Introduction
Last fall, the elders at Sojourners church introduced a proposal for a new church constitution. We asked members at Sojourners to consider the new constitution carefully and we planned to discuss it together during the Sunday School hour. Then, as Covid numbers rose, it seemed prudent to us to postpone our discussions.
Recently, the leadership team met to discuss the best way to move forward with the proposal. We decided highlighting different aspects of the constitution through short posts and videos would be a good strategy. Therefore, that is our plan over the next several months, starting with this post. Please consider these things carefully and prayerfully and ask any questions you may have along the way.
First up for discussion are the Preamble and Articles 1–2. Download the proposed constitution at this link to follow along.
Preamble & Articles 1-2
The first thing I want to draw your attention to is this statement in the Preamble: "[we] have recognized the need to reconstitute ourselves to more closely conform to [God's] will for the Church in this age and prepare ourselves for greater efforts in His name..." This captures our intent with this constitution. We are not starting over, nor denying the efforts and effectiveness of what has come before. Rather, we believe this constitution will help us conform and stay conformed to what scripture calls for the church to be like. Many of the things in this constitution are things we are already doing. We believe it is time to codify those things, especially as a foundation for future ministry.
The second thing I want to draw your attention to is Article II. Article II describes the foundation, purpose, and chief priority of the church. It is staking our claim that as the bride of Christ, we wholly belong to him and are about his work. Our foundation is and always will be Christ, who rules his church through his word, the scriptures. Our purpose as a church, just as individuals, is to glorify Jesus. And we accomplish this aim by making our chief priority to be and make eternally joyful disciples of Christ. Everything we aim to be and do as a church revolves around these things. They are therefore a summary of what we believe it means to be a church. The rest of the constitution explains how we believe God is leading us to keep Christ as our foundation, fulfill our purpose, and walk out our chief priority.
Next week, we will examine the foundation itself in Article III: Doctrine.