Everything You Ever Wanted to Know (and Maybe Didn’t Want to Know) about Church Membership
Chuck Sligh
October 29, 2006
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 12:12 – “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”
INTRODUCTION
Paul’s analogy of the church as a body is interesting in the New Testament. Sometimes as you read Paul, you think the body he’s referring to is the Body of Christ—the whole body of all believers in all churches in all of the New Testament age. At other times, he seems to be talking about members of LOCAL bodies of believers—local, visible churches.
I believe this is intentional. On the one hand Paul is saying that believers are part of the larger body of Christ. On the other hand, he’s teaching that we all should be members of local bodies of believers, and we should serve and do our part and play a role in those local bodies.
This morning I’m going to talk to you about church membership and why I believe biblically it is important to be a serving member of a local church—hopefully ours! Many of you are new to our community and have been searching for God’s direction about a church.
My hope is that if you have been one of those on the outside looking in, you’ll become a vibrant, active, participating member on the inside looking out through ministry. To help you here, I want to answer four critical questions about church membership. So let’s start with the very first question:
I. FIRST, WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN A CHURCH?
Many people don’t see the need to be a member of ANY church, much less ours. They’re happy just attending and soaking up what a church has to offer. There are even some who think church membership is a human tradition, and that to reject it is somehow a purer, higher form of New Testament Christianity. This may sound pious and liberating, but the real question is this: Is it BIBLICAL? Let me share four proofs that the idea of church membership is biblical.
1. First, the entire New Testament concept of “church” points to membership.
The word translated “church” is found 113 times in the New Testament. Only twice does it clearly refer to a “universal church”—that is, the body of Christ consisting of all believers in the New Testament age. 109 of those 113 references unequivocally refer to the LOCAL church—that is, the VISIBLE manifestation of God’s people gathered in local assemblies for worship, witness, fellowship and service.
Throughout the entire New Testament it is just assumed that an individual believer will attach himself to a local assembly, not just the universal church.
2. Second, the existence of church government in local New Testament churches indicates that they had some form of clear local church membership.
The consistent pattern throughout the New Testament was that each local body of believers was to be overseen by pastors or elders with specific tasks to shepherd God’s people (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), labor diligently among them (1 Thessalonians 5:12), oversee them (1 Thessalonians 5:12; 1 Timothy 5:17), and watch over their souls (Hebrews 13:17). – These responsibilities presuppose a membership in the local church—for HOW CAN they shepherd the people and give an account to God for their spiritual well-being if the elders don’t even know who they are?
On the other side of the coin, Scripture teaches that believers are to submit to their pastors. Hebrews 13:17a says, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves…”
The idea is that every believer should be under the spiritual authority of pastors and church leaders. Well, tell me how you can be under authority without being a member? What authority do I have over the visitors to our church this morning?—None, but I DO have spiritual authority over our members.
3. Third, church discipline implies church membership in the New Testament.
In Matthew 18:15–17, Jesus outlines the way the church is supposed to try the restore a believer who has fallen into sin—a four-step process commonly referred to as “church discipline.”
>First, he’s to be confronted privately by an individual who has knowledge of the sin (verse 15).
>If he refuses to repent, that individual is to go back with one or two other believers to confront him again (verse 16).
>If the sinning individual refuses to listen to the two or three, they are then to tell it to the church (verse 17a).
>If there is still no repentance, the final step is to put that person out of the assembly (verse 17b).
The exercise of church discipline according to Matthew 18 and other passages assumes that the elders know WHO their members are. For example, I have neither the responsibility nor the authority to discipline a member of the church down the street. And if a person—God forbid—had to be put out of our church, how could we cast him “out” if he were not “in” in the first place? The obvious answer implies the concept of church membership.
4. Fourth, the example of the early church teaches church membership.
--In the First Century church, coming to Christ was synonymous with coming to the church. The idea of being saved without belonging to a local church is foreign to the New Testament. When individuals repented and believed in Christ, they were baptized and added to the church (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 16:5).
