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Reccomendation Letters
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Dmckay
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You'll note as you read through the Epistles that Paul often mentions or commends various brethren to those he was writing. Peter also mentions Paul's writings as being worth the read. It is from this, that the practice of recommendation letters proceeds. As people move and join other churches, if they don't have a letter of recommendation, they must re-establish themselves in their new church as being trustworthy and doctrinally correct before they should be allowed to become involved in the ministry of their new church.
Anyone can walk in off the street and claim that they have been saved for years and involved in various ministries with such-and-such a church. How do you know that they are being honest with you? Suppose you had someone come in and claim 10 years experience working in the nursery or with youth. Would you entrust them to work in these areas of your church the next week on the basis of their word alone? What if their experience with young people consisted of doing hard time for child abuse?
This is pretty extreme, I know, but there is that possibility. Here in Denver it hasn't been that many years since we had a child taken out of the nursery of a rather large Church that was sure they had a fool-proof system in place to keep this from happening. The individual who did it, visited the church for several weeks, learning the system and letting their face become familiar and trusted.
Anyone can walk in off the street and claim that they have been saved for years and involved in various ministries with such-and-such a church. How do you know that they are being honest with you? Suppose you had someone come in and claim 10 years experience working in the nursery or with youth. Would you entrust them to work in these areas of your church the next week on the basis of their word alone? What if their experience with young people consisted of doing hard time for child abuse?
This is pretty extreme, I know, but there is that possibility. Here in Denver it hasn't been that many years since we had a child taken out of the nursery of a rather large Church that was sure they had a fool-proof system in place to keep this from happening. The individual who did it, visited the church for several weeks, learning the system and letting their face become familiar and trusted.
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I can't add a thing to dmckay's post. It says everything I was going to say.
Letters of recommendation are Biblical and good. The body of Christ is bigger than the local church and we live in a mobile world where moving around is part of life. Why have to start completely over as a stranger in your new location if you can be introduced by a letter from your pastor?
Letters of recommendation are Biblical and good. The body of Christ is bigger than the local church and we live in a mobile world where moving around is part of life. Why have to start completely over as a stranger in your new location if you can be introduced by a letter from your pastor?
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Dmckay
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There is something that I should add to my original post. As Pastors, when asked to write a letter of recommendation for a member, we need to be very honest and detailed in what we write in those letters. A case in point comes to mind. I was called to Pastor a church in a large southwest city. I wasn't told ahead of time that the Pastor before me was forced to resign between the morning and evening service one Sunday because he was charged by a young lady in the youth group of molestation. He admitted it, and asked for forgiveness.
The parents and deacons decided to keep things quiet, not bring the law into the situation, and allowed the man to resign quietly. No one else in the congregation knew of the reason for his leaving. I didn't find out for almost a year what had happened. Apparently, it wasn't a secret among the kids in the youth group, most of whom came from non-Christian homes. One day as I was visiting the parents of several of the youth group members I noticed a distinct coldness when I introduced myself as Pastor Don.
I confronted the deacon board about this and asked them if they knew of any reason that I might be receiving this kind of reception from the parents. They explained what had happened and how they had chosen to deal with the situation. The old Pastor also happened to have been a Pastor Don, and the parents were thinking that we were one and the same. I tried to tell the deacons that they had made a mistake in dealing with what turned out to have been a public sin. Several other members of the youth group were aware of what happened at the time. They had actually observed the incident.
About six months later a letter came in from a Church on the East coast. This man was being considered for the position of Youth Pastor in a large church. They were requesting a letter of recommendation for this former Pastor. I presented the letter to the deacons, and asked them if they still felt that they handled the situation properly?
The parents and deacons decided to keep things quiet, not bring the law into the situation, and allowed the man to resign quietly. No one else in the congregation knew of the reason for his leaving. I didn't find out for almost a year what had happened. Apparently, it wasn't a secret among the kids in the youth group, most of whom came from non-Christian homes. One day as I was visiting the parents of several of the youth group members I noticed a distinct coldness when I introduced myself as Pastor Don.
I confronted the deacon board about this and asked them if they knew of any reason that I might be receiving this kind of reception from the parents. They explained what had happened and how they had chosen to deal with the situation. The old Pastor also happened to have been a Pastor Don, and the parents were thinking that we were one and the same. I tried to tell the deacons that they had made a mistake in dealing with what turned out to have been a public sin. Several other members of the youth group were aware of what happened at the time. They had actually observed the incident.
About six months later a letter came in from a Church on the East coast. This man was being considered for the position of Youth Pastor in a large church. They were requesting a letter of recommendation for this former Pastor. I presented the letter to the deacons, and asked them if they still felt that they handled the situation properly?
