Wednesday Words: My Thoughts on Church Membership

Just some things to think about church membership today . . .  

1. Everybody’s important, but nobody other than Christ is irreplaceable. The church will go on without any of us. If you think you’re irreplaceable, God will show you otherwise. Trust me.  
2. How God brought you here matters, but how you leave matters even more. How you leave is what people remember. Leave poorly, and that’s all people will remember about you.  
3. Church membership assumes members are Christians, but no one should assume that every member is a believer. The Bible does not allow us to ascribe Christianity to people who consistently live like the world – and even Jesus had a fake among His group.   
4. Giving financially is a part of Christianity, but Christian giving means giving yourself fully. Money is one necessary part of that expectation, but money is not a weapon. As soon as you try to manipulate the church through your giving, you’re no longer giving yourself.   
5. Membership is about being a family, but being family doesn’t mean everybody gets to know everything. Some issues require confidentiality—or at least a limited sphere of folks who know the details. That choice is actually a loving one for the people involved.  
6. You should love your church, but know it’s not your church. Nor is it your pastor’s church. Or mine. Or anyone else’s, other than God. Even if your name is on the church building, it’s not yours.  
7. The church consists of volunteers, but serving through the church is not optional. The New Testament knows of Christ-followers who wander and congregations who fight, but still it calls us to gather with believers (Heb 10:25).  Our volunteer status does not give us permission to live apart from the church.  
8. You have a voice, but the significance of your voice is directly proportional to the level of your involvement. In my judgment, uninvolved people should not have much say in what the church does. A lack of commitment weakens one’s voice.  
9. The gospel offers rest, but church membership assumes work. Nothing in the Bible gives us room for an “inactive” church membership; instead, being part of the body of Christ means you will fulfill your unique role in the work.  
10. We want you to come, but we’re going to challenge you to go. That’s what the gospel does, so we’re going to do the same. We want you going . . . to your neighbors to tell them the gospel . . . to the nations to introduce them to Jesus. Don’t come with the assumption that you’ll get to sit.