Church Membership - Why does it matter? (Part 2)

I grew up in a Pastor's home so the question of whether or not a Christ follower would join a church was a question I never even thought to consider. To be a Christian , in my mind, would assume you were a member of a local church. I discovered as I began to pastor that this is not the case for many. I had a pastor friend in a church near the church I pastored in GA that would often boast of the fact that they had no membership in their church. So, I had to examine my own beliefs about this issue. Is membership important? Why or Why not? More than that, is church membership biblical?

You may attend the church I pastor every time the doors are open, you may attend any function of the church, and you can be a member of a small group (in our case Sunday School class) and not be a member. If you trust in Christ alone for your salvation you may even observe the Lord's Supper table with us and still not be a member. So, why would anyone want to be a member?

In the New Testament the local body of Christ is the visible demonstration of the universal body of Christ (all those throughout history that have trusted Christ alone by faith for their salvation). As Rick Warren is famous for saying, "There is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian". "But Mark, I still don't have to be a member of a church to have relationships with other Christians." Correct, you do not. So why membership?

Let me share several biblical reasons I believe in the seriousness of church membership and why I believe scripture clearly implies it is necessary.

1. Membership is implied in the metaphor "the body" found in 1 Corinthians 12:12 and following. The New English Version, the old King James Version, the New Revised Standard version as well as others use the term "members" in that verse to refer to the various parts of the body. Paul is obviously writing to the church in Corinth about the church.

Now, my hand is 100% committed to the other parts of body. My hand will protect the other parts when necessary, it will cooperate with the other parts (my knee does not go to one city while my hand goes to another), it will assist in other ways when necessary. Why? Because it is, without question, identifiably a part of the same body. My hand is not as committed to another body because it does not feel pain when that part of another body feels pain. It does not experience pleasure when the other body experiences pleasure. And on and one we could go.

In addition, if you saw an attachment to my body that did not fit ... let's say a basketball permanently attached to my foot ... you would know immediately that does not belong. Why? Because it is not a committed part of my body.

So, the question is, who intends to be treated as part of the body called "ClearView" (in my case)? The only way we have of knowing is a tool called "membership". And by the way, the term used is not important. "Membership" just happens to be the term we use and a term that communicates to the broadest number of people.

2. Church leaders are instructed to care for the church in their charge. I alluded to this in "Part 1" of this post. Acts 20:28 is Paul's farewell address to the leaders of the church in Ephesus and he clearly instructs them to "guard the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers".

My instruction is clear regarding the flock for which I have responsibility. Question: What is my responsibility for the flock at Church B a mile down the road? Am I going to give an account for how I shepherd them (Church B) some day? No. Their pastor will give an account for his flock ... just as I will for the one I serve. So does my flock include all those who show up on any given Sunday? Of course not, because I can't know who they are. There has to be some way to account for the flock for which God has given me responsibility.

1 Peter 5:1-3 also gives some very strong exhortation to church leaders. The word I want to key on is in v.3. It is the word "entrusted" and it means "lot" or "portion". There must be some way to define what that lot or portion is. You would not purchase a piece of real estate from me without some kind of specific definition of the lot. So, who will I one day give an account of before God? My lot / portion. Again, the only tool we have for defining that is "membership".

We will look at several more biblical reasons for church membership in the next post. Feel free to leave comments if you have questions. Remember, I am looking to make this part of the content for a revised New Members Class in the future, so I welcome questions or comments.