If a man has all of the qualities of an elder and has been in fellowship with a local gathering of the church for an acceptable length of time (say, two years) but is not a formal "member" of that local body, can he be recognized by that body as an elder?
Depends on how "old" he is...
ReplyDeleteIt also depends on whether or not you believe "formal, local church membership", is Biblical.
ReplyDeleteIf "formal membership of a local body" would cause a group to fail to recognize that person as an elder, the problem is not with the man, but with the "formal membership".
ReplyDelete-Alan
Sounds like a trick question... If a man doesn't think membership in a local body is Biblical, why would he remain in a group that has formal membership? If he does think membership is Biblical, why wouldn't he become a member of the group?
ReplyDeleteDebbie
It depends on if he has been to Seminary...
ReplyDeleteHow about a post on footwashing Arthur. I would say the Bible has at least as much to say about it as headcovering. I applied at a church that practices it.
Debbie, it kind of is a trick question. I used this same question in a discussion elsewhere with a proponent of formal church membership.
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteThat is something I have given some thought to, not as much as I should. I might just fire up a blog post on footwashing because for the sake of consistency, we need to look at it. I know some pentecostal churches and some primative baptist churches still practice it.