Reviewing the Church Covenant as a Church: June 8, 2025
More Than Just Hearers: Becoming a Church That Does!
Good morning, everyone!
This past Sunday was Pentecost, a powerful day that reminded us of the Holy Spirit's presence and our call to action. We dove into the Book of James, specifically chapter 1, to explore what it truly means to be the church.
For the past six weeks, we've been talking a lot about what the church is. We've explored beautiful truths:
We are loved by Christ, His bride, in a relationship of deep desire and mutual love.
We are a family, brothers and sisters who should truly act like it.
We are interconnected, like Jesus' own body, where one person's pain affects us all.
Each of us is a necessary piece for God's body to function and grow – no "foot" can get anywhere without the rest of the body!
We even touched on spiritual gifts, encouraging each other to discover how God wants to use us in ministry.
But there's one crucial element that ties all of this together, a conviction that resonates from James 1:22: "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Think about it: what good is hearing a powerful message if we don't put it into practice? It's like looking in a mirror, seeing who we are, and then immediately forgetting! Our faith isn't just about what we know; it's about what we do.
The Power of a Church Covenant
This led us to a really engaging discussion about being a church that not only learns about the church, but actually does what it means to be the church. The answer? A church covenant!
Now, "church covenant" might sound a little old-fashioned, but the idea is profound. It's similar to the covenants we make in marriage or adoption – a deep, relational commitment. God's covenant with us is that He'll never leave us. Our marriage vows are commitments of faithfulness. And a church covenant? It's our collective "I will" – a commitment to obey what God has called us to, even when things get messy.
Instead of a traditional sermon, we broke into small groups (or study buddies!) and got interactive. We examined a proposed church covenant, statement by statement, with supporting scriptures. The goal was to think critically: Does this statement align with scripture? Is there a better way to phrase it? And most importantly, are we ready to commit to this?
It was so encouraging to hear the thoughtful discussions and insights from each group. Here are just a few highlights of the proposed statements and the awesome feedback:
Affirming Jesus as the only way of salvation: We affirmed that without Jesus, we're lost, and that He holds all things together.
Salvation as a gift from God: This truth was celebrated, acknowledging that no matter how hard we try, we can't achieve perfection, but Jesus already bore that burden. There was also a great point about ensuring our faith isn't passive, remembering that "faith without deeds is dead."
The Bible as the inspired Word of God: This was highlighted as a foundational truth, emphasizing that the Bible is our ultimate authority, not our own opinions or changing beliefs.
Loving and supporting one another: A fantastic suggestion was made to add, "by practicing hospitality and demonstrating love through tangible actions even to the point of personal sacrifice, we reflect Christ's love and make our faith evident to the world." Yes!
Being people of compassion and kindness: Simple, yet powerful – we need to forgive one another and watch our words.
Regular confession and repentance: This was seen as vital for healing and growth within the community, encouraging honesty and sincerity.
Honoring our pastors: Recognizing their accountability to God and our role in supporting them joyfully.
Obedience to scripture: A great suggestion to change "remain open to being obedient" to "we will strive to be obedient," and to add the powerful truth that we are "guided by the Spirit."
Growing in belief in Jesus' saving work: Grounding our growth in Jesus, the vine, and understanding that our ability to "walk worthy" flows out of our deepening understanding of God's immense love for us.
Being a community characterized by Jesus' character: A great suggestion to add "in all of our works in the spirit of God" to emphasize that our faith isn't just a Sunday thing, but an all-week, all-day commitment.
Sharing Jesus' story with the world: This sparked a great conversation about how to best articulate this, ultimately settling on something like "sharing Jesus' life, death, and resurrection along with his teaching" to ensure clarity.
More Than a Document: A Living Commitment
It's clear that this isn't just about signing a paper; it's about our hearts being in alignment with God's Word. It's about taking our beliefs and stepping into them with full "doing," so that our faith is alive and vibrant, not a "zombie church" that simply believes but doesn't move.
As we move forward, we're preparing our hearts to make these levels of commitment. It's important to remember that this covenant isn't about staying at WGCC forever, but about being truly committed to one another as a family – supporting each other, confessing to one another, and being accountable in community.
Ultimately, it all comes back to James 1:22-27. We want to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We want to humbly receive God's implanted Word and be doers, not just hearers. And what does that look like? Pure and undefiled religion means looking after orphans and widows in their distress and keeping ourselves unstained from the world.
Let's pray for God's Spirit to work and move in us, enabling us to be faithful in what He has called us to. We don't want to make quick commitments we won't keep; we want God's presence to fill us and inspire us to truly be His church in spirit and in truth.
