No More Pledges, No More Law
by Tyler Zach
In the Greek system (by that I mean fraternities and sororities, not actually people living in Greece), we have come to know full well what a pledge is, or rather a pledging model.
Most members probably had to go through some type of pledging process before joining their organization.
Pledging = the process of becoming a member that usually involves a checklist of things to complete (such as tests, campus responsibilities, good grades, hazing activities, etc.)
Each fraternity and sorority differs in this area.
My national fraternity is trying to make pledging obsolete by implementing a plan (BMP) that would make a college student an official member - the first day that he walks in the door - instead of having to "earn his way" into the chapter through the pledging process. As you can imagine, this is an uphill battle. Why?
I think it is because we naturally hate giving grace (grace meaning undeserved gift). We want students to earn their way into the chapter. Giving them a certificate and pin on the first day seems unfair!
This reminds me of "the law" in the Old Testament. God implemented a pledging process for His followers by giving them a law to adhere to. The followers were to abide by these laws so that they could earn access to Him. However, the followers soon realized that they could not possibly follow these laws to the T. They were too sinful. They were imperfect people in need of grace. That is why their head honcho priest would once a year offer a blood (animal) sacrifice to God. This sacrifice was supposed to cover the sins of every person in the tribe - since they themselves could not perfectly follow the law.
However, God did away with the pledging process when he brought His son Jesus into the world. Instead of having priests make sacrifices every year, God wanted his Son to became the last blood sacrifice...ever. The blood that He shed would cover all of His followers' sins - even in the generations to come!
"...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." - Hebrews 10:10
Now, since the pledging process has ended, our access to God is all grace (given to us freely even though we are undeserving) because Jesus, the perfect, died for us, the imperfect.
Just as we enter into the Kingdom of God by confessing Jesus' sacrifice for us and living out His beliefs (not by jumping through hoops), so also does a student at my college now enter into the fraternity by confessing and living out its beliefs (not by jumping through pledging hoops).
Does your church teach that we are saved solely by the blood of Christ? Or do they teach that you must also jump through hoops to earn access to God?
In the Greek system (by that I mean fraternities and sororities, not actually people living in Greece), we have come to know full well what a pledge is, or rather a pledging model.
Most members probably had to go through some type of pledging process before joining their organization.
Pledging = the process of becoming a member that usually involves a checklist of things to complete (such as tests, campus responsibilities, good grades, hazing activities, etc.)
Each fraternity and sorority differs in this area.
My national fraternity is trying to make pledging obsolete by implementing a plan (BMP) that would make a college student an official member - the first day that he walks in the door - instead of having to "earn his way" into the chapter through the pledging process. As you can imagine, this is an uphill battle. Why?
I think it is because we naturally hate giving grace (grace meaning undeserved gift). We want students to earn their way into the chapter. Giving them a certificate and pin on the first day seems unfair!
This reminds me of "the law" in the Old Testament. God implemented a pledging process for His followers by giving them a law to adhere to. The followers were to abide by these laws so that they could earn access to Him. However, the followers soon realized that they could not possibly follow these laws to the T. They were too sinful. They were imperfect people in need of grace. That is why their head honcho priest would once a year offer a blood (animal) sacrifice to God. This sacrifice was supposed to cover the sins of every person in the tribe - since they themselves could not perfectly follow the law.
However, God did away with the pledging process when he brought His son Jesus into the world. Instead of having priests make sacrifices every year, God wanted his Son to became the last blood sacrifice...ever. The blood that He shed would cover all of His followers' sins - even in the generations to come!
"...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." - Hebrews 10:10
Now, since the pledging process has ended, our access to God is all grace (given to us freely even though we are undeserving) because Jesus, the perfect, died for us, the imperfect.
Just as we enter into the Kingdom of God by confessing Jesus' sacrifice for us and living out His beliefs (not by jumping through hoops), so also does a student at my college now enter into the fraternity by confessing and living out its beliefs (not by jumping through pledging hoops).
Does your church teach that we are saved solely by the blood of Christ? Or do they teach that you must also jump through hoops to earn access to God?
posted by Tyler Zach at 12:26 PM
1 Comments:
Amazing relation to our fraternity. I am glad to be able to look at the Balanced Man ideal as something more than appeasement now.
Justin Smith
Tennessee Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon
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