The apostle Paul gave instructions to the church at Corinth that they were to do all things ‘decently and in order.’  Some call this the articulation of the ‘regulative principle.’ This principle basically says that the church is to order its worship and church life by what is explicitly commanded in scripture. Others argue that what we do in church life doesn’t require explicit textual support but rather we are to be sure that we do not do anything that would clearly go against scripture.  Whatever one decides regarding the regulative principle we would all agree that we want to make sure that what we do in church life is driven by truth.        

As a local church which recognizes that we are under the Headship of Christ we desire to be Word-based in all that we do. Our commitment to the Word of the Lord is to drive our programs, policies, procedures — all of our practices; including a church directory.

Now if you own a Strong’s Concordance I can assure you that you will not find this phrase listed in Scripture. Neither will you find it in any Systematic Theology (at least none that I am aware of). Neither have I come across this item in Calvin’s ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion.’ And of the numerous conferences and seminars that I have attended over the years relating to church life, this issue has never been addressed.  And yet I maintain that a church directory says a lot about a church.  And in fact it can be a great source of spiritual health for a church. Let me try and prove my thesis.

As you are aware, it has been quite a while since we published a new directory.  And this delay has been deliberate. We decided to wait until after our recent Affirmation Service. Since we were unsure regarding the covenantal intentions of some, we chose to wait until we had a record of those affirming that they were ‘part and parcel’ of BBC. Like a church membership roll, the church directory should be a record of integrity. It should be an accurate reflection of those who are committed to one another.  And related to this is the concept that the church directory should also be a document of intent.

Those included in the directory fall basically under one of two categories. First, the church directory is a record of church members who are thus intentional in their commitment to live out their covenant relationship with God and with fellow church members.

Second, the church directory also serves to record the names and faces of those who are not yet members but who intend to become members. Those who are in this category have affirmed their intention by signing the church covenant and they are currently going through biblical discipleship.  We rejoice that this includes some eighteen individuals!

Whether you are in the first or second category it is assumed that your intention is to live in brotherly love with one another. And thus it is assumed that if your face is in the directory then your face will be seen in person — often!  In other words, those with asterisks next to their names are those of us who have stated that we intend to love one another, to serve one another, and to worship with one another as we follow our intention to daily follow Christ.  Without apology this asterisk calls us to account.

I would encourage you to use the church directory as a means to familiarize yourself with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Use this directory to be intentional in your prayers for the body.  Perhaps you can take a page or two every day and pray for fellow members and their families. Pray for the lost members of each family and beseech God that one day we will see these families worshipping together.

You can also pray for those who are becoming members. Pray for their ‘perseverance’ and that they will be blessed by us and us by them. In addition to these prayers ask the Lord to help you to be a minister of encouragement towards those members whom seem to be pulling away from the fellowship. When you see their face less and less, let their face in the directory spur you on to fervent prayer and practical help. Use the phone numbers as a contact opportunity to send messages or to share an encouraging word. I suppose upon reflection that there are many ways in which this church directory could be used for the strengthening of BBC. Use your sanctified imagination and share your tips with others.

In conclusion let me also give a note of caution. The church directory is just that, a church directory.  Let us be wise in the sharing of its information with those ‘on the outside’ who may use it for less than noble means. Because we love one another we want to guard one another from these details falling into the wrong hands.  And that kind of concern, like the practical prayer pointers above, is rooted in good and sound Theology.