I interrupted you. No, no, you're getting ready to say something. 00:04:33.833 --> 00:04:38.613 So speaking of a good church on Sunday, today we're talking about church membership. 00:04:39.413 --> 00:04:42.833 Church membership. Church membership. Yeah. It doesn't matter. 00:04:42.833 --> 00:04:45.093 Is it good? Is it bad? Yeah. What is it? 00:04:45.833 --> 00:04:49.613 You know, this actually comes from one of our loyal listeners, 00:04:49.753 --> 00:04:51.533 somebody who's a regular listener on the podcast. 00:04:51.953 --> 00:04:54.473 I didn't get their permission to share their name, so I won't do that. 00:04:54.613 --> 00:04:55.653 I'm sure they probably don't care. 00:04:56.393 --> 00:04:58.973 Yeah, but you know, without the permission thing and lawsuits. 00:04:59.253 --> 00:05:01.513 And you know, with our huge popularity. 00:05:01.873 --> 00:05:04.513 Exactly. People are going to try to get in on our money. Exactly. 00:05:04.553 --> 00:05:06.033 Because we have a lot of it. 00:05:06.053 --> 00:05:08.733 They know that they know how much money we're making out this podcast and they're 00:05:08.733 --> 00:05:10.693 going to try to get some of it. We don't even have a bank account. 00:05:11.093 --> 00:05:17.793 That is true. That's true. So I ain't saying the gold digger, but yeah. 00:05:18.713 --> 00:05:22.173 So anyway, so we're talking about church membership at the request of one of 00:05:22.173 --> 00:05:23.433 our listeners, which is always cool. 00:05:23.633 --> 00:05:26.573 So just so you know, if you ever have an idea of a podcast, something you want 00:05:26.573 --> 00:05:28.813 us to tackle and talk about, all you got to do is let us know. 00:05:29.013 --> 00:05:32.553 We're happy to do it. We've done a few, I think now with some thoughts from some listeners. 00:05:32.853 --> 00:05:37.513 So always, always put those in. So full disclaimer, right? You and I are both members of the church. 00:05:38.033 --> 00:05:43.233 Correct. You know, as pastor's kids, are you a pastor's kid and me a pastor? 00:05:43.513 --> 00:05:46.533 That probably skews some of our thoughts, maybe a little bit. 00:05:46.913 --> 00:05:47.733 Yeah, I'm going to say definitely. 00:05:48.373 --> 00:05:54.073 When we get into it, I'll... Yeah. So let's talk about what is a church member 00:05:54.073 --> 00:05:56.053 to you? What's a church member? 00:05:57.213 --> 00:05:58.773 Someone who is... 00:05:59.967 --> 00:06:02.967 Active in their church. 00:06:03.487 --> 00:06:09.827 They are a regular attendee. They are involved in the different ministries, whatever they may be. 00:06:10.007 --> 00:06:12.487 Obviously, there's different options at whatever church you're at, 00:06:12.507 --> 00:06:16.587 but you're involved in the life of the church. 00:06:16.747 --> 00:06:25.827 Now, there is a membership role at churches that is usually much bigger or longer 00:06:25.827 --> 00:06:31.467 than members that are actually engaged and active in the life of the church. 00:06:31.627 --> 00:06:34.407 So I want to differentiate between that. 00:06:35.227 --> 00:06:41.027 So we're not talking about just being on the roll where you get the letter every 00:06:41.027 --> 00:06:43.487 year for homecoming or whatever like that. 00:06:43.647 --> 00:06:47.947 We're talking about membership and being active and being engaged. Yes. 00:06:48.447 --> 00:06:52.767 Big difference. And yeah, huge difference. So for me, you know, 00:06:52.827 --> 00:06:57.307 I became a member of my home church growing up when I was probably, 00:06:57.427 --> 00:07:01.507 I'm going to say 13-ish, 14, maybe. 00:07:02.147 --> 00:07:04.827 In the Mennonite church, we talked about the age of accountability. 00:07:05.467 --> 00:07:08.107 And, you know, that's when I decided to give my life to Christ. 00:07:08.107 --> 00:07:13.387 And I went through a membership, like, preparation class. Then I was baptized and became a member. 00:07:14.327 --> 00:07:22.247 And so there was some excitement about that. Yeah, I would agree. 00:07:22.687 --> 00:07:27.207 Church membership, to me, is very different than being on a roll. 00:07:27.767 --> 00:07:30.807 There are people that would show up on the roll who I don't think are members, 00:07:30.807 --> 00:07:33.507 and there are people who wouldn't show up on the roll who I think are. 00:07:34.221 --> 00:07:37.821 One of the things, so two funny, just anecdotal stories. 00:07:38.241 --> 00:07:42.941 The first would be, I got a call from somebody. This has been five years ago, 00:07:43.341 --> 00:07:45.481 pre-COVID, BC, before COVID. 00:07:46.321 --> 00:07:51.801 And the person says that they want to be removed from the role at Mount Zion. 00:07:52.101 --> 00:07:53.421 Okay. And I'm like, all right. 00:07:54.021 --> 00:07:56.781 And I asked them, like, who is you? 00:07:57.181 --> 00:08:01.961 And they told me who they were. And in the conversation, they were upset that at the time, 00:08:01.961 --> 00:08:04.661 we were members of the Church of the Brethren and as we know the 00:08:04.661 --> 00:08:07.801 Church of the Brethren had some very liberal leaning things happening and 00:08:07.801 --> 00:08:11.681 they did not want to be associated with some things that were happening at Bridgewater 00:08:11.681 --> 00:08:16.321 College that happened to be Bridgewater College is a Church of the Brethren 00:08:16.321 --> 00:08:22.021 school they did not want their name to be associated with it in talking with 00:08:22.021 --> 00:08:26.101 them they had not been at Mounds Lion since 1983, 00:08:26.841 --> 00:08:32.321 oh my that was before I was born wow and so for whatever reason. 00:08:32.561 --> 00:08:35.021 I mean, they were attending another church. They were like, I'll go here and 00:08:35.021 --> 00:08:40.001 this is where I'm at. So it had literally been almost 40 years. 00:08:40.601 --> 00:08:45.321 That's wild. And they had no need to change their membership. 00:08:45.781 --> 00:08:49.541 And then when they did, it actually had nothing to do with our church. 