Regulative Discipleship: Why a Full Calendar Doesn’t Necessarily Produce Mature Church Members

“In general, the regulative principle calls for inflexibility on the elements and flexibility on the forms. Don’t mess with the elements. God has spoken. But you can exercise prudence with the forms. God has freed you to choose.” - 9 Marks

Discussion

The regulative principle is a nifty idea, but this article illustrates why I’ve always been skeptical that it can really accomplish much.

If you want “flexibility” in some feature of ministry, all you have to do is identify a larger category that it falls under, declare the larger category an “element,” and presto, the thing you want to do is now a “form.”

To be effective, we have to regulate ministry choices some other way.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

As a church planter, this article was encouraging. If I am to reach our community, I need to be out in the community, not sheltered inside the walls of the church every night doing programs that the same people show up for.