--There is also evidence in the New Testament that just as there was a list of widows eligible for financial support (1 Timothy 5:9), there was also a list of members that grew as people were saved, or else how do you explain it when Luke tells us on several occasions in the book of Acts that X number of people were “ADDED to the church.” (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 16:5)
--Also, Acts 18:27 and Romans 16:1 tell us that when a believer moved to another city, the church he was leaving wrote a letter of commendation to the new church, which is where Baptists get the idea of exchanging church letters from members’ former churches if they are of like faith and practice.
--Historically, there is also evidence of what could be church rolls in the third century. There are papyrus fragments found at ancient church sites with lists of names. They don’t say, “Membership Roll of the Antioch Church,” so this is not definitive proof, but it may be something like what we call a church roll today.
--In fact, there is not known to be a time in ALL of church history in which churches did not maintain some concept of church membership.
So you see, the Bible as well as the example of the New Testament church as well the entire history of the church point to church membership.
II. THE SECOND QUESTION WE WANT TO ANSWER IS WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN A CHURCH?
Okay, every believer ought to be a member in a church, but how do I know which church to join?
Here’s something somebody sent me in one of those email titled: “The Top Five Reasons the Church You Are Visiting Might Not Be for You”:
5. Reason Number 5 – The pastor refers to God on as “Jehovah” and constantly exhorts the congregation to “Witness.”
4. Reason Number 4 – The cross behind the pulpit has been replaced by a bronze pyramid.
3. Number 3 – New members are required to submit W-2s for the last 10 years.
2. Reason Number 2 – The women’s quartet are all married to the Pastor.
1. And the Number 1 reason the church you are visiting might not be for you is: The media refers to the church facilities as a “compound.”
Well, those would be pretty easy clues not to join THOSE churches, but most churches would not be that far out in left field, would they? So how do you know what kind of church you should join?
Illus. – A pastor friend of mine was telling me that a lady called him and asked him about his church and the main issue with her was the music program. Sure, music style is a PERSONAL preference, but I can put up with just about any kind of music if the preaching is biblical, challenging and convicting. The pastor expressed his frustration with such unbiblical criteria and narrow focus in evaluating a church.
I have had many people call me and ask if we had this or that program and if we didn’t have it, I’d never hear from them again.
Let me share with you four BIBLICAL things to look for in a church:
1. Does it have a commitment to the Word of God as the ultimate source of truth and the answers to life’s problems?
This deals with a church’s source of authority. If the church’s authority is the preacher, or a denominational creed, or a hierarchy—it’s on the shifting sands of man’s wisdom rather than the solid rock of God’s Word.
So look around and listen and watch:
--Do the pastor and teachers read from the Bible?
--Do they prove their points and their arguments from God’s Word?
--Do members bring their Bibles to church and read along as the pastor reads the text and look up verses he refers to?
--Do you get the sense that people are sifting and evaluating what they hear against what they know of the Word of God to make sure that what the preacher says is GOD’S truth and not man’s wisdom?
--Along with this, you’ll want to examine its doctrinal statement to see if the church believes and teaches what the Bible teaches.
2. Second, does the church preach THE GOSPEL to the lost, seek to reach them for Christ, and challenge its members to be witnesses for Christ?
That is, is it evangelistic? The Lord’s last command—the Great Commission—IS THE CHURCH’S FIRST PRIORITY!
--You should check to see if the pastor’s sermons generally not only challenge those who are saved, but also reach out to the lost.
--Does he and others in the church appeal to the lost to come to Christ?
--Does the church have an outreach emphasis, or even better, some kind of outreach program?
--Is there compassion and a burden for those who need Christ?
--Do they support missionaries who carry the banner of evangelism of the local church to the far-flung corners of the world?
3. Does the church show evidence of what we call “body life.”
That is, do you sense a love and warmth in the congregation. Are they hospitable and friendly and joyful? Do you sense a commitment to carrying out the “one another” commands in the Bible; the commands…
--To love one another as a close family – Romans 12:10a
--To honor one another instead of themselves – Romans 12:10b
--To be likeminded, or in unity, with one another– Romans 15:5
--To accept one another – Romans 15:7
--To admonish one another – Romans 15:14
--To greet one another – Romans 16:3-6, 16
--To serve one another – Galatians 5:13
--To bear one another’s burdens – Galatians 6:2
--To bear with one another – Ephesians 4:2-3
--To submit to one another – Ephesians 5:21
--To edify one another – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
4. Is it committed to life transformation?
The Bible and Christianity is all about change and transformation. If you come to church and the preaching makes you feel uncomfortable, that’s not the preacher’s fault, if he’s being true to the Word. Correct your behavior and his preaching won’t bother you anymore!