00:08:49.541 --> 00:08:53.541 It had to do with the church of the brethren. So that's anecdotal story number one. 00:08:53.961 --> 00:08:57.881 Anecdotal story number two comes to us from Easter Sunday, two years ago. 00:08:58.441 --> 00:09:03.201 Andrew, the associate pastor of our church and I were outside frying bacon for 00:09:03.201 --> 00:09:05.521 our church sunrise service. These two ladies come up. 00:09:06.761 --> 00:09:09.581 The two ladies come up and they make their way into the cemetery. 00:09:09.781 --> 00:09:10.381 We're like, hey, how you doing? 00:09:10.481 --> 00:09:13.001 On the way out, they're like, hey, ladies, we're frying some bacon, 00:09:13.101 --> 00:09:15.401 get ready to have church sunrise service, have big Easter celebration. 00:09:15.701 --> 00:09:17.981 Why don't you stay and worship with us today? And the woman's like, 00:09:18.421 --> 00:09:20.061 oh, well, this is actually my church. 00:09:20.221 --> 00:09:25.301 I go to church here. And I'm looking at her like, I ain't never seen you before in my life. 00:09:25.821 --> 00:09:30.301 And we said, oh, you go to church here? She said, well, this is my church. 00:09:30.461 --> 00:09:33.841 This is where my membership is. I don't go to church, but I'm a member of this church. 00:09:34.662 --> 00:09:38.642 And I was like, I, and she was like, who's the pastor here now? 00:09:38.822 --> 00:09:42.942 And I was like, that's me, you know? And she was like, oh, well, 00:09:42.982 --> 00:09:43.862 you know, it's good to meet you. 00:09:43.982 --> 00:09:45.862 You know, how long have you been pastor here? And I was like, 00:09:45.982 --> 00:09:51.642 ah, 13 years, you know, like, Hey, like, and so those are the difference between 00:09:51.642 --> 00:09:54.762 being on a role for sure. Yep. And being a member. 00:09:55.382 --> 00:09:59.862 And I think both of us would, and this is, I guess, from being a minister, 00:10:00.102 --> 00:10:04.242 I find that being on the role is somehow related to legal process. 00:10:04.922 --> 00:10:09.962 Oh, okay. Right. I feel like we made church rolls so that we know who gets to 00:10:09.962 --> 00:10:12.982 vote in business meetings, who gets to make the decisions of the church. 00:10:13.222 --> 00:10:16.222 Oh, interesting. Okay. I can't prove that, right? 00:10:16.222 --> 00:10:20.522 I can't prove it, but I've watched enough church business and been in enough 00:10:20.522 --> 00:10:25.522 church conflicts now to know that 90% of the time that we break the church rollout 00:10:25.522 --> 00:10:28.722 when it's time to make parliamentary procedural decisions. 00:10:28.982 --> 00:10:32.582 Yeah, that you're right. I could see. I see your point. I see your point. 00:10:32.582 --> 00:10:36.302 And there's all sorts of times where I have been in meetings, 00:10:36.582 --> 00:10:38.102 not at our church, praise God, 00:10:38.402 --> 00:10:44.422 where people who haven't been to church somewhere in 10, 15 years have shown 00:10:44.422 --> 00:10:49.882 up for a vote because they're role members and they get to vote because the 00:10:49.882 --> 00:10:51.182 church is voting a new pastor. 00:10:51.342 --> 00:10:54.302 They're trying to vote a pastor out or they're buying a piece of property or 00:10:54.302 --> 00:10:55.282 they're doing whatever. 00:10:55.442 --> 00:10:59.582 And they show up for the vote and they get to vote because they're on the roll. 00:11:00.442 --> 00:11:04.542 That's very interesting. Yeah. What about, sorry, since we're talking about 00:11:04.542 --> 00:11:10.522 the role, are you aware of churches having a process where they purge the role 00:11:10.522 --> 00:11:13.242 every so often? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it happens. 00:11:13.962 --> 00:11:17.502 We've purged the role once since I was at Mount Don. Okay, I just didn't know 00:11:17.502 --> 00:11:19.722 if that was a thing. That was just a me not knowing question. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:11:19.882 --> 00:11:22.402 I don't know how many churches regularly do it. Yeah. I mean, 00:11:22.602 --> 00:11:25.382 you're supposed to. It's in our constitution. Oh, okay. Okay. We're supposed to. 00:11:25.662 --> 00:11:33.942 Interesting. And the other thing that strikes me about those things is the amount 00:11:33.942 --> 00:11:36.022 of people who put a lot of stock... 00:11:36.706 --> 00:11:41.406 In being a member of a church. Now for us, I'm assuming, I'm pretty sure I'm 00:11:41.406 --> 00:11:43.406 right on this, Mennonites are like brethren. 00:11:43.686 --> 00:11:47.006 We attach church membership to baptism. 00:11:47.526 --> 00:11:51.006 Correct. So you become a member of our church when you are baptized. 00:11:51.206 --> 00:11:54.806 Yes. You can also become a member by affirmation of faith. Yes. 00:11:55.026 --> 00:11:58.546 But it's like this automatic qualifier. Correct. 00:11:59.106 --> 00:12:02.466 Not a lot, I shouldn't say, there are denominations where that doesn't happen. 00:12:02.586 --> 00:12:04.726 You can be baptized and not. 00:12:04.986 --> 00:12:11.566 But it is assumed in the Brethren and the Mennonites and a few others that when 00:12:11.566 --> 00:12:14.686 you are baptized, you are becoming a member of that church. 00:12:14.846 --> 00:12:17.186 And so we link those two things together. 00:12:17.386 --> 00:12:21.526 So if you are, if you're unfamiliar with that practice, that also jades a little 00:12:21.526 --> 00:12:22.806 bit of what we're talking about. Sure. 00:12:23.086 --> 00:12:27.526 Because that's one reason why I'm not the kind of guy that goes around baptizing 00:12:27.526 --> 00:12:30.006 people, because I believe that when I baptize someone, 00:12:30.166 --> 00:12:32.946 they are a member of the body of Christ where i'm 00:12:32.946 --> 00:12:35.746 connected to sure and if that's not then 00:12:35.746 --> 00:12:38.406 we have to have a very specific conversation i'm not 00:12:38.406 --> 00:12:41.746 saying i wouldn't do it but i have to have a very specific conversation 00:12:41.746 --> 00:12:44.546 i have baptized people who do not attend mount zine they 00:12:44.546 --> 00:12:47.766 go somewhere else and they just and i've had to say like i want you to understand 00:12:47.766 --> 00:12:52.686 that normally when i do this i'm baptizing you into the body of mount zine and 00:12:52.686 --> 00:12:57.766 i'm not doing that today and i need you to know that that and they didn't know 00:12:57.766 --> 00:13:02.206 that that that you're I assume you have an expectation or a hope that they are. 00:13:02.426 --> 00:13:05.166 Oh, I won't. For the most part, I wouldn't say I won't. 00:13:05.386 --> 00:13:09.446 I have yet to come across a place where I baptize somebody who is not involved 00:13:09.446 --> 00:13:11.746 in a faith community somewhere, somehow. 