Congregant
Not Members
There is a misconception concerning congregations and being a member of a congregation of record or COR.
A congregation is a free assembly.
There is no corporate nature to a COR.
Nor is it an unincorporated association.
A Congregation of Record [COR] is nothing more than an assembly who given common testimony. Because of the free nature of a gathering called a congregation there are no real members in a legal sense of the word member as a person of a legal body.
In law a legal body's members individual status effects all the members. We see this in the phrase guilt by association. So to describe someone gathered in such a free assembly one needs to seek out other terms.
Congregant is one term that has been used for obvious reasons.
The term communicant could also be applied because an Elder of a family who has chosen a minister has communicated his desire and intent to be a part of that free assembly bound by charity and the perfect law of liberty.
Supplicant could also apply in the sense that those who gather are now praying to the God of charity and love instead of the gods of force and violence as most people do.
Approval
Also, and because of the free nature of God's system of government, in becoming a congregant there is no approval required by the other congregants.
It is the minister who recognizes the congregant as a matter of record.
To give the minister a legal but unencumbered identity a Sacred Purpose Trust [SPT] is created by the offerings of the people. The word Sacred denotes that the substance or corpus of the trust is consecrated to God and therefore is not to be considered a normal statutory trust but yet it has a legally recognizable identity, thanks be to Christ and His sacrifice.
The offering of a SPT forms an Altar of the Church by estoppel and becomes a matter of record through the testimony of the people. Each stone of these altars are called His Church.
No minister of His Church should accept a contribution on behalf His Church unless he is going to recognize that that individual is gathering in charity as a congregant of the COR.
Offerings are freely given. They are burnt up to the giver and the reigns of control are the province of the Minister of His Church. They may express an opinion as to the purpose they desire in prayer but it is the minister who accepts or rejects the offering as well as decides its distribution.
If the congregation has the power to determine the use of the funds they have not truly given it up. Also if the congregation has the power of yeah or nay over acceptance or distribution they enjoy a corporate right.
CORs and Orders
How [does] COR differ from Orders - that in the case of the COR [and] an Order.
Your question is appropriate because I could see some confusion here in this matter amongst those in the network.
There are extremely complex spiritual and legal relationships at work in the system or body established by Christ.
It is a multidimensional puzzle that fits together on several different levels.
But like our own natural body they should be automatic and not require constant attention. They should be natural.
To illustrate part of this relationship:
- Think of a minister in part as a terminal in a network.
He has ten or more connection points where people can congregate around and seek Christ.
By interacting with each other and him, and he interacting with his own minister all interact with a larger body.
The world does the same but in the kingdom this is done by empowering the individual to make their own choices but not choices for others.
The minister in God's government was never meant in old or new testament to stand between man and God but to facilitate a network between men, hopefully men of God.
A man of God is one who eats of the tree of life as said in the old testament or receives the revelations or comfort of God in spirit and acts upon them in truth.
We know connection to God is by acceptance of God as our father and we draw near him by our sacrifices in love.
If the elders can tell the minister who can congregate or connect to him then the minister is directly their servant.
He is to serve them but as Christ's servant not theirs.
Many will want and do regulate their minister in the Churches of the world but they themselves want to be free. This is not the way of Christ. They must freely give and freely receive.
If the minister is answerable to the directives of the congregation then they will seek to rule over their minister. The minister belongs to God not to the people. This is no small thing.
Legal Bonds
If the people rule or regulate or hue the living stones of God's altar and do it as a body then if any of them have another father as a matter of record that earthly father [Patronus] will have jurisdiction over the office of the minister and therefore the Church in matters of judication. The muster role of the congregation and the Church will bind the minister and the Church.
Even if they do not incorporate the fathers of the earth will claim jurisdiction by association.
This is why offerings are burnt up, entirely given. The power over [reigns of control/kidney] the distribution of offerings must be entirely given to the minister.
By the same measure there can be no power over the minister as to who he can accept or reject.
Yet the power of choice remains entirely in the hands of the congregant but only over himself.
To demonstrate:
In a practical matter if the minister is accepting people that drive congregants away or practice regular activities that the biblical instructions tell us to avoid or stay away from such as we see in 1 Timothy 6:5 "Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."
or 2 Timothy 3:5 "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
Then we may depart from that minister and choose another leaving judgment to God.
That process should include approaching the minister, approaching the overseer and other congregants but that is the choice of the congregant.
In an order the members have left behind all their worldly connections and laid their life down for Christ in word and deed.
There is no other father, such as the fathers of the earth.
Heart of the Assembly
They are dependent on the God working in the hearts of the assembly and each other.
For that to be real they need to strive and persevere.
They will need the blessings of God through the hearts of the people.
The SPT is for the protection of the minister.
No one has any say so in what t he COR does because it is a free assembly. It also helps the Overseer if the need arises. It also protects the whole church by barring the world.
It is your letter of determination so the minister does not need the IRS's letter of determination... with enough SPTs we make our own determination.
The chain of authentication of the Government of the people, for the people, and by the people begins with the SPT forms which is the prima facia evidence that we are what we say we are.
It is important but by itself it is not enough.
Charity and love complete the parts of the complex puzzle on many dimensions.
Elders
Some then wonder that it is the elder who will say who is a minister by my vote/ offering?
You are an Elder by circumstance. An Elder is the elder of a family. The minister testifies that a family is a part of a congregation of record.
He is the one who bears witness that you are a contributing element of a congregation of record and a viable part of the living network.
It is not the people who appoint the minister. God appoints the minister but the world cannot hear God for it has gone out of His presence. So the world needs the testimony of the people to accept the ministry of the servants of God as true.
The world needs to see the testimony of the people in a form they can accept.
The world cannot see God or His ways.
The Way of the World
The way of the world is the way of force and power, control and covetousness. They can see no other way for they are blind to the ways of God. In fact the world will say the ways of the Father in heaven are wicked.
You can see that coming in many areas.
The people should only support ministers who are seeking the kingdom of God and the service of God. But you are right it is your testimony that makes the minister the minister of God from the point of view of the world.
What we see in the world today is most ministers serve the gods of the world and take the name of the Lord in vain.
Woe unto the minister who claims to serve the God of heaven and comes to serve himself.
One someone testifies to the truth of God's servants God will bless them accordingly.
The servants of God are already bless as they do the will of the Father.
So in recognizing by written testimony the servants of God the people are blessed because they are reaching out to protect His servants.
We have seen the Bible where people are blessed and protected by God because they blessed and protected His servants.
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.
Congregants
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brother-gregory/2013/09/21/hebrews-chapter-1
Votaries and Congregants
How does God want you to govern yourself in this world?
How does the perfect law of liberty work?
Have you been seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness? http://hisholychurch.net/audio/2012-1-28VotariesandCongregants.mp3