Illus. – Suppose you’re driving your car and your oil light comes on. After awhile you get really irritated about that oil light. So irritated, that you get out a hammer and SMASH the light out.
Uh…that wouldn’t be too smart would it? You see, the warning light is MEANT to bother you to WARN you that your something bad is going to happen if you don’t take care of the problem. So you need to go to a repair shop and correct the problem—not “kill the messenger.”
When I preach and the message hits home, you start to feel conviction and guilt and discomfort, don’t you? You see, I’m not up here preaching to fill your head with knowledge. We don’t meet to sing a bunch of fun songs and get a good feeling. We’re here to WORSHIP the Lord and then to HEAR FROM the Lord and finally, to OBEY the Lord. We’re here to find out what to do and then DO it.
James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
Now if the preacher is preaching a bunch of man-made rules, that’s a different issue, but if he’s preaching God’s Word straight and making practical applications that hit home, DON’T SMASH THE WARNING LIGHT!—FIX THE PROBLEM!
--So look for a church that CHALLENGES you to get out of the rut of shallow, apathetic living to DYNAMIC TRANSFORMATION—
--One that CONFRONTS you with sin and inconsistency.
--One that EXHORTS you to love God PASSIONATELY and to live for God wholeheartedly.
--One that ADMONISHES you to be honest and just and upright.
--One that ENTREATS you to be the right kind of husband or wife or son or daughter you ought to be.
--One that CONFRONTS you with the command to witness to the lost.
--One that PROMPTS you to do good to others.
--One that REPROVES you for spiritual laziness and apathy.
--One that, shall we say, “steps on your toes.”
Look for a church with those four characteristics, and you’ll never go wrong.
III. NEXT I WANT TO ADDRESS A COUPLE OF SPECIAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS ABOUT CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.
1. First of all is the question of attachment to a previous church.
Perhaps you’re reluctant to join a church over here in Germany because you want to maintain your membership in the church you came from in the U.S. You might have been saved in that church or took your strongest steps in faith there or you might have grown up in that church. That church has a special place in your heart and always will, and perhaps you’re thinking that to change membership is somehow a betrayal of that church and its pastor and all they have done to help you in your faith.
I’d like to make three observations about that:
--First of all, biblically, God wants you to be a fully functioning, faithfully attending, regularly contributing member of a local assembly. Obedience to God’s Word must always trump sentimentality.
Now if you can find a way to serve in your Stateside church from over here as a teacher, or an usher, or some other ministry, then go for it. But the Bible way is to be a member WHERE YOU LIVE, and to move your membership each time you move, just as the disciples did their church letters whenever they moved to a new city.
--My second observation is this: Joining a local church is NOT a betrayal of your previous church, its people, or its pastor.
In fact, it’s the ultimate acknowledgment of their impact in your life, because the first thing they would tell you to do is to join a new church wherever you are. I’ve never met a pastor who would counsel a member to keep his membership in a church after he moved from the community. He knows that by joining a church where you’re LIVING, you’re doing what the BIBLE teaches. And he knows that joining another church can never take away the specialness of what you had there. But that was there and then and this is here and now and he would counsel you to move your membership and get in and serve and contribute your special gifts and abilities, and give to the needs of that church and use your talents for the Lord.
--Third, keeping a Stateside membership is not true membership at all. Being a member involves RESPONSIBILITIES like serving and participating and being faithful to the services of the church. You cannot do those things from Germany for a Stateside church
But also, being a member involves benefits—a body of people who look after you; church leaders who watch for your soul; people to visit you when you are in the hospital and other like benefits. Your Stateside preacher can’t come over here and visit you in the hospital. Nor can he see you on a daily basis to watch for your soul. You need to join a church where you live.
2. The second issue I want to address is the problem of comparison and expectations.
Many of you come from much larger churches where they may have had a huge stage or maybe fantastic music and every program imaginable and maybe a dynamic preacher who is a communicator par excellence. Then you’re faced with CULTURE SHOCK coming here.