00:13:12.166 --> 00:13:16.426 Okay. So kind of like a prerequisite type thing. 00:13:16.566 --> 00:13:19.046 Yeah. I mean, that's definitely early in the conversation. It's like, 00:13:19.126 --> 00:13:21.886 hey, if I'm baptizing you, where are you connected? 00:13:22.106 --> 00:13:24.166 Like, I need to know that you're connected somewhere. Yeah. 00:13:24.586 --> 00:13:27.786 You're acknowledging the importance of being connected. Absolutely. 00:13:28.106 --> 00:13:32.386 For sure. Absolutely. And you know who else acknowledges that importance? 00:13:32.746 --> 00:13:39.226 Well, the Bible. The Bible acknowledges the importance of being gathered. 00:13:39.226 --> 00:13:43.846 Again, we're having a different conversation about church membership and being 00:13:43.846 --> 00:13:46.566 a member of a faith, being part of the faith community. 00:13:47.126 --> 00:13:50.386 The scripture doesn't say, like, thou shalt have thy name on the roll. 00:13:51.826 --> 00:13:56.226 But Acts chapter 2, right? There was this people got saved and they got converted 00:13:56.226 --> 00:14:00.206 and they joined up the faith community. They held all things in common. 00:14:00.386 --> 00:14:06.106 They devoted to prayer and the breaking of bread and the teaching of the disciples, right? 00:14:06.206 --> 00:14:12.106 So we see community life was very central in the life of the believer. 00:14:13.409 --> 00:14:17.989 And that's super important, right? The second part of that is Jesus himself 00:14:17.989 --> 00:14:19.509 was like a community dude. 00:14:19.749 --> 00:14:27.169 Like he spent his time around people, you know, he was always surrounded by 00:14:27.169 --> 00:14:30.449 his people and sowing into others. Yeah. 00:14:30.729 --> 00:14:34.229 Those are very important, you know, without, and it's a different context because 00:14:34.229 --> 00:14:38.549 in Acts, of course, they didn't have church buildings and they didn't have the written word of God. 00:14:38.749 --> 00:14:43.129 So there was a different, I think, focus for that community life. 00:14:43.409 --> 00:14:46.989 But the Bible very much talks about us living in community. 00:14:47.349 --> 00:14:51.809 Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, we did do a podcast on community. 00:14:52.089 --> 00:14:59.489 And I feel like this does build on that because we're expressing the importance 00:14:59.489 --> 00:15:04.369 of that community being in a church, your church membership. 00:15:05.229 --> 00:15:11.129 And, you know, people will argue that, you know, I don't have to attend church 00:15:11.129 --> 00:15:14.149 to be saved or go to heaven. 00:15:14.489 --> 00:15:19.009 Well, yeah, we're not debating that. You don't have to have a parachute to jump 00:15:19.009 --> 00:15:20.229 out of a plane, but it sure helps. 00:15:20.749 --> 00:15:26.529 Amen to that. That's a good one. That's a good one. I'm not going to debate that one with you. 00:15:27.229 --> 00:15:33.449 So, yeah, I mean, I guess we're not here to say that, yeah, you're not going 00:15:33.449 --> 00:15:35.409 to go to heaven. and you're not saved if you're not a member of church. 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:37.689 We're discussing the importance. 00:15:38.687 --> 00:15:44.507 In our eyes, and like you just brought up in the scripture, of being part of 00:15:44.507 --> 00:15:49.687 that community and holding one another accountable and being there to support 00:15:49.687 --> 00:15:52.187 one another in difficult times and, you know, 00:15:52.507 --> 00:15:58.607 know that you're being prayed for and know that you're loved and all of those 00:15:58.607 --> 00:16:00.307 great things that come along with it. 00:16:00.307 --> 00:16:08.767 You know, the voting and all that stuff, that's not really part of it scripturally. 00:16:08.987 --> 00:16:12.727 In the biblical term. In the biblical term, yes. And it's interesting, isn't it? 00:16:12.787 --> 00:16:19.787 Because I feel like we have a society, people are longing to belong. Sure. 00:16:20.387 --> 00:16:28.047 Yes. And I feel like the belonging that we want is to belong to the body of Christ. 00:16:28.047 --> 00:16:31.327 And the amount of people that find that other places, like I laugh, 00:16:31.627 --> 00:16:35.827 like the amount of times you, I don't remember if it was like McDonald's or 00:16:35.827 --> 00:16:39.487 Wendy's or one of these fast food restaurants the other day we went in and they 00:16:39.487 --> 00:16:42.047 were like, they had their now hiring poster and they were like, 00:16:42.527 --> 00:16:47.627 you know, great hours, great pay, chance for advancement, being part of a family. 00:16:47.747 --> 00:16:51.607 And I'm like, really at a fast food restaurant? Like, okay. 00:16:51.847 --> 00:16:54.727 Like if you told me somebody was like going to join like a career, 00:16:55.007 --> 00:16:58.387 like they're going They're aiming to work here for the rest of their lives. 00:16:58.447 --> 00:16:59.567 They're like, oh, well, I have a work family. 00:16:59.727 --> 00:17:03.027 I'm like, yo, I worked in fast food. Most of these people ain't going to be 00:17:03.027 --> 00:17:04.167 working here for the next eight months. 00:17:05.187 --> 00:17:12.067 Yeah, for sure. But sports, how many people, the sports team becomes family. 00:17:12.827 --> 00:17:16.067 But even that doesn't last. Right. 00:17:17.727 --> 00:17:22.407 Church membership or the longing to be part of the body of Christ doesn't go away. 00:17:22.467 --> 00:17:26.567 You just displace it somewhere else. You're going to find your connection somewhere. 