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SumTinWong
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Bud, I cant tell if you are serious or whether your messing with me. You usually know all or at least a little bit about everything 
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to become a member of a baptist church you need 1 of 3 things (basically). Either you make a confession of faith, your baptized, or you transfer by a letter of reccomendation from a previous church.
Obviously you must be a Christian, and if you make a confession of faith you had to of been baptized somewhere before.
Obviously you must be a Christian, and if you make a confession of faith you had to of been baptized somewhere before.
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P_G
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I totally agree with my brother Pastor DMCKY
And from our experiance we now also make follow up phone calls to more than one elder or deacon in the church as we have had people mis-represent themselves to us AND forge letters to boot!
It's sad that in this day so many clergy are wolves in lambs clothing but they are I suppose and we must always be ready to protect our congregations from them.
Blessings
Pastor George
And from our experiance we now also make follow up phone calls to more than one elder or deacon in the church as we have had people mis-represent themselves to us AND forge letters to boot!
It's sad that in this day so many clergy are wolves in lambs clothing but they are I suppose and we must always be ready to protect our congregations from them.
Blessings
Pastor George
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SumTinWong
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Oh okay I think I know what you mean now. This is realy the only church I have been at as an adult, so I really didn't know what it was. I think if I went to a church and they asked me for a recommendation letter I would tell them so long. If a Christian cannot take the word of another Christian then they are not worth me being around.The Lord's Envoy said:Bud, I cant tell if you are serious or whether your messing with me. You usually know all or at least a little bit about everything
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i think i was reading in acts the other day where they used reccomendation letters.... I'll have to go back and check
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AJ
Faith, Hope & Love
I can understand asking for one when someone is coming in to work in the ministry... Although there should be more reference checking than a recommendation letter for a member of clergy coming in to work at any church, in my opinion.
I agree with Uncle Bud with regards to membership in the church. I don't think that a church should require someone who has already accepted Christ as savior and been baptised to prove it with a letter from another church before allowing them to become members. I would not be comfortable with such practice at my church...
Any member who is going to take up a leadership position, should have been in the congregation long enough to dispell any doubt about the validity of their salvation, lifestyle, personality, etc.
I agree with Uncle Bud with regards to membership in the church. I don't think that a church should require someone who has already accepted Christ as savior and been baptised to prove it with a letter from another church before allowing them to become members. I would not be comfortable with such practice at my church...
Any member who is going to take up a leadership position, should have been in the congregation long enough to dispell any doubt about the validity of their salvation, lifestyle, personality, etc.
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I kinda disagree. For people who move a lot because of business or military service, they would never be able to be in one place long enough to establish themselves to become sunday school teachers, communion preparers, etc. If you never stay in a community more than a year or so, how would you ever get to do more than just sit in the pew?
I think recommendation letters are a great way for someone to introduce themselves into a new church, and more importantly, they contain the contact information for the old church so the refering pastor can be called and the person checked out in more depth. I see them more as an introduction than an absolute authority on the salvation and faith of the bearer.
I think recommendation letters are a great way for someone to introduce themselves into a new church, and more importantly, they contain the contact information for the old church so the refering pastor can be called and the person checked out in more depth. I see them more as an introduction than an absolute authority on the salvation and faith of the bearer.
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AJ
Faith, Hope & Love
I wasn't suggesting that someone have to wait years to begin teaching in Sunday school, etc... I do believe that accepting a letter of recommendation is only one piece of the information needed. The most important tools are the interpersonal relationships that are formed when someone expresses a desire to become active in some area of the church. Having a letter of recommendation doesn't make me trust someone enough to leave my daughter with them... But having the endorsement of the church leadership does. The very best situation for me would be to establish a relationship with the brother or sister myself.
I think the intent of the OP was related specifically to church membership... To distrust a fellow believer in their salvation because they don't have a letter from their previous church is, in my humble opinion, a mistake. Honestly, this is not a process that I am familar with.
I think the intent of the OP was related specifically to church membership... To distrust a fellow believer in their salvation because they don't have a letter from their previous church is, in my humble opinion, a mistake. Honestly, this is not a process that I am familar with.
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I see your point. Not having a letter should not stop someone from transfering their membership. But if they had been with a church a long time and didn't have a letter, I would wonder why. There are a few reasons for not having a letter that would concern me, and a few that would explain it without alarm.
For instance, the pastor of my old church left before I moved and the new pastor didn't know me well enough to write a letter of recommendation. But the old pastor would have written one without hesitation. If a person had the same pastor for a long time and still no letter, I would be concerned.
For instance, the pastor of my old church left before I moved and the new pastor didn't know me well enough to write a letter of recommendation. But the old pastor would have written one without hesitation. If a person had the same pastor for a long time and still no letter, I would be concerned.
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