More Muddy Water

There has been a confluence of forces that has made it dificult for many in the church to have peace with the idea of membership, or covenanting together. Lack of understanding of the Word, the great emphasis given to our modern notions as being wiser applications than how things have been done in the past, to say nothing about being clueless about what was in the past. To many of us, bread made last week is ancient history. The American idea of individuality which is the brother to autonomy, in effect you become your own god for most of life, where it's all about us and what we want. How are modern day elders to know, those to whom they are commanded to attend. They are not commanded to just minister to... whoever...

What It Means to Give Account by Douglas Wilson
Topic: Chrestomathy

"The responsibility assigned is pastoring the flock which is 'among you.' The responsibility to shepherd is limited to an identifiable flock. In Scripture, God never gives anyone undefined responsibilities. This is especially true of elders who are held strictly accountable for the work they do. Try to imagine a bookkeeper who had to give a financial accounting, but was not told how much money was involved, or to whom it belonged!" (Mother Kirk, p. 182).

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