00:17:26.687 --> 00:17:29.647 It might be on a sports team. It might be at work. It might be in the HOA. 00:17:29.787 --> 00:17:33.007 It might be like, who knows where it's going to be. So we all have it. 00:17:33.307 --> 00:17:36.647 It's programmed into our DNA. Sure. Right? Yeah. 00:17:37.328 --> 00:17:43.648 Yeah, I mean, how many times have we talked about, like, people that are just longing for that? 00:17:43.748 --> 00:17:48.308 They don't even really know that that's what they're longing for until they find it. Yeah, yeah. 00:17:48.528 --> 00:17:52.788 Like, people are like, man, you know, I found, I'm just using Mount Zion as 00:17:52.788 --> 00:17:55.468 an example because that's where we're members. 00:17:55.608 --> 00:18:00.108 And so people are like, oh, man, I found what I've been missing. 00:18:00.268 --> 00:18:03.568 And I didn't know I was missing it until I found it. Right. You know what I mean? Right. 00:18:03.888 --> 00:18:08.448 So, well, and, and, and the other part, so the next part of that is think about 00:18:08.448 --> 00:18:11.668 Paul, you know, he writes to us about being the body of Christ. Yes. 00:18:11.848 --> 00:18:16.508 Like we are meant to connect together and be part of something else. Right. 00:18:17.008 --> 00:18:20.508 Paul didn't say like, okay, you are saved unto yourself. Now go do your thing. 00:18:20.668 --> 00:18:27.308 Like you are part of something that Jesus is up to and you have a role to play and you have a part. 00:18:27.708 --> 00:18:32.268 And, and when you are disconnected from that, then there is still But like. 00:18:32.828 --> 00:18:39.728 You know, if you are a foot and you don't go to church, you'll still be a foot. You'll just be a foot. 00:18:40.268 --> 00:18:43.768 You'll be like, what was that? Cousin It from the Addams family, right? 00:18:44.008 --> 00:18:46.788 That hand. Just get ready to say, what made you pick a foot? 00:18:46.928 --> 00:18:50.068 Feet are stinky. No, but you'll be the little hand. 00:18:50.248 --> 00:18:53.208 Like, he can't actually do much, right? He can't talk. 00:18:53.448 --> 00:18:58.108 But he just runs around like, ah, you know, like you don't cease being who you 00:18:58.108 --> 00:19:03.868 were created to be. you just don't have the tools and the context to do what you're called to do. 00:19:04.128 --> 00:19:07.888 And when you do try to do other things, you're probably going to fail miserably 00:19:07.888 --> 00:19:10.388 at it because you don't have the support around you. 00:19:10.528 --> 00:19:14.728 Like, you know, the other side I love, Jeremy, is I've had folks ask me like, 00:19:14.888 --> 00:19:16.768 well, where in the Bible does this have to be a member of a church? 00:19:17.208 --> 00:19:21.068 It's what we call implied reality. Ooh. Okay. 00:19:22.188 --> 00:19:26.848 Because, so let's just look at the New Testament. There are 27 New Testament books. 00:19:28.164 --> 00:19:33.364 Most of them, if not, you could argue all of them, but definitely most of them 00:19:33.364 --> 00:19:36.644 were written to, you got it, churches. 00:19:37.584 --> 00:19:40.444 They weren't written to individuals. They were written to groups of people. 00:19:40.564 --> 00:19:45.144 It was implied that the Bible was written for a group of people. 00:19:45.344 --> 00:19:46.584 A group of people, yes. Right? 00:19:46.944 --> 00:19:51.004 Yep. And so when somebody says, do I have to be a member of a church? 00:19:51.264 --> 00:19:55.044 I don't think you have to be a member. Like I've told folks before, 00:19:55.444 --> 00:19:58.884 you know, as a pastor, I've had folks like asked like, well, 00:19:59.244 --> 00:20:01.044 should I join the church? I'm like, here's the deal. 00:20:01.324 --> 00:20:04.864 I'm going to love you and I'm going to serve you and I'm going to shepherd you 00:20:04.864 --> 00:20:08.024 the same way, whether you are a member or not. 00:20:08.224 --> 00:20:12.784 In my opinion, the only two things that change at all, if you become a member 00:20:12.784 --> 00:20:16.664 of Mount Zion, number one, you get the right to vote in council meetings. 00:20:17.224 --> 00:20:22.384 And number two, you can serve on some, like you could be a deacon. 00:20:22.384 --> 00:20:25.184 You have to be a member of our church to be a deacon. 00:20:26.084 --> 00:20:31.584 Those are the only things that change. And so if you want to be able to vote 00:20:31.584 --> 00:20:37.144 on council meeting decisions, budgets and land purchases and stuff like that, then you need to do this. 00:20:37.524 --> 00:20:40.884 If you want to be a deacon, if that's something that you feel called to, you need to be a member. 00:20:41.124 --> 00:20:45.564 If you just want to be a part of a body of Christ and support one another and 00:20:45.564 --> 00:20:48.304 pray for one another and work the mission together, guess what? 00:20:48.464 --> 00:20:51.104 You don't have to be a member to do that. You have to be active. Yeah. 00:20:52.224 --> 00:20:58.564 And like you said, I mean, biblically speaking, it doesn't necessarily say be 00:20:58.564 --> 00:21:02.324 a member so you can vote on all these things. It means be involved. 00:21:02.584 --> 00:21:05.104 Right. Be present. 00:21:05.444 --> 00:21:06.284 Right. And... 00:21:07.234 --> 00:21:08.894 Wouldn't that have been awesome? Some dude in the back is like, 00:21:09.034 --> 00:21:10.994 Jesus, how many times must I forgive my neighbor? 00:21:11.274 --> 00:21:15.974 He's like, let me see thine membership record before I answer thou question. 00:21:16.414 --> 00:21:21.834 I don't know. You know, like, because the flip side of that conversation, 00:21:21.954 --> 00:21:24.714 like, so what's the point of being a member of a church? 00:21:26.034 --> 00:21:29.794 Well, the point of being a member of a church is a discipleship. 00:21:30.254 --> 00:21:31.494 I think that's a huge one. 00:21:32.474 --> 00:21:36.194 Sorry, not to cut you off. Go, go. But just one thing that comes to mind for me. 00:21:37.234 --> 00:21:44.434 We oftentimes, I hate to be comparing work to church, but we oftentimes say 00:21:44.434 --> 00:21:47.734 people need to have a little skin in the game, so to speak. 