To be fair, if you flip through the Bible, you will not find a single verse that says, “Thou shalt join a church.” But that’s not how we do theology. The BIble is not a giant fact book that we just directly pluck verse from without any context from the passage the verse is embedded in. Here, in the Word, and by his Spirit, God shows us who he is; he reveals his plan for the world and he invites us to be part of his story.
At Pentecost, not long after Jesus’ ascension, he sends his Spirit to his waiting disciples who go and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus. Many believe and as they believe they join this community of faith–to live together in community, to gather for worship, and to live on mission.
They live among a certain people. They gather with a certain people. People are converted into a certain body. They submit to certain leaders who lovingly care for certain souls – souls for whom the Bible says they will give an account.
Healthy churches take membership seriously.
For as in one body we have many members,[a] and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Romans 12:4-5
We are members of one body. A body has many members, and all don’t do the same thing. Arms and legs have different functions. So do mouths and ears. So, we are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Together we are the Body of Christ. We are bound up in him and together with one another.
The local church is where we exercise the gifts God has given us. We identify those gifts together, and we deploy those gifts together for the growth of the church and benefit of those out of the church. Church membership is where our conviction that we are the Body of Christ takes on flesh and blood.
We also value commitment and belonging. We value the church because Jesus values the church. If you love Jesus, you love the things Jesus loves.
I want to make something clear: none of us are perfect. The ground is level at the foot of the cross, as we preachers like to say. God’s love for you does not rise with your commitment to him. God does not love you because of your commitment level. If you think God loves you because you never miss church and serve on all these volunteer teams, then you are in worse spiritual shape than the person who hasn’t been to church in three years.
God loves us because he is good, kind, and loving, not because we are.
But with that point of clarity, we must not dilute the clear teaching of Jesus. If you follow me, you must take up your cross. This is a costly endeavor; it’s going to cost everything.
When we commit to a local church, we commit to following Jesus together. We don’t commit to making sure we have this little song and dance thing going. We don’t commit to me or my vision. We commit to Jesus and the people he loves. But not only is a healthy church a place where people are committing to Jesus, it’s a place where people know they belong to Jesus. In a real sense, we commit to the church and the church commits to us.
Everyone wants to belong to something, but few people want to commit to something. Belonging, friends, is on the other side of commitment. Our door says, “Welcome home.” Church marketers don’t like it because it’s overused. It is overused. But when we start living it, I’ll stop using it.
And finally, on a practical note, we value church membership because we value relational clarity.
Jason Bourne is one of my favorite movie series ever. The films begin with Bourne being found at sea near death. He has no idea who he is and throughout the films he begins to piece it together. Imagine if you could remember nothing about your life, and someone told you that you were married. You would want to know exactly to whom you are married. Church membership makes it clear where and to whom we commit ourselves.
This is the body we belong to. This is the gathering with which I gather. These are the leaders to whom I submit myself, and I think this is one of the strongest arguments to be made for membership.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Hebrews 13:17
Pastors and elders keep watch over the souls of the flock as those who will give an account. It’s clear, for example, that I cannot give an account for every Christian. No, it’s the flock that Peter will say is, “Among you.”
…Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:2-3
When churches practice membership well, relationships are clear. Elders know exactly who they will give an account for and who we are accountable to.
Church membership is where the general becomes specific. It’s where the ideas we have about church life meet flesh and blood reality. It’s where “the church” becomes “this church.”
It’s where we grow, where we worship, where we learn, where we suffer, where we grieve, where we hurt and are hurt, where we then forgive and seek forgiveness, where we laugh, where we cry, where we get frustrated, and, most importantly, where we learn to be the people of God together. This is life in the local church.
