Yesterday my husband and I joined the small PCA church we have been visiting for a few months. Along with another person joining the church we met with the pastor and elders and recounted our Christian experience and affirmed the five membership vows. I appreciated the opportunity to share our Christian testimonies. I was especially blessed to hear my husband give his, although I heard it before, since it clearly expresses that God is sovereign in salvation. After that the elders were free to ask us any questions. The pastor prepped us beforehand by telling us that one of the elders liked to ask prospective members what gifts they are bringing to the church. The elder asked the question in a slightly different way by asking us what spiritual gifts we are bringing to the church. That threw me off a little since I am not aware of what Presbyterians believe concerning the spiritual gifts. I read the Westminster Confession but do not recall if it says anything about spiritual gifts. I do know what I believe concerning spiritual gifts. I believe that God could very well give someone the gift of tongues if He so chooses today. But I suppose that most Christians, reformed or not, could affirm that. I figured that if I were in a church that did not believe in the spiritual gifts then I would probably be free to use whatever gifts I do have to bless them even if they do not recognize it! I have been through some confusion concerning spiritual gifts and need to pray asking the Lord to help me make use of the gifts He has given me, whatever they are. Early in my Christian life a well respected youth minister who said he had the gift of prophecy thought I did. I still wonder if I do. But one spiritual gift that I do know I have is the gift of discernment. There's no denying that since I probably use that one the most (ironically enough)! So I told the elders that I have always been interested in solid doctrine and identifying false teachings in the church. I told them what my interests are, which could be expressions of some other spiritual gifts I have. My passion for evangelism, missionary work, intercessory prayer, and studying the Bible could be expressions of my spiritual gifts. Bryan pointed out that when I read the Bible I tend to get some insight into what it is saying. I noticed this too and it has been the case since I was a new believer. If I remember correctly I think that this is what the youth minister was referring to. That was during the time that I did not shy away from saying anything in Sunday school, but that's a different story! I still believe it is a spiritual gift but I am trusting that the Lord will clear some things up for me. But I love it when I get some insight into what a passage is saying that I did notice before. I did not think about spiritual gifts much during the last few years, but that question encouraged me to pray about it and seek to use them for the church's benefit in a way that the Lord pleased with. Concerning what Presbyterians believe concerning spiritual gifts, I got the impression that some Presbyterians affirm them in a similar way that I would.
After we answered the question about spiritual gifts the clerk of session asked us whether there were points of disagreement with the Westminster Confession that we are aware of. It was understood that we may not have read the Confession but the question needed to be asked. I replied by saying that I am unsure about the Confession's stance on divorce. The Confession affirms that divorce is permissible in some cases but I read a book that gave a good case against all divorce. So I am unsure what to think on that issue. Although I was a die-hard Baptist I did not disagree with the Confession's position on infant baptism. But I admit that it was very difficult to come to grips with since I was so dedicated to becoming a missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention's mission board. Not saying anything about infant baptism was a sort of letting go of my being a Baptist. But I figure that Baptists would appreciate that this covenant theology believing Christian, that disagrees with them on Jeremiah 31, would quit posing (though unknowingly for the most part) as a Baptist. The pastor replied by saying that this may be talked out over a cup of latte sometime. That would be an interesting discussion, I am sure. Bryan gave his reply to the question about the Westminster Confession and the pastor said that his discussion will be a bit longer, over many lattes!
After that the elders and pastor asked us to take a break by going out of the office while they discussed the meeting. A few minutes later we were asked back in and they welcomed us as new members of the church. One of the elders was assigned to be our undershepherd, which is a new thing to me. Next Sunday we will be making our membership public by reaffirming our vows before the congregation.
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