00:21:47.734 --> 00:21:54.274 So when you're committing to membership at Mount Zion, for example, 00:21:54.554 --> 00:22:02.394 you're saying, hey, this is my commitment to lead others and honor others and 00:22:02.394 --> 00:22:08.854 help others in the body of Mount Zion as well as the church as a whole. Right. 00:22:09.034 --> 00:22:13.394 So so it kind of puts a little a little skin in the game, so to speak, 00:22:13.454 --> 00:22:18.234 because you have this conscience like, hey, I committed to this. 00:22:18.394 --> 00:22:21.994 I'm going to I'm going to see it through type thing. Does that make sense? Yep. Yep. Yep. 00:22:22.494 --> 00:22:24.374 Anyway, sorry. I hope I didn't mess your thought up. No, you're good. 00:22:24.614 --> 00:22:26.094 So so you get discipleship. 00:22:26.314 --> 00:22:32.234 Right. You have a regular you have a regular program, for lack of a better term, 00:22:32.394 --> 00:22:34.194 that you have rhythms of life. 00:22:34.194 --> 00:22:37.834 And you know that, you know, what church looks like, Bible studies, 00:22:37.954 --> 00:22:42.014 Sunday school, like you have that sort of anchor for discipleship, right? 00:22:42.194 --> 00:22:44.794 You have accountability. At least you should. Yes. 00:22:45.134 --> 00:22:48.574 You know, somebody who's looking over, you have a group of people who's praying for you. 00:22:48.894 --> 00:22:53.314 If you're sliding, they're talking to you about it. If they're holding you in love, right? 00:22:53.894 --> 00:22:56.834 You have, I like what you talked about with like skin in the game. 00:22:56.954 --> 00:22:59.774 Because one of the things, dude, and I know like I could rubble some feathers 00:22:59.774 --> 00:23:02.594 with this one. I can't stand it when people church hop. 00:23:03.255 --> 00:23:08.075 Yeah. like it bothers me so much. And, and even for ministers, 00:23:08.075 --> 00:23:12.515 like I've told, there's a few guys I know, like they're, they're evangelists. 00:23:12.775 --> 00:23:15.055 Like they go for this church to this church, this church. And I'm like, 00:23:15.135 --> 00:23:19.055 do you know how much different it is between being a pastor who just like pops 00:23:19.055 --> 00:23:20.975 into a church and preaches a message and goes home? 00:23:21.435 --> 00:23:25.395 Yeah. Besides now, like I've been the minister at Mount Zion for 15 years. 00:23:26.135 --> 00:23:28.715 There's a lot of good. There's a lot of bad. There's a lot of ugly. 00:23:29.295 --> 00:23:31.915 There's been a lot of times that I'm like, this is for the birds. 00:23:31.915 --> 00:23:35.515 And I've had to be like, I easily could have been like, you know what? 00:23:35.555 --> 00:23:39.035 I'm gonna go find another church, put my profile out. Like I'm, I'm out of here. 00:23:39.315 --> 00:23:42.675 Right. But like, that's not what God had. Right. And now you're old. 00:23:42.795 --> 00:23:43.395 I just want to throw that. 00:23:43.715 --> 00:23:46.015 I did just turn 40. Yeah. Man. 00:23:46.695 --> 00:23:50.555 Think about it. Anyway. So I was just like, I've had almost half my life at this church. 00:23:51.635 --> 00:23:53.815 I've only been a member of two churches my entire life, Jeremy. 00:23:53.935 --> 00:23:54.915 That's crazy. But anyway. 00:23:55.315 --> 00:23:59.135 Same. Yeah. But, but there is that sense of like, when you are a member of a 00:23:59.135 --> 00:24:00.915 church, like. Nope. Three. Sorry. I lied. 00:24:01.335 --> 00:24:04.395 Stick stick with it like there's that sense of 00:24:04.395 --> 00:24:07.935 like you don't just get to cut bait and run yeah because 00:24:07.935 --> 00:24:11.155 you because you don't like something sure like 00:24:11.155 --> 00:24:15.795 that is not biblical and it has not the kingdom of god there is nothing about 00:24:15.795 --> 00:24:18.835 the kingdom of god that's like well if you get if you get angry take your ball 00:24:18.835 --> 00:24:21.955 and go home yeah if you don't like the fact that they put red carpet in instead 00:24:21.955 --> 00:24:26.055 of blue which i could leave a church over some red carpet but a lot of people 00:24:26.055 --> 00:24:29.895 be leaving a lot of churches because there's a lot of red carpet, a lot of red carpet, 00:24:30.115 --> 00:24:34.595 but you know, like, like there's that sense of like, it kind of ties you in 00:24:34.595 --> 00:24:38.515 because man, like our whole culture is like, well, they didn't get my order 00:24:38.515 --> 00:24:39.935 right. So I'm never going back there again. 00:24:40.535 --> 00:24:42.895 Exactly. Oh, well, you know, they, they didn't do this right. 00:24:43.015 --> 00:24:46.535 So they don't get my service anymore. And church is not supposed to be that. 00:24:46.795 --> 00:24:53.155 Yeah. It absolutely has. I mean, culture has definitely seeped in to, 00:24:53.375 --> 00:24:54.655 to the church in that regard. 00:24:55.468 --> 00:25:01.528 Yeah. Yeah. It's unfortunate. Yeah. It's like you have to practice things like 00:25:01.528 --> 00:25:05.188 loving the other like yourself. You have to practice like humble yourself. 00:25:05.428 --> 00:25:09.308 You know, if any of you think that he is sinless, he ought to take an excuse. 00:25:09.508 --> 00:25:12.408 You actually have to practice those things to be rooted in a faith community 00:25:12.408 --> 00:25:14.968 for any long period of time. Right. 00:25:16.648 --> 00:25:21.208 Because it doesn't matter where you go. If you go to a church for long enough, 00:25:21.348 --> 00:25:22.628 you are going to have something. 00:25:23.588 --> 00:25:26.248 Absolutely. You know, like, I mean, And I've told people like, 00:25:26.388 --> 00:25:29.248 I'm the pastor at Mount Zion and there are things that happen I don't like. 00:25:29.428 --> 00:25:32.348 Yeah. And I have to, sometimes I have to pull up my big boy britches. 00:25:32.548 --> 00:25:35.228 I mean, think about it. Just like, just like your family. 00:25:35.468 --> 00:25:37.988 Right. Like there are going to be things in your family that you're not happy 00:25:37.988 --> 00:25:38.688 with that you don't like. 00:25:38.788 --> 00:25:43.268 I mean, that's like, if you're involved in something long enough, 00:25:43.448 --> 00:25:46.588 that's going to happen. Doesn't matter what it is. Absolutely. 