No candidate should ordinarily come before the church without a
previous examination by the pastor; and notice, therefore, should be
given when and where he will meet persons desiring to unite with the
church.
_Hints._--1. The time should be sufficiently early to give ample
opportunity for making inquiries respecting an applicant, where the
circumstances and character of the individual are not known. In the
case of minors, consult the parents or guardians when practicable; it
is a courtesy due to them, whatever their religious character or
relations, and is often desirable in order to a full understanding of
the character of the candidate. 2. Let the examination be thorough and
faithful. The purity of the church, as well as the welfare of the
candidate, demands this. It is far easier to arrest an application at
this point than after it comes to the church. The absence of knowledge
even of the fundamental principles of the Christian religion, on the
part of many who are hurried into the church, is one of the alarming
features of our time. Certainly, Christian experience is not a matter
of mere blind emotion; and we have no ground for supposing its
existence apart from distinct convictions respecting God and Christ and
the foundation-truths of the Gospel. We are "born again by the Word of
God;" and there can be no "repentance toward God and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ" without some definite idea of sin, of repentance, of
faith, of God, and of Christ. It is never proper, therefore, to assume
the fact of a Christian experience where there is no definite Christian
knowledge. The duty in such cases is to instruct, not to baptize.
3. See that the candidate understands not only the general principles
of Christianity, but also the distinctive doctrines and usages of the
church and the specific obligations assumed in becoming a church
member, so that his profession may be made intelligently. For this
purpose, have your Articles of Faith and Covenant in printed form, and
place a copy in the hands of every candidate. This will often prevent
misunderstanding and subsequent difficulty; and the intelligence with
which the step is taken will add much to the value of the profession.
4. It is well, when practicable, and especially when any considerable
number are to be examined, to associate the officers of the church or
some experienced brethren with you in this preliminary examination,
that the responsibility may not all fall on you. For this, though
informal, is ordinarily the decisive examination; the church very
rarely rejects a candidate understood to be approved by the pastor. In
some churches, whenever a name is proposed, a committee is appointed to
hear the experience of the candidate and make necessary inquiries, and
the candidate comes before the church only after their favorable
report. This has the disadvantage of making public the name of an
applicant and thus embarrassing the rejection, should that be
desirable; but it has also the advantage of dividing the responsibility
of the examination and relieving the pastor. If a committee is
appointed, however, I think it should be a standing one, with the
pastor at its head, and the names of candidates should be presented to
it before being presented publicly to the church. 5. Beware of an
ambition for mere numbers: a small body of well-instructed, earnest
disciples is worth far more to the cause of Christ than a heterogeneous
multitude undistinguished in spirit and life from the world. Seek in
this, not newspaper publicity and laudation, but the approval of
Christ, building the temple of God, not with perishable material,
"wood, hay, and stubble," but with imperishable, "gold, silver,
precious stones," which shall endure when the "fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is."