Eagle Heights Member Meeting – 11.15.2020

This past Sunday we gathered at 10:10 to have a brief meeting for those who are members of our faith family. The following is what was discussed and decided. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask the Elders or church staff.

• (10:10) Pastor Dan Ray began with a word of prayer.
• Pastor Curtis Kinsey gave a report from the Facilities Team. He shared that because the church has been so generous, we have a healthy amount of money in the building account. This means that as of now, we don’t have to ask the church for extra giving to meet some immediate needs we hope to address. Pastor Curtis notified the congregation that over the past six months we replaced the carpet in the adult hall and painted all adult classrooms. We also replaced five AC units that were stolen back in January, and we replaced another unit that needed significant repairs. We were also told that the team planned to add another handrail at the main entrance for safety. The team also planned to explore the addition of a covered entrance, replace the worship center floor, and replace the toilets in the bathrooms. The worship center floor and toilets that will be replaced are original to our 20-year-old building.
• Pastor Ryan told us that the church had transitioned to a new online giving platform, and that those who give online need to make the switch to the new online giving option. Ryan also informed us that we have a new Eagle Heights app that provides a way to connect, sermon notes, media resources, online giving capabilities, and access to the CSB or ESV Bible. The app can be downloaded for free. Finally, he let us know that the Children’s Team was discussing the option of having AWANA in the spring, and that we hoped to make a decision in the near future.
• Pastor Brent shared that the Elders decided to cancel our annual Harvest of Thanks Chili and Soup Dinner. While that is an important time of fellowship in the life of our church, we are erring on the side of caution since COVID numbers are spiking. It was also emphasized that our priority is the Sunday Morning Worship Gathering because it is biblically mandated (Heb. 10:24-25).
• Pastor Brent also led the church in a time of removing a church member by ballot-vote for unrepentant sin. He noted that the process of removal by church discipline is hard on us all. It should also cause us all to reflect on the seriousness of sin and should serve to warn all of us not to run headlong into unrepentant sin. On the other hand, we should be encouraged that we are a part of a church that will obey all that Jesus commands, even when it is hard (Matt. 18:15-18). He reminded those present that we brought this member to the church on August 3rd. At that time Pastor Ryan gave a thorough explanation of why we were bringing the member to the church so that the church would pursue the wayward member. He also shared an extensive timeline of efforts made to pursue and help the wayward brother. Brent briefly explained the reason why the Elders were recommending removal, as well as, why we chose to do it now and not later. It was also made clear that just because we are putting the professing brother out of the church, it does not mean that we are giving up on him. The church was encouraged that they should continue to reach out and plead with him to change course. The church should continue to pray that God would grant repentance. The church was told to treat him as one created in the image of God; that we should be kind and respectful to him. It was made clear that if he comes back to us, then we will welcome him with joy, but we will not affirm his sin. If he repents, then we will rejoice over a restored brother. Finally, the church was encouraged to mourn over unrepentant sin, as we act to remove him according to the command to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There was a time for questions, and none were asked. We then voted and the unrepentant member was removed unanimously. At that time the meeting was dismissed.
• This is the blurb that went out to the church on Monday via email concerning the matter of church discipline: As many of you know, yesterday we did the difficult thing of removing a professing brother from our fellowship for outward, obviously worldly, and unrepentant sin. We obeyed Jesus and followed the steps of Matthew 18:15-18, and the church voted unanimously to remove the unrepentant church member. Obeying Jesus is often very hard, and sometimes it leads us to mourn over sin. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean we should not do it. It is unloving and unkind to ignore a professing believer who blatantly disobeys Jesus. I sincerely hope that if I ever drift from trusting and obeying Jesus, the church will follow our Lord’s command and do the same for me (Brent). To be clear, we are not giving up on the unrepentant brother. We must continue to pray for him. We will be kind to him if we see him. We want people to continue to reach out to him to plead with him to change his mind and actions. We will rejoice if the Lord grants him repentance. For now, we mourn for him, but we should also be glad that we are a part of a church that practices hard love. Please continue to pray for the family of this man. They are hurting, and they need encouragement. If you have questions about the actions of the Elders and congregation of Eagle Heights, please let us know. We want to help you understand the biblical rationale for church discipline.  

Again, if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. We are always willing to listen and dialogue with you.