00:25:47.168 --> 00:25:52.988 The other piece you get by being an active part of a church family is you get 00:25:52.988 --> 00:25:57.428 the opportunity to participate in something bigger than you could do on your own. Oh, absolutely. 00:25:57.788 --> 00:26:00.968 Which is also one of those things like, we talk about that with denominations. 00:26:01.148 --> 00:26:04.768 You know, our church recently, I say recently, in the past few years, 00:26:05.108 --> 00:26:06.868 left the Church of the Brethren and became Covenant Brethren. 00:26:07.088 --> 00:26:10.708 And in that transition, we talked about maybe being independent. 00:26:11.248 --> 00:26:13.908 And one of the things we talked about was like being a part of a denomination 00:26:13.908 --> 00:26:19.528 gives us the opportunity to take the little that we can do and add it to a bigger 00:26:19.528 --> 00:26:20.668 group for a greater impact. 00:26:20.748 --> 00:26:24.588 And amplify it, yes. You know, so like we took an offering the other week at 00:26:24.588 --> 00:26:29.208 Mount Zion for education to help send kids to school in East Africa. 00:26:30.091 --> 00:26:33.891 I guarantee you that helping to send kids to a school in East Africa was not 00:26:33.891 --> 00:26:37.031 on Jessica and I's radar until we got that letter and it was like, 00:26:37.111 --> 00:26:40.931 wow, this is a really big need and we could help with that. And we didn't give much. 00:26:41.211 --> 00:26:43.191 It's not like we cut a $1,000 check. 00:26:43.511 --> 00:26:48.111 We gave a little and we put it in. But together, the 200 or so people that were 00:26:48.111 --> 00:26:51.251 at church that day, we raised, I don't know, it was close to a thousand bucks. 00:26:52.191 --> 00:26:56.951 And I think I said it took $100 to send a kid for a year, I think was right. 00:26:57.551 --> 00:27:01.991 I don't remember. I think it was $100. So we sent 10 kids to school for the 00:27:01.991 --> 00:27:03.871 year, paid for all their books and all that stuff. 00:27:04.251 --> 00:27:07.211 Like, you know, so that's really cool to be a part of that. And so when you're 00:27:07.211 --> 00:27:09.891 a member of a church, you get to do that. 00:27:10.051 --> 00:27:15.871 Like you may not, your kids may be grown and gone, but you could be part of children's ministry. 00:27:16.291 --> 00:27:21.171 You can donate canned ravioli, you know, or do whatever you need to do to support 00:27:21.171 --> 00:27:24.611 that mission that you don't get to do if you're not a member of a church somewhere. 00:27:24.871 --> 00:27:29.611 Yeah. You know what I mean? And yeah, you know, one of the ones that's sticking 00:27:29.611 --> 00:27:33.851 to me, the biggest to me is the accountability that you have. 00:27:33.991 --> 00:27:36.531 I mean, or should have if you're involved. Right. 00:27:36.971 --> 00:27:43.031 Because I just think of how easy it would be to not be part of a faith community 00:27:43.031 --> 00:27:48.211 and just decide, yeah, you know what? I'm not going to church this Sunday. 00:27:48.631 --> 00:27:51.531 Or, hey, let's go to this church this Sunday. Hey, let's go to this church this Sunday. 00:27:52.411 --> 00:27:55.671 Your your opportunity for accountability to anybody 00:27:55.671 --> 00:27:58.491 else is out the window because 00:27:58.491 --> 00:28:01.791 you're not building relationships it's it's 00:28:01.791 --> 00:28:05.311 real easy to run away from a 00:28:05.311 --> 00:28:10.791 message that you heard that maybe is speaking right to you and you know it and 00:28:10.791 --> 00:28:12.791 you're like you know what yeah we're not going to go back there we're just going 00:28:12.791 --> 00:28:15.711 to go over here because i didn't like the way that made me feel right when actually 00:28:15.711 --> 00:28:22.171 it's conviction so yeah accountability for me is is a huge one yeah And as a minister, 00:28:22.431 --> 00:28:25.411 like I, I will follow up with people. Right. 00:28:25.831 --> 00:28:29.211 Yeah. I like, I don't have a magic number. It kind of depends on the person. 00:28:29.331 --> 00:28:30.691 Like there are people in our church. 00:28:31.151 --> 00:28:34.291 If I don't see them for three weeks, I don't panic. 00:28:35.033 --> 00:28:38.573 Right. Because I know like they that's just their pattern. Right. 00:28:38.853 --> 00:28:41.853 So like if I don't see them for three weeks, I'm like, oh, all right. 00:28:42.013 --> 00:28:46.153 Well, you know, there are other people. If I don't see them for three weeks, like I'm calling. 00:28:46.673 --> 00:28:49.853 Gotcha. Yeah. Right. And there's some people, if I don't see them for two weeks, 00:28:50.033 --> 00:28:53.073 I'll call them. And it's not because I'm like, where you been? 00:28:53.173 --> 00:28:56.653 You need to be at church. It's more like, is there something wrong? Like, are they OK? 00:28:57.073 --> 00:29:00.253 Are they? Yeah. You know, it's not because I'm trying to be a pest. 00:29:00.413 --> 00:29:04.853 It's because as a shepherd of the church, that's part of my job. 00:29:05.033 --> 00:29:06.353 You know, that's the other thing. 00:29:06.713 --> 00:29:12.013 You as the pastor, yes, but there are probably other people in church that have 00:29:12.013 --> 00:29:14.073 built that relationship with other 00:29:14.073 --> 00:29:18.593 people where, like, hey, I haven't seen so-and-so for like three weeks. 00:29:18.713 --> 00:29:20.933 I wonder where they've been. Like, I'm going to check on them. Yeah. 00:29:21.113 --> 00:29:25.853 That's not just you. Yeah. That is the membership of the church. 