--We don’t have a big stage, fancy chandeliers, a big foyer for fellowship and all the classroom space we need.
--We do try to offer as many programs as possible, particularly for our youth, but we will never be able to offer some of the things available in a big church. We have a rotating all-military congregation in which we have an almost complete turnover every two years!
Well, you’ve probably visited around and already found out that we’re not the only church in that boat. Resources and facilities and personnel are at a minimum in an overseas off-post military church, so we do the best with the resources, facilities and personnel we have.
But let me challenge you to think about this a little differently. Over my twenty years in three overseas churches, I have had many people come from these high-powered churches and look at our ministry and were unimpressed. But they joined anyway because it was just the right thing to do.
As they got in the church and got involved in ministry, they discovered that though our little church could never provide some of the things offered in those churches, there are some things that our church provided that the churches they came from didn’t. Many found that they could grow in the Lord BETTER in a small church. They experienced more intimate “body life” in a way not possible in most Stateside churches. Through the years, many have told me that they grew more in our little church than all their Christian life put together where they came from.
Well, you may not grow MORE here, but I can assure you will grow in DIFFERENT ways. You’ll learn things that will balance you out, stretch you, grow you in ways a one-dimensional church model might not.
So if you’ve come and experienced culture shock, let me encourage you to jump in head first, get involved, and let God teach you through a different ministry model.
III. THE NEXT QUESTION IS: HOW CAN YOU JOIN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH?
1. First, you must meet the requirements of membership.
--To be a member you must be able to give a clear testimony of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. – If you’re not clear about that, how about let’s get together and discuss it and get it settled?
--Second, you must have been scripturally baptized. – If you would like to know what constitutes Scriptural baptism, see me later and we can discuss it.
--Third, you must be committed to living in obedience to God in your life. – That doesn’t mean you’re prefect, but it does mean that you are not deliberately, consciously living in unrepented sin.
If you meet those three qualifications, you can become a member of Grace Baptist Church.
2. There are four steps to becoming a member of GBC.
--Introduction: Attend one of our Membership Information Meetings after the morning worship service. These are generally held monthly in the Fall and early Winter after the PCS season, and tapers off with less frequency between PCS seasons. (For non-military people reading this, PCS is a military acronym which stands for Permanent Change of Station, when military members and their families receive orders to come into our community, and also orders to leave our community. The “PCS season” starts in June-September so as not to disrupt families with school-aged children. Then it can take as much as 1-6 months for families to get settled in, to visit the local churches and/or on-post military chapels, and finally settle on a church to join. So from the church’s standpoint, the “PCS season” continues from June-December. After December, new memberships drop off precipitously as there are few people moving into the community until the following June.)
--Application: Individuals request an application for church membership and submit it to the pastor, assistant pastor or a deacon, or it can simply be dropped in the offering plate or visitor’s drop box on the back table.
--Confirmation: Individuals meet with a pastor to review their membership application, discuss opportunities for service and answer any questions about the church or spiritual matters.
Affirmation: Upon approval by a pastor or other designated person, individuals publicly affirm their commitment to church membership by coming forward during the invitation at the conclusion of a Sunday Morning Worship service, at which time they are presented as members to the congregation through the Right Hand of Fellowship.
CONCLUSION
So…we’ve talked about a biblical proposition—that every Christian should be a member of a local church. Now what should you DO with this message?
Let me challenge you to seriously consider becoming a member of Grace Baptist Church. If you are interested, I invite you to our next Membership Information Meeting after the morning worship two weeks from today. First, you get a free meal. Second, attendance at the meeting obligates you to nothing. We simply share our history, our ministry goals, and our basic philosophy of ministry and focus; explain our ministries and opportunities to serve and be ministered to; and introduce our leaders and department heads. The initiative it completely on you to submit the Application for Membership if you want to proceed with membership.
If you’re interested in church membership, but you’re not sure about your salvation, or you’re not sure your baptism is scripturally valid, or you know you’re backsliden, why don’t you come this morning and let someone here answer your questions from the Bible.
Or let me know and let’s get together this week and talk.
