Constitution, Bylaws, and Charter

Transcription

1 Constitution, Bylaws, and Charter Preamble We, the followers of Christ at Calvary Chapel of Murfreesboro, declare and establish this constitution and bylaws to preserve and secure the principles of our faith and to govern this body in an orderly manner consistent with the teachings of the Bible. This constitution also seeks to declare and preserve the autonomy of this body of believers, the liberties of each, and the freedom of action of this local church in relation to other churches. I. NAME This body shall be known as Calvary Chapel of Murfreesboro. II. OBJECTIVES 1. Be a dynamic Spirit filled fellowship which seeks to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourself. (Matthew 22:37-40) 2. Proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the communities of Rutherford County, and wherever else possible, by any means available preaching, teaching, personal witnessing, service, supporting other evangelistic ministries, etc. through the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8) 3. Be a spiritual fellowship which meets regularly to praise God and glorify His name. (Hebrews 10:25) 4. Be a spiritual family connected by Jesus, at peace with one another, edifying one another, bearing the burdens of one another, etc. (Romans 14:19) 5. Be a church that teaches the entire Bible, equipping and nurturing believers to live as committed disciples of Jesus Christ who minister to others and share the Gospel. (Matthew 28:19-20)

2 III. MISSION AND PURPOSE STATEMENT Calvary Chapel of Murfreesboro is called to equip, exhort, and inspire believers to follow Jesus two commandments - to love God and love everybody else. Through the adherence to these simple commands, we will seek to be used by the Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world so that others may be drawn to salvation by faith in Jesus. IV. DOCTRINE AND BELIEFS 1. The call to the ministry - And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11, 12) - It is our belief that serving God's people as a pastor is something that one must be called to do by Jesus Himself, not a profession to be chosen. Also, we consider this to be a sacrificial calling, whereby the pastor exists to care for the spiritual needs of the congregation. 2. God's model for the church - And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42) - We see the second chapter of Acts as a blueprint for how God intends His church to operate, and we try very hard to remain as close to this model as possible. That early church was a Spirit filled group of believers who strongly proclaimed the Gospel, met together to study the Scriptures, prayed about everything all of the time, worshiped together, and became involved in each other's lives. Every action was led by and empowered by the Holy Spirit. 3. Church Government - And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22, 23) - While different forms of church government show up in Scripture, we feel that the safest ground is to stay as close to God's original setup as we can. Early on, He always led His people through men specifically called for this purpose. From the prophets to men like Moses, God would speak and lead through them. While every pastor needs help and should consider the wise counsel of other godly believers, the final decision on all matters falls to him. His responsibility is to be led by the Spirit in communicating God's will for the

3 body, and to be a willing bondservant of Jesus Christ - the head over all things regarding the church. 4. Empowered by the Spirit - But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8) - Since Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be sent as a helper for the duration of our time in this world, we seek to gain every bit of help He has to offer and think that all honest spiritual gifts should be accepted and desired. We believe that the baptism of the Spirit seen on the day of Pentacost is still available for believers today, and that it is a distinct experience that exists in addition to His convicting work in the life of the non-believer and the teaching and leadership of His indwelling that comes at conversion. 5. Building the church God's way - So he answered and said to me: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, Says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6) - We believe that the church is the body of Christ and that it is created by, put to work by, and sustained by Jesus. We don't concern ourselves with goals involving number of attendees, but rather focus all our attention on allowing God to change us through the teaching of His Word in the hope that as we become more like Christ, He will find us trustworthy to minister to the hurting and the lost in our community. When this happens, He will bring them to us as He sees fit, and so we rely on this process as opposed to creating clever marketing schemes or using worldly "lures". 6. Grace upon grace - Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:36) - As we have received the ultimate grace of salvation given freely by Christ, it is our desire to extend grace and not judgment to everyone. It is the grace of God that allows us to be saved, to have peace, to feel loved, and to be able to rise above the circumstances of this world and stay focused on the glorious eternity to come. We hold firm to the teaching of Scripture found in Mathew 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." It is our desire to follow the instructions of Jesus and simply concern ourselves with loving God and loving everybody else.

4 7. The priority of the Word - Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. (1 Timothy 4:13) - We believe the key to growing and maturing as believers is Scripture. There are 66 books in the Bible, and our goal is to simply teach chapter by chapter and verse by verse until we can make the same claim Paul makes in Acts - "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God." 8. The centrality of Jesus Christ - For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5) - We believe that every activity of the church should be focused on Jesus somehow. In corporate worship, many are overcome with emotion and feel the need to stand or raise their hands toward heaven. This can be a beautiful outpouring of love for our Savior, especially when the whole group is moved to do likewise. However, if no one else is doing these things, the one who IS can distract others from being able to give Jesus their full attention. This is not allowed, and anyone needing to do so should move to the back of the room so as not to hinder the worship experience of others. 9. The rapture of the Church - For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:11-13) - We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, but do not feel that differing opinions as to the timing of the rapture should be something over which believers should break fellowship. In previous examples of God's wrath being poured out on mankind - the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc - the faithful were always removed before disaster struck, and we expect the same to take place before the 7 year great tribulation to come. This gives us a sense of urgency to share the Gospel and live sold-out lives of discipleship before Him while we still have the opportunity. 10. Having begun in the Spirit - Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:3) - We believe that Scripture is correct when it states that our goodness is as filthy rags to God. We renounce any thought that it is possible to earn God's love, accomplish anything for Him by our own means, or do anything to make