00:29:26.033 --> 00:29:26.873 That's their job. Oh, yeah. 00:29:27.333 --> 00:29:30.653 And it's happening. Oh, yeah. I'll get people who, like, will say to me, 00:29:30.773 --> 00:29:32.513 they're like, hey, where's this person? I'm like, I don't know. 00:29:32.593 --> 00:29:33.613 Maybe you should check on them. Yeah. 00:29:34.033 --> 00:29:36.813 You know, I like to encourage that a little bit. And I tell people, 00:29:36.913 --> 00:29:40.293 like, so if you are a member of Mount Zion and you are listening to me right 00:29:40.293 --> 00:29:43.933 now and I call you, it's not because I'm, like, some overbearing pastor who's 00:29:43.933 --> 00:29:48.153 like, you need to make sure you get to church and put your tithe on the plate. Like, I care. 00:29:48.373 --> 00:29:53.873 Like, I want to know. Like, maybe someone got sick. Maybe there was an accident. Maybe. I don't know. 00:29:54.093 --> 00:29:57.153 Like, so if I call you and, like, hey, I've just missed you. 00:29:57.693 --> 00:30:00.693 Then it is because I care. Yeah. 00:30:00.933 --> 00:30:05.453 You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, and most people, I feel like most people already know that. 00:30:05.653 --> 00:30:10.213 Yeah, I think so. And I think that would be true for anybody in our church that 00:30:10.213 --> 00:30:13.953 anybody else in our church reached out to them. They would be like, oh, man. 00:30:14.133 --> 00:30:17.993 Yeah. So-and-so really cares. Which, by the way, is hard because our church has grown. 00:30:18.293 --> 00:30:21.873 It's, yeah, I was just talking about that tonight when we were practicing music. Yeah. 00:30:22.253 --> 00:30:27.073 You know, it's hard because, I mean, before, I could stand in the front of the 00:30:27.073 --> 00:30:31.033 sanctuary and just, I knew where they sat. That's often how I would do it is 00:30:31.033 --> 00:30:33.513 I would go in during the middle of the week and I would stand there and I would 00:30:33.513 --> 00:30:35.553 like kind of in my brain go. Take the mental picture. 00:30:35.953 --> 00:30:39.733 Yeah. And go, okay, well, these people I haven't seen. Like now our church is, 00:30:39.733 --> 00:30:43.033 you know, 200 people strong almost every Sunday. 00:30:43.393 --> 00:30:46.973 And that's a whole different ballgame because that actually attributes to probably 00:30:46.973 --> 00:30:49.913 350, 400 people on any time. 00:30:50.113 --> 00:30:53.313 And so it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle. And that's why you have to 00:30:53.313 --> 00:30:55.553 have that membership. You have to have that accountability. 00:30:55.893 --> 00:30:59.353 Right. Those things matter because that's how you grow. Yeah. 00:30:59.573 --> 00:31:01.193 So, here's the last part. 00:31:02.033 --> 00:31:06.453 Showing up to church is not enough. For a vital... 00:31:07.353 --> 00:31:14.073 To live your life as Jesus wants you to live. Just showing up to church ain't cutting it. 00:31:15.247 --> 00:31:18.487 Like we talked about before. Will you get to heaven? Sure. You can get to heaven 00:31:18.487 --> 00:31:20.867 and only show to church 50% of the time. 00:31:21.527 --> 00:31:24.387 Absolutely. You can go to heaven if you've never been to church. 00:31:24.787 --> 00:31:29.507 Chief on the cross, right? But in order for us to achieve what Jesus wants for us. 00:31:31.967 --> 00:31:37.627 It's a reciprocal relationship. And man, we can be so consumer-driven. 00:31:38.627 --> 00:31:41.967 This is one of my big things about church sometimes. I'm going to show up and 00:31:41.967 --> 00:31:44.867 the preacher's going to preach to me and the band's going to sing for me and 00:31:44.867 --> 00:31:47.687 the worship leader's going to pray for me and the Sunday school teacher's going 00:31:47.687 --> 00:31:50.627 to teach me a lesson and I'm going to go home. I'm going to go eat lunch and 00:31:50.627 --> 00:31:51.287 then I'm going to go home. Yeah. 00:31:52.087 --> 00:31:56.067 No, that's not how this is supposed to work. It is a reciprocal relationship. 00:31:56.367 --> 00:31:59.727 And so it's awesome if you go to church. It's awesome if you go to church every 00:31:59.727 --> 00:32:01.987 week. If you go 52 out of 52, awesome. 00:32:02.627 --> 00:32:06.967 But if all you do is that and you aren't involved with discipleship or accountability 00:32:06.967 --> 00:32:10.927 or praying for one another or any of those mutual ministries, 00:32:10.927 --> 00:32:14.487 then you are missing an amazing opportunity to grow in Christ. Absolutely, yes. 00:32:15.507 --> 00:32:19.787 So that to me is the kicker. That's why we need church. And I even hate to say 00:32:19.787 --> 00:32:21.227 like even sitting here like church membership. 00:32:21.807 --> 00:32:25.807 Yeah, you're right. I mean membership, like you said, the only things about 00:32:25.807 --> 00:32:30.707 Zion that membership means is you get a vote and you could be a deacon. 00:32:31.127 --> 00:32:35.267 I mean there's people that are not members of our church on paper that I would 00:32:35.267 --> 00:32:40.567 argue are full members by participation in the ministry. 00:32:40.927 --> 00:32:43.307 So here's the other fun fact. This may get me excommunicated. 00:32:43.727 --> 00:32:46.907 Oh, I don't, I don't. Is that why you're doing it at the end? 00:32:46.987 --> 00:32:50.207 So we can cut it off if we have to. Okay. I don't teach membership class. 00:32:50.987 --> 00:32:55.067 Oh, I don't do it anymore. Okay. I stopped doing it. Okay. I stopped doing it. 00:32:55.707 --> 00:32:59.747 I'm not mad. I know you're not mad, but this may pop up in a meeting somewhere. 00:33:01.247 --> 00:33:04.747 And the reason I don't do it, A, because I don't see in the Bible what we're 00:33:04.747 --> 00:33:06.147 supposed to. Okay. Fair. 00:33:06.507 --> 00:33:11.427 And B, it assumes a lot of things. And so if somebody comes to me and they either 00:33:11.427 --> 00:33:13.547 want to be a member of the church or they want to be baptized, 00:33:13.927 --> 00:33:16.727 I have a personal one-on-one conversation with that person. 00:33:17.247 --> 00:33:19.747 I would say that's more important than a membership class anyway. 00:33:19.967 --> 00:33:23.687 Right. And we talk about some of the things that they might want to know. 00:33:24.067 --> 00:33:27.447 Now, like two baptisms ago, I think we had a lot of brand new people. 