Who is Port City? - Episode 6: Church Structure & Membership

Welcome to the Port, City Church podcast coming to you for the

city of Norfolk, Virginia. My name is Lauren and I'm your

host. This is episode number six

Church structure and membership. And today I'm here with two of

our founding pastors will end Tanner.

So guys, want you to say hello and then just so our listeners

can get to know you guys a little bit better.

Tell us today if you are a early bird in the morning or do you

tend to sleep? So I am will.

And I most certainly an early bird.

That's me I like to wake up as early as I can and get my

routine in before the kids wake up and just kind of get some

alone time. So, I will say not all of us are

that way. But yeah.

Yeah this man eats the same thing every single day for

breakfast. Like I need to let the listener,

understand the same thing. There's health and structure.

There is bro, is I'm trying to I'm trying to affirm you

publicly just wanna share what Is for everybody.

Yes, yes, it is a bowl of oatmeal with some butter and

bananas. You remember that time we went

on an eight mile run and literally 20 minutes before you

were crushing that dumb like the bro, how are you about to run?

Like, how are you doing with that in your stomach here?

Like, but don't worry about my process process.

Trust the problem. I did, I did I did stop a few a

little bit early on that run though and I did have to walk

back. So I think I got to Technically

complete. I thought maybe if I didn't eat

it all with him, I feel that. Yeah my name is Tanner I'm

definitely an early bird. Sits kind of always been that

way. Even back like high school, me

and my dad would get up for school and go to the gym.

Yeah, I'm kind of same way. I just, I enjoy the routine.

I'm a coffee guy. I love to read.

So I just I love the routine in the morning.

Yeah. So follow up questions.

And yes. Well onto the bus.

Yes. Do you also eat the same thing

for back? No, I have the same few things,

definitely, so I Which you do my guy.

I wouldn't say like I'm a little weird.

Like, if I'm working out, I'll do certain things.

If I'm not, I might eat on. Might not, I have multiple

processes. We'll get.

We'll get there. We'll get there.

All right off, he's always happens.

That's right, that's right. So now that everybody knows your

morning routine. There we go.

Let's jump in. So we've heard a lot about

Ministry, philosophy and Theology and we walk through a

lot of stuff in our episodes together and we're Starting to

wrap things up and this episode today, we want to have a

conversation about the nuts and bolts of what is the church.

Like we really boil it all the way down.

How does Port City Church operate and who are the people

that compose? It?

It's a good question, Laura. So I'm going to talk a little

bit about the structure and then we'll we'll kind of talk about,

you know, the people that compose it went kind of bounced

around. So poor City Church is a church

that is structured in particular way where Jesus ruled Ed and

congregationally accountable and just to be clear different

different churches do this different ways and all of them

should be deriving that from scripture.

Jesus ruled means like, you know, the Big C Churchill here.

A lot of times Big C versus a little see Church, Big C church.

Just means the church everywhere.

All people. All believers, you know,

converted saved. Love the Lord all across the

world. The little C church is the local

expression. Of kind of that Global reality

of coming into people to one another.

So our church is Jesus ruled and and that means that he is the

one we answer to. He's the one we follow.

He's the one we submit to. He has the final word on his

church, both little C and Big C. And so we were ruled by Jesus,

his desires for our church laid out in the New Testament.

Like the way that that God inspired the writers of the New

Testament to set up the church. That's how we run things.

Jesus is the boss. So we're Jesus rule were also

Elder led the New Testament kind of lays this out all throughout

Paul's letters in particular Peter talks about as well Elders

Elder and Pastor are interchangeable terms and the

elders are are entrusted with knowing leading feeding and

protecting the congregation. The church decisions are made by

the elders. The Elder team here is composed

of two parts. It's we have Team elders and

directional Elders. Team Elders lead their

respective teams in the members and coordinators within that

team. They are doing The Knowing

leading feeding protecting of that team, the people there in

the directional Elders oversee the church as a whole are

charged with churchwide decisions and Leadership and

there's there's accountability amongst the directional elders

and team elders and they discuss and consult with one another.

And it's important remember too that like the elders, both

directional in team Within Church are still members of the

church like where were shepherds before the Lord, but we're also

like sheep. You know what I mean?

Like, we, we follow God with with our brothers and sisters in

the church, but we have been entrusted by God and are

accountable to him for the Sheep.

So a little bit when will gets into who the churches who the

church is and how its structured are linked.

They're not like they are separate questions but the way

we run it and what it is are kind of like in Interlocked we

will stand before God for how we've known lead fed and

protected our people. So we take that very seriously

and the last one is congregationally accountable all

covered it members. Here are charged with with

following the leadership of the elders but are to keep a

watchful eye on us as well. Like, that's a mutual and we try

to lay that out in every episode from things.

Like the, the confession, the Covenant, all these things are a

something that the members are committing to the elders are Are

are the overseers, the leaders of, there's a mutual

accountability. You know, when we're out of step

with scripture, man, that's the congregation's job to like be

like, hey, do you know, show me that in the scripture?

You know, and really to walk through that in a spirit of

unity and any concerns, bring them up a little be taken,

serious will be reflected upon and, and that's kind of the the

symbiotic relationship there between those two parties.

Awesome. That was really helpful Tanner

and so let's follow it that a little bit.

You said congregationally accountable is a congregation,

just the people who show up on Sunday morning to sit in the

audience, who were the technical people in Port City Church, of

course, in which you, which you got over there.

William, that's a really good question.

