Tell 'Em What You Told 'Em

I had a speech teacher who told his students that the structure of a great speech has three parts.  First, tell them what you are going to tell them.  Second, tell them.  Finally, tell them what you told them. 

Over the last several months we have engaged some important truths from the pulpit at First Baptist Church in Harrisburg.  I thought it might be helpful to review some of those things so that they don't get lost in the proverbial rear-view mirror.  So, for the next few weeks, I will highlight some of these important lessons.  We will start with our series on Thom Rainer's little book called "I Am A Church Member."

You may remember that at the end of each sermon in this series, I invited you to sign your name on a pledge that came from the chapter we were looking at.  Those posters have now been framed and are hanging in the hallway in the Ramp Area.  It is always encouraging when I walk through this area of the church and see those names.  If you haven't signed your name to these, I would encourage you to consider doing so.

Here is what the first pledge states:

I am a church member.  I like the metaphor of membership.  It's not the kind of membership as in a civic organization or a country club.  It's the kind of membership given to us in 1 Corinthians 12: Now you are the body of Christ, an individual members of it (1 Cor 12:27).  Because I am a member of the body of Christ, I must be a functioning member, whether I am an eye, an ear, or a hand.  As a functioning member, I will give.  I will serve.  I will minister.  I will evangelize. I will study.  I will seek to be a blessing to others.  I will remember that if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

How can we help each other guard against developing a "country club" view of church membership?


Are you a functioning church member?  In what way?

How is your life connected with the other members of this body?