00:33:27.927 --> 00:33:30.807 We did like a lunch and I went over like, here's the church, 00:33:30.907 --> 00:33:32.207 here's what we do, and here's how we do it. 00:33:32.487 --> 00:33:35.547 But we didn't, like there was no book, there was no assignment, 00:33:35.827 --> 00:33:39.487 there was no like, none of that stuff, right? No test you have to pass. 00:33:39.547 --> 00:33:41.267 Well, maybe we should do that. 00:33:43.647 --> 00:33:50.407 But there was none of that because I think it adds something to it that was never meant to be. 00:33:50.867 --> 00:33:55.927 The membership class almost makes it seem like you have to pass this in order to be here. 00:33:56.727 --> 00:34:01.147 And you have to do this to get entry. If you want to be a part of our faith 00:34:01.147 --> 00:34:03.567 community, then you have to know these things. 00:34:04.067 --> 00:34:06.687 Gotcha. And I don't think that – and part of that's generational. 00:34:06.687 --> 00:34:09.307 I mean, part of this conversation is generational, I think. 00:34:10.027 --> 00:34:14.287 I think we come from a generation that's very skeptical of organized anything and. 00:34:15.877 --> 00:34:20.157 Fair. Most people, you know, in our generation just are naturally skeptic, 00:34:20.237 --> 00:34:23.457 but yeah, so I don't do that. I just, I don't find it helpful. 00:34:23.657 --> 00:34:26.777 I don't, I don't think it, I think it puts expectations on people that, 00:34:26.777 --> 00:34:30.417 that scares them off before we even get the conversation started. 00:34:30.537 --> 00:34:33.917 So instead I'd say we would just go and be like, Hey, what questions do you have about the church? 00:34:34.097 --> 00:34:36.417 Do you have questions about our faith statement? Do you have questions about 00:34:36.417 --> 00:34:39.037 what we do as a church? Do you know what baptism means? 00:34:39.417 --> 00:34:42.417 You know, just those kinds of things. Honestly, it's a lot more work. 00:34:43.037 --> 00:34:48.077 Oh, yeah, absolutely. It'd be a lot easier, actually, to just have a class and 00:34:48.077 --> 00:34:51.277 just have everybody sit there and not have the personal connection. Right. 00:34:51.757 --> 00:34:55.757 Yes, you're absolutely right. It takes more work and more effort. 00:34:55.977 --> 00:35:00.297 And actually, I mean, I'd argue that it's a better option than having a class. 00:35:00.337 --> 00:35:01.557 Oh, I've gotten to know some people. 00:35:01.917 --> 00:35:04.957 It's been really nice. Because even some of the questions I've gotten asked, 00:35:05.077 --> 00:35:07.617 there's no way they're actually going to ask that question in a membership class. 00:35:07.817 --> 00:35:10.377 Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, I know what you mean. Yeah. 00:35:10.777 --> 00:35:14.977 For sure. Yeah. So if you're not a member of a church, be one. 00:35:15.457 --> 00:35:19.817 And not just a role setter. Yes. Not just somebody whose name's on the list. Not just a voter. 00:35:20.337 --> 00:35:23.517 Not a voter. I mean, it's good to be a voter too, but you know. 00:35:23.517 --> 00:35:25.297 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Be active, be involved. 00:35:25.477 --> 00:35:27.837 Hey, if you don't have a church you're a member of and you're in Rockham County, 00:35:27.877 --> 00:35:28.977 we'd love to have you in Mount Zion. 00:35:29.337 --> 00:35:31.777 Absolutely. You can put up with the preacher, you can put up with the rest of them. 00:35:32.397 --> 00:35:35.417 Preacher's the lower point. That's debatable. All right, so now I got to tell 00:35:35.417 --> 00:35:39.837 you what brought up our conversation about church tonight. Yeah, tell me. 00:35:39.977 --> 00:35:44.377 So we were practicing music. We were getting done, and somebody made a comment, 00:35:44.697 --> 00:35:50.117 like, wasn't there some conversation about, like, turning the stage so we could 00:35:50.117 --> 00:35:51.317 fit more seating in here? 00:35:51.817 --> 00:35:55.817 And I was like, I don't know, but that actually sounds like a great idea. 00:35:55.817 --> 00:35:58.557 So we're here, like, picturing our head, like, hey, let's blow this wall out, 00:35:58.617 --> 00:36:04.517 and let's turn the stage this way, and we could fit all this extra seating right here. Yeah. 00:36:05.723 --> 00:36:09.983 And what'd you tell them? I didn't say anything else. I just said it'd be a great idea. 00:36:10.103 --> 00:36:11.903 You didn't tell them the thing? No, I didn't tell them the thing. 00:36:11.983 --> 00:36:14.723 I just said I'd love to have a lot more people here. Because you know what? You know what? 00:36:15.683 --> 00:36:20.023 For those of you guys who don't know, whenever somebody at church asks me what 00:36:20.023 --> 00:36:23.223 we're going to do about building, I always say, I don't know if that's the next guy's problem. 00:36:25.103 --> 00:36:27.403 That's the next guy's problem. Let him figure it out. Guess what? 00:36:27.563 --> 00:36:30.103 What? I'm willing to find out. Ooh. 00:36:31.063 --> 00:36:33.723 All right. Because Jesus is going to do what he's going to do. 00:36:33.803 --> 00:36:36.063 That is true. Jesus is going to do what he wants to do. That's right. 00:36:36.203 --> 00:36:38.303 He drug me kicking and screaming into some other things. 00:36:39.223 --> 00:36:43.423 This would not be the first time. And guess what? It ain't going to be the last 00:36:43.423 --> 00:36:44.643 time. It ain't going to be the last time either. 00:36:44.823 --> 00:36:48.043 Jesus probably looks at me like I'm a two-year-old. Like, John, get your binky. 00:36:49.063 --> 00:36:52.143 We're going to do this. To be fair, he probably looks at all of us like that 00:36:52.143 --> 00:36:55.083 from time to time, for sure. That is true. Buddy, it's been a great night. 00:36:55.503 --> 00:36:59.083 Amen, brother. And a shout-out to the person who gave this topic to us. 00:36:59.143 --> 00:37:01.503 And if you have an idea for a podcast, please do reach out to us. 00:37:01.863 --> 00:37:04.643 And in all seriousness, go be a member of a church. find somewhere that you 00:37:04.643 --> 00:37:09.123 can love and serve and grow and do all the things that Jesus has asked you to 00:37:09.123 --> 00:37:13.983 do because he has a mission for you and it's best done as a member of the local faith. 00:37:14.483 --> 00:37:17.023 Absolutely. God bless you next time. I did. 00:37:21.040 --> 00:37:35.539 Music.