The Saddleback Membership Covenant

1. I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH
2. I WILL SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MY CHURCH
3. I WILL SERVE THE MINISTRY OF MY CHURCH
4. I WILL SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY OF MY CHURCH

Can people...having heard the gospel and received Christ and having been baptized...

simply be the manner of men that God has called Christians to be?   

Does not the Holy Ghost work in us and lead us and guide us into all truth.?

Does God help us? Does his word and Holy Spirit counsel us....

train us and speak to us by the Word of God and prayer?  

When it comes to making "a covenant" with the church.... 

how is it that this repentance and baptism... 

the receiving of this truth is simply 

not enough? 

For some, like Rick Warren,

to profess faith in Christ,

it under sound biblical teaching, and subject oneself  

to come into fellowship with other believers and be a member

of the body of Christ, and this with no strings attached, 

letting "your yes be yes and your no be no" 

is not enough.  

One has to sign 

an oath too.  

The popular thing now is that members

of his "Purpose Driven" churches are being told 

that they must not only receive Jesus Christ as Lord, 

but that they must also make an additional covenant...

to the leadership of the church congregation, 

)and this is even though they have just been baptized...

and entered into the Great and Holy covenant of God,

the one that He made

with humanity 

himself...

for all  time. 

Something just doesn't seem right about this.

A writer on the internet says 

that the New Covenant is an agreement

between the Jesus Christ, 

our Lord and Savior,the Redeemer 

and His Church, the Redeemed.  

In fellowship with him and with the Father through His Holy Spirit 

we have a relationship with God, and with our fellow man,

not only those in Christ  but also those yet outside this covenant...

the stranger...

widow, 

orphan...

neighbor, 

and even those 

who would be 

our enemy.   

Surely such a covenant as this 

is much superior to a covenant 

made with human hands. 

Interesting. 

Not only that, 

but this is all is so 

despite the fact that as a Christian, 

you could, as you have been instructed by Jesus Himself, 

to simply live honestly,  

(a Matthew 5:37 concept)

and not go around taking oaths 

which you cannot keep 

or even saying what you will 

and will not do in the future.

YOo and I , 

we have no control over in the future 

and perhaps something unknown to you, 

will prevent you from keeping the oaths you make.

.. the ones you will not, cannot  keep.  

Covenants, like marriage,

may be broken by you intentionally

or unintentionally, 

sometime in the future...

but God, 

he always keeps his 

Promises...  and a PROMISE 

is what a covenant really is.

God is the faithful one, the one who always keeps his word.

The Saddleback Membership Covenant 
(An excerpt from "Church membership: Expect what the Bible expects  by Rick Warren ")

"Having received Christ as my Lord and Savior and been baptized, and being in agreement with Saddleback's statements, strategy, and structure, I now feel led by the Holy Spirit to unite with the Saddleback church family. In doing so, I commit myself to God and to the other members to do the following:
1. I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH
...By acting in love toward other members
...By refusing to gossip
...By following the leaders
"So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of our fellowship together." Rom. 15:19 (Ph)
"Have a sincere love for your fellow believers, love one another earnestly with all your hearts." 1 Peter 1:22 (TEV)
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs..." Eph. 4:29
"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be no advantage to you." Heb. 13:17
2. I WILL SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MY CHURCH
...By praying for its growth
...By inviting the unchurched to attend
...By warmly welcoming those who visit
"To the church ... we always thank God for you and pray for you constantly." 1 Thess. 1:2
"The Master said to the servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes, and urge the people there to come so my house will be full.'" Luke 14:23 (NCV)
"So, warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified." Rom. 15:7 (LB)
3. I WILL SERVE THE MINISTRY OF MY CHURCH
...By discovering my gifts and talents
...By being equipped to serve by my pastors
...By developing a servant's heart
"Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you..." 1 Peter 4:10(Ph)
"God gave...some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God's people for works of ministry, so that the body of Christ may be built up..." Eph. 4:11-12
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ...who took on the very nature of a servant..." Phil. 2:3-4,7
4. I WILL SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY OF MY CHURCH
...By attending faithfully
...By living a godly life
...By giving regularly
"Let us not give up the habit of meeting together...but let us encourage one another." Heb. 10:25
"But whatever happens, make sure that your everyday life is worthy of the gospel of Christ." Phil. 1:27 (Ph)
"Each one of you, on the first day of each week, should set aside a specific sum of money in proportion to what you have earned and use it for the offering." 1 Cor. 16:2
"A tenth of all your produce is the Lord's, and it is holy." Lev. 27:30

Note the "I WILL's"

  Satan had a lot of "I WILL's"  too.
Isaish 14: 13:
"I will ascend to heaven;  
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God; 
I will sit enthroned
on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights
of the sacred mountain."

Who's "will" be done?

Will the person making known their own will.
signing this covenant contract,
be doing their own will, or God's?

AND

Why does one have to sign a written contract?
Will they be anathema if they
somehow fail in someone's opinion...
to uphold and do their part sucessfully?

Will they be needing a lawyer
when they intentionally
or unintentionally
break the contact?
This is simply baffling. 

The covenant reads:

 "I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH..". 

...By refusing to gossip
...By following the leaders

Does this mean you cannot speak up 

about unbiblical teaching from the pulpit?  

How much will one follow the leadership 

 and "protect unity" of their church, 

even if they are WRONG... 

Will they be silent, 

just to keep this 

unity? 

" I WILL SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MY CHURCH"
....By praying for its growth
...By inviting the unchurched to attend
...By warmly welcoming those who visit

Is this so that people can feel 

 like they are a part of something BIG?

Does this mean that if the leadership 

takes out a huge loan 

and goes bankrupt you 

become financially 

responsible?

Does this mean that you will spend all

your spare time and your energy.

at the church doing things that need to get done 

instead of spending time with your family 

and the people you need to love?

"I WILL SERVE THE MINISTRY OF MY CHURCH"
...By discovering my gifts and talents
...By being equipped to serve by my pastors
...By developing a servant's heart

 

You are promising to serve...

Does this make your service, 

to you local church,

"mandatory"?

You are agreeing to serve

and to develop a 

"servant's heart." 

to the undertakings 

of your church 

leaders

under OATH?

How interesting that our country's current leaders

are also interested in mandatory "service."

"I WILL SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY OF MY CHURCH."
...By attending faithfully
...By living a godly life
...By giving regularly

This could be for any church.
of any doctrinal persuation,
you do not have to consider
Christian doctrine from the Bible,
just the "testimony "
of your particular local church.

In the case of a
Purpose Driven Church,
you are agreeing to support
the five purposes
that need to be balanced
in a "healthy" church.

The signer is agreeing
not to challenge the teachings,
and because 

this section deals with moneyyou are also agreeing
to financially support the church
by commiting to give "at least a tenth of their income"
to support the "testimony of the church."
rather than giving an offering  from their heart,
and at their own discretion.
Besides that, it is rather legalistic .

It is also convenient too, for "leaders"

to have a data base about every member, 

know how much money they make 

and to have an expected

organizational income 

based upon not only 

numbers in attendance and statistics... 

but also upon a legal contract of this nature, 

and this rather than simply 

knowing and trusting 

God for his provision 

and the people in their congregation.

 If one covenants like this,
must they always continue

to keep such promises?

Matthew 5: 33-37

Jesus speaking; "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

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