5 ourselves worthy to be called one of His. It is the exclusive, supernatural working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer that produces holiness and spiritual maturity. 11. The supremacy of love - By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35) - Paul stated that even the gifts of the Spirit are meaningless if exercised without love. Everything God does is a manifestation of His love for us, and it is our responsibility to make this our driving force as well. Jesus made this point very clear when He said that it only takes two commandments to cover all the teaching of the law and the prophets 1. Love God. 2. Love everybody else. 12. Striking The Balance - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) - There are a few doctrinal beliefs essential to the Christian faith for which there can be no deviation or opposing viewpoint. However, there are many other issues that are hotly debated by different groups within Christianity. For example, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, free will versus predestination, and the prohibition of alcohol are subjects that have historically caused great divisions among believers with differing viewpoints. It is our policy to avoid confrontation and extend grace whenever possible in dealing with these nonessential doctrines so as not to alienate true brothers and sisters of the faith. 13. Ventures of Faith - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26) - Sometimes, God speaks. He may do so through a vision, a dream, a prophetic word, or even by placing an overwhelming burden in your heart for a particular group or area where He wishes you to minister. The absence of a clear calling to a specific action, however, is not necessarily a command to stand still. There's always the over-arching call of the Great Commission and the command to show His love to everyone around us as well. We believe in stepping out in faith and trying new ministries that we hope God will bless by using them to lead people to salvation and bring glory to His name. If they don't produce the desired result, we simply shut them down and try something else. Some things are good ideas, and some things are God ideas.

6 We try to stay busy, believing that He will reward the effort and the motive, if not the specific ministry idea. V. Government The government of this church is vested in the believers who compose it. It is subject to the control of no other ecclesiastical body, but it recognizes and sustains the obligations of mutual counsel and cooperation, which are common to evangelical Christian churches. The governing council of this church consists of the senior pastor, the board of elders, and a board of trustees. All who hold a position of authority in this fellowship must seek to serve the members of the church family in any way necessary and appropriate, as led by the Lord Jesus and in accordance with 1 Peter 5:1-4 - The senior pastor must be called to the ministry by Jesus Christ, and must meet the criteria outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. o If the senior pastor retires or is led by the Lord to shepherd a different congregation, then he shall, with counsel of the elders, appoint a replacement as led by the Holy Spirit. o If the senior pastor becomes incapacitated for any reason - fundamentally unable to perform the leadership duties of a pastor, passes from this life to the next without opportunity to name a replacement, or resigns for reason of disqualification for leadership based upon the aforementioned criteria from Scripture, then the board of elders will assume temporary oversight and responsibility until such time as the senior pastor is capable of resuming leadership or the Lord provides a new senior pastor. In such a case, the elders should prayerfully consider candidates for replacement, seek outside counsel/help from Calvary Chapel Outreach Fellowship leadership, and pray about filling the position. Once they are of one accord in regards to a suitable candidate, they should offer him the position. If he accepts, then he will assume all responsibilities of the senior pastor as outlined elsewhere in this document.

7 o The senior pastor is responsible for oversight of all areas of official ministry associated with this church, and although he should seek wise counsel from the board of elders, board of trustees, and other pastors, he is responsible for having the final say-so in all church related matters. - Elders, appointed by the senior pastor, must meet the criteria outlined in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. o They will meet regularly with the pastor for prayer, seeking the Lord s will concerning all matters regarding the church, ministerial programs, and the spiritual needs of the congregation. o They will be looked to as spiritual leaders, capable of giving wise counsel and trustworthy to carry the burdens and respect the privacy of congregants who seek their help. Their goal should always be to direct others to the truth of Scripture and to a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus. o They shall provide counsel, accountability, support, protection, and corrective discipline (as outlined in Matthew 18:15-17) for the senior pastor as well as all other members of the church family. - The board of trustees, appointed by the senior pastor, will be led by the senior pastor in discussion, prayer, and decision making regarding all business/financial decisions of the church. o Trustees may, but are not required to be, members of the board of elders. o They will meet regularly with the senior pastor for discussion and to give wise counsel, and will be given responsibility and authority as needed to conduct church business or be an official representative in such matters on behalf of the church. - Elders and trustees who cease to be an active member of Calvary Chapel of Murfreesboro, are deemed disqualified for service by the senior pastor in accordance with the Biblical criteria outlined in this document, or are deemed no longer necessary or suitable for the position by the senior pastor will immediately vacate said position. VI. Amendments This constitution and bylaws may be amended by the senior pastor at any time. Otherwise, this document shall be given a position of oversight in all church matters.

8 VII. History Calvary Chapel of Murfreesboro (formerly Stones River Community Church) was founded and established the 1st day of August in the year of our Lord, The first official meeting was held in the clubhouse of the Cedar Ridge Apartments in LaVergne, Tennessee. Charter members were: - Phillip Frensley - Tammy Frensley - Mike Slinker - Susan Slinker - Mike Elgin - Kathy Elgin - Rob Corkan - D Anette Corkan