Church Membership
This is a list of sermon notes from the sermon titled “Church Membership”.
“Until you figure out how you fit in with a local church…it will always feel like something is missing.”
Three Statements on Church Membership from 1 Corinthians 12…
(1 Corinthians 12:12-13) 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
In order for the concept of “church membership” to make sense…we must first understand the difference between the Universal and local church. The Bible tells us that when a person puts his/her faith in Christ they are born again, adopted into the universal family of God. This family is comprised of all true believers in Christ from all times, all places. We call this family the Universal Church.
STATEMENT #1: All believers are members of the Universal Church.
If you are a believer today, then you are—by virtue of your belief in Christ—a member of the Universal Church. But as we continue to read through this letter, it becomes clear that Paul is giving instructions that cannot possibly be accomplished by individual believers on a global scale. In other words, the NT instructions for the church can only be meaningfully accomplished on a smaller scale—in local communities. These smaller groups or communities are called local churches.
STATEMENT #2: God designed us to live out our Christian faith within a local church.
Consequently, this explains why Paul often refers to these churches in the plural (1 Corinthians 7:17, 11:16, 14:33). Many other references to “churches” (plural) can be found throughout the rest of the NT. So there is one Universal Church (singular), that is comprised of a plethora of local churches (plural). The Mission Church is one such local church.
(This explains how we believe that a person can leave our [local] church body without leaving the faith! You don’t have to be a part of this local church…but you should be a part of a local church!)
(1 Corinthians 12:18-20) 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
STATEMENT #3: We are made by God to serve a local church with our unique gifts.
(1 Corinthians 12:7) 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
God created each of us with unique gifts…to serve different, yet complementary roles in the church. In fact, this is so critical…that these God-defined differences are what make a church a church!
I am well aware that there are some believers who reject the notion of local church membership. I’ve even heard some Christians say that local church membership isn’t in the Bible. But that’s not correct.
What is true is that there are no prescribed formalities for local church membership in the Bible. In other words, you can search the entirety of the NT and never find—for example—signatures, membership classes, formal meetings with the elders, or voting in member-meetings.
And what I’ve found is that most of the time when Christians resist church membership…they aren’t resisting Biblical church membership (the specific and regular participation in a smaller Christian gathering), as much as they are resisting man-made formalities (procedures, protocols, rules, etc.). And to that resistance I say, “Amen”. There is a little Pharisee inside of all of us, and he is begging to come out to play. Resist him. But we must take care that we do not throw out the baby with the bathwater—and end up resisting God’s Word.
At The Mission Church, we try hard to not be dogmatic about church membership formalities! We keep it simple, because we believe that biblical church membership is not complicated.
So, what is church membership?
Church membership is simply a prioritizing of the “one-anothers” with one group of believers over others.
We are commanded by God’s Word to gather with one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to mutually affirm one another’s faith; to pray for one another, to meet one another’s needs, to love one another, serve one another, greet one another, sing with one another, confess sins to one another, live in harmony with one another, share communion with one another, etc. Because these things are commands, it would be sin for us to neglect doing them.
So, with whom are we commanded to participate in these “one anothers?”
If your answer to that question is “The Universal Church,” then that means that you are necessarily— currently and perpetually—living in sin for neglecting to do these things with the believers in China, Madagascar, or even St. George. In other words, as stated earlier—it is not possible to regularly and meaningfully carry out the “one another’s” with the Universal Church. But you can—and must—do this for a believers in a smaller community.
What about having Christian friends who at outside for your local church? These can be wonderful addition to the life of a believer! My family is deeply grateful for our regular connections with fellow Christians who are not members of our local church. I consider these relationships to be a great value to a Christian’s life. But there is a special place in our lives with fellow members of our local church.
Becoming a member is a commitment to prioritize your "one another energy" at this church...over and above other churches.
What does membership entail? Commitment to:
Gathering together for Sunday worship
Praying with and for one another
Spotting and meeting needs of others in the congregation
Joining in Kingdom efforts with the local church for greater impact.
Financially supporting the needs and ministry of that local church.
Utilizing your spiritual gifts for the good of the local church
Dealing with church discipline issues in a biblical manner (should the need arise)
Taking part in the corporate decisions of the church (i.e. attending member's meetings, voting on pastors/deacons/budget, etc.)
Submitting to the elders regarding the organization of that church.
Consider, you could do none of the items on this list with Christians at the church across town—and not be guilty of sinful neglect. But the same is not true of your local church.
So, if being a member of a church is so important, then how can you find the right church for you?
As believers, we ought not look for a church as a consumer. It’s not window-shopping. Don’t choose a church the way you’d choose a vacation rental—by trying to see which one provides the greatest number of amenities. Instead, consider the following:
What to look for in a local church:
Ability to regularly gather:
This should seem obvious, but it deserves a mention. The reason that when you moved to Utah, you did not start searching out churches in Atlanta, is because that commute would kill you. At a very practical level, you should consider the church’s location and service times. If the church is too far for you to reasonably expect that you will be able to regularly gather (or meets at a time you cannot regularly attend)—then you should not become a member at that church.
Shared beliefs:
While a church does not need to be a group of doctrinal clones, still there should be absolute agreement on primary matters, and sufficient (reasonable) agreement on secondary matters. In my experience—the majority of times that Christians leave a church over doctrinal issues, they are not the essentials of the Christian faith, but rather the secondary issues. It is important to get to know what a local church believes about a good number of “non-Gospel” matters (i.e. Calvinism, women in ministry, end-times, politics, spiritual gifts, etc.), just so that you can have enough agreement for long-term unity.
Elders that you trust:
This is an essential foundation for church membership. If you do not trust the elders of a particular local church—then you cannot be a member there. This is because the NT requires that members submit to their elders (Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-3). This means that even if things start well, but at some point you lose your trust in the elders collectively—unless that trust is quickly regained—you cannot remain in membership there. You should not submit to spiritual leadership that you do not trust. Of course, the necessary trust between member and elder is not absolute, because the scope of an elder’s authority—as with all earthly authority—is extremely limited. And elder jurisdiction is limited to church matters.
Needs that can be fulfilled by your God-given gifts:
While, I do not think that this point is as essential as the previous three (at least at first), it is a biblical truth that God provides for the church with the church. Every local church has needs/gaps/holes. And there is great joy to be had when you find a church whose needs match with your corresponding gifts! When you walk into a potential new church, what you should be asking is not, “What services can this church provide for me?” But rather, “How can my unique set of God-given gifts be put to use for maximum, missional, Kingdom-building here?”