Make plans now to attend this year’s Brethren in Christ Study Conference, sponsored by the Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist and Wesleyan Studies at Messiah College. The 2014 theme is “Who’s In? Who’s Out?: Rethinking Church Membership in the 21st Century.” The conference will be held October 9-10, 2014, at the Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church.
According to the conference brochure, here are some questions that the event will tackle:
- Does church membership matter in the twenty-first century?
- What does it mean to “belong” in a post-Christian society?
- What are the connections between membership and the concepts of conversion,
discipleship and accountability in the church today? - Can we revitalize church membership? Should we?
The conference will begin with a keynote lecture on Thursday, October 9, 2014, at 7pm. This lecture is free and open to the public. The conference will continue all-day Friday, October 10, 2014, beginning at 9:00am. Brethren in Christ pastors can earn life-long learning credits by attending.
To learn more about the conference or to register online, visit the Sider Institute website.
Some interesting stuff will be considered. My present denomination (The Presbyterian Church in Canada), while on a different theological wavelength, considered the same question about three years ago with an article in The Presbyterian Record. Some of the points don’t apply to the BIC; others may be worth of consideration. http://presbyterianrecord.ca/2011/03/01/members-for-eternity/
Oops, that’s WORTHY of consideration. Fingers were working faster than the brain!
Great article, Aubrey — thanks for sharing! (And it’s good to know other Christian communities are having this dialogue, too!)