So I I think the way that I'm going to think about it or talk

about it, talk about who's in, how do you even get in and then

I'm gonna let Tanner, I'm a toss it back to Tanner for a little

bit let Talk about what in the world does it even mean to be

in. So, who's in, so when we talk

about the congregation short, answer is no, it's not everybody

that's here on Sunday morning. It is the group of baptized

Believers in Christ who have covenanted together under the

authority of the elders. So we recognize that everybody

that comes to the service on Sunday morning may not fall into

that category. And so how would they get in?

How do you get in the first? Really is to get around to get

around the people that are in in different ways and forms, we

want you to get around and get to know us.

The next thing is to apply. So we have a membership

application and the reason for that application is so that we

can get to know you and see if you fit that that mold of being

a baptized believer in Christ. Whose Covenant who wants to come

in it together under the authority of the elders.

Once you fill out that application, then they'll be an

interview and don't let that sounds super intimidating.

There's not like, you know, there's not anything crazy, you

know, serious going on in there. We just really want to make.

Get to know. You better and understand what

your story is. Make sure that you are a

Believer, make sure that you have been baptized that.

You can identify hey, there was a time before Christ Christ came

into my life. I believed this and then now

I've changed. This is how changing this is who

I am now. And then we want to go through

our theological or we want to make sure that you have

theological agreement with our confession of faith.

And we're going to walk through that a little bit and make sure

that you kind of understand what we're saying when we say these

different things. And then, lastly, we want to

make sure that you understand the expectations of the

membership, Covenant. So we want to make sure that you

understand exactly what we're coming together to say that

we're going to do with you and for you and that you're going to

do as being a part of us as well.

And then once that meeting happens, there's not going to be

at the end of that meeting, you know, a decision of yes.

Please come in or no. No, please don't.

So that the actual decision as to, who is going to be a member

is extended by the elders team as a whole.

And so we'll go back and say, hey, this is, this is so, and so

that wants to become a member and this is, you know, we

believe that they meet the requirements of membership.

And so, the Elder team would say, yeah, that's great.

Let's extend membership to them and then the balls kind of in

your court and so you know we're going to go back to you and say

hey you know, based on our interview and what you've told

us we believe that you are part of this group of baptized

believers. Believe that you understand?

The Covenant that we're asking you to sign and so we want to

ask. Will you?

Do you want to sign this? Do you want to be a part of our

family? And then it's up to you whether

or not you want a covenant with us.

And then I'm going to let em, let Tanner talk a little bit

about what it means to Covenant with us.

And even before I do that, I want to just build on something

you were saying like and again like what the church is like,

when you read the New Testament, it is a body of people.

It is a it is a family is literally Christ's body of which

he is the head. Ed.

And so, like, man, we can never no human being, can know, beyond

a shadow of a doubt who all of the Believers within even their

membership. Exactly are like, we are not the

Holy Spirit, but the New Testament, paints, a picture

that the church is, like, the overseers in the, the stewards

of, who claims to be God's people, because we are

representing the Risen Lord to our city, to our neighbors.

We are Salt and Light, Eight is so like, man, if we're flipping

on these things, like if you're listening, you been rocking with

every episode like man. We're not we're not trying to

create like a purity complex. We don't we don't put our trust

in these things. We have our trust in the Lord in

the way he's laid, these processes out in his word and by

the best of our abilities, what we're going to do.

But yeah, this is not like super formal man.

Like if you love the Lord, if you're in Christ, you could

articulate that sometimes people just, you know, struggle with

articulating, their story will walk with you in that.

But yeah like if you're not super sure you're a Believer you

can see what be dangerous to affirm you into membership of a

church. We don't want to Aid in the

self-deception that that would be you know like that would not

be loving to say you're a member of God's body when you're not

right. You know talk about it.

Let's talk about hey do you want to be a member of the body you

know so all this stuff sometimes like to the point you're making

will like is not formal man. This is like this is what the

church has been doing for thousands of years.

We're gonna be like there were hundreds of years or Was getting

interviewed. You know what I mean?

Like I mean this stuff has been going on forever.

So this is just by God's grace how we gonna do it.

It was also just want to point out that it's not, you know,

it's not we're not saying, you know, do not struggle with sin

anymore. We're sure do.

There's not a there's not a, we're not at nothing to work

with that Testament talks about. Yeah, we're not.

And we have people, we are people that still struggles and

they're still walking and trying to grow in Jesus.

And so, right, that's not a thing at all.

Well, now we just Just we just gone.

We're gonna lift the hood seal of the Lord.

All right. There.

You Covenant into, are you coming into these other people

who are doing that as well? And do you know what that means

and let's rock. Yeah.

What does that mean at our church to be in to be a member

really in a lot of ways? What it comes down to is to, you

know, you're living a transformed life by the Risen

Lord Jesus. And you're going to live a

three-dimensional life of up in and out.

That's that's our core rhythms. We are going to worship God

together. Up.

We are going to chase him. We're in the where we're walking

in those rhythms together. We are living out.

The one another's of scripture together and we are we are

seeking the good of our city. We're loving people and hoping

to see lost people get saved, you know, we're building,

building insiders up, inviting Outsiders in and then

practically man, what that means is like you're a part of the

gathered body on Sundays. You are coming to team meetings.

You are come, you're in a group, you're running plays in the

city. Man, you're just committed to

God's glory in your life and in the the life of our body here

are local church family. You know that's really what it

means to follow up. Excellent.

All right. You guys that is all that we

have today from Port City Church podcast, mayor lister's live and

powered by Jesus. I will talk to you all again.