Church Membership... is it Biblical?

hi,i offer a testimony of a church i have been with, on and off for 37 yrs.after many years of pastoring southern baptist churces, roy receieved the baptism in yhe Holy Spirit and left under pressure a large sb church. he was led of the Lord many months later to buy a home with some acreage. after moving in he held a service with his family of 5,a man knocked on the door and asked if this was where the new church was going to be. as a sb pastor he was always caught up in numbers,God told him to get out of the book of numbers and into the book of acts. for many years we had no members,no deacons,no paid staff,no paid musicians etc. he would say "you can't join this church: the only Thing you can join is Jesus" i have seen thousands saved and filled with the holy spirit and millions given to missionaries.many missionaries sent out from here, many miracles of every kind. all votes of the church were unanamous...all in favor say amen...this church is not perfect(allows me to attend}by any means but it is sweet and bears much fruit even with close to 20,000 attendees noone has heard of us.jimp

Do you think that modern day "church membership" is Biblical?

Well, scripturally, I believe the genuine born-again experience automatically ushers a person as a royal priest into the Church of the Living God, and this is all done through the Spirit. The corporeal aspect of this, of course, is the actual [i]physical fellowship of believers[/i], which we attend in the flesh, and what most of us here get out of bed to do on Sunday mornings.

These two "churches", however, do not always complement each other. What I mean to say is you can one without the other. There are multitudes not born into God's spiritual church in Christ, yet these same are loyal, exemplary church members corporeally. Normally, these are the ones who would make the corporeal church a law unto itself, and would even make it a "sin" to miss a Sunday. This is usually because an overriding true membership in the spiritual is lacking. I've had actually brethren accuse me of "backsliding" because I missed a Sunday, and I'm sure others here can attest to the same. When this happens, it is normally a sign of coporeal exaltation over the spiritual. These same people will not normally question your quiet time, they will not ask if you've been neglecting personal fellowship in the spiritual with the Lord; they will only see an absence from the corporeal body and automatically deduce the obvious: a backslidden condition.

I think church attendance corporeally is scriptural and something we should all practice. And why wouldn't we? This horrid world is a terrible place, and we being strangers in a strange land ought to seek every opportunity to congregate and edify each other. But I don't think we should make this weekly congregating a law unto itself, and like tithing the obligatory 10% in fear of robbing God, I don't think we should make such a thing compulsory - and we certainly shouldn't lay guilt trips on those who abberate from what we would inaugurate as laws through grace. I say let us hear from God and obey the Holy Spirit according to the will of the Father as revealed in Scripture.

Brother Paul

My question has to do with church "membership". You know, sign the card, agree to the church by-laws and doctrine... enjoy the perks of membership such as being allowed to teach, or voting on church business... etc.

Should the church be a democracy?

I can not find anywhere in scriptures where the church, the Local Body or any other Body that should be a democracy... I believe the scriptures prove that the church should be a Theocracy with God by the Holy Spirit as the head..and those in positions of leadership as under shepherds, servants to all not just those in their "congregations". (The book of Acts, 2 Peter 5:2-4, I Corinthians 1:12,13& 3:1-8))

My personal experience has been that the divisiveness found inside churches is not based solely on scriptures, rather on the democratic perspective that the group rules under the direction of the corporation. In other words, if our corporation is in competition with your corporation I can ignore your needs and you can ignore mine. (Yet, they only ignore up to the point that someone crosses their doctrinal comprehension and many are ready to BLAST the other out of the water)..but the rule of our corporation is that God is rather a silent partner and His "by-laws" are subject to the interpertation of the law school I went to.

I don't believe that it is sinful to be a "member" of a church, and it can be quite helpful to some.. but what a sad commentary on the spiritual state of being within the churchworld when being a "member" is more influential than being a son or daughter of God led by the Holy Spirit.

As far as voting for church business... why not? If your running it as a business you might as well let the "members" have a say in whether your parking lot is paved.....

I would like to say, that there are some very precious people in congregations around the country, that I have met, and I do not hold ANY THING against their choice to partake in modern churchianity. It can be a stumbling block to some, yet on the other hand, it seems almost everything these days can become a stumbling block.

"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy....with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit....There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Eph 4:1-6

Do you think that modern day "church membership" is Biblical?

that begs the question: is the reason why we have non-biblical "church membership" because we fail to understand what the church (ekklasia) really is?

maybe that is for another thread, but it ties in to this one as well. i'll let you decide krispy.

have a good day.
phil

This article shows the "new testament pattern for the church" its quite challenging and provoking

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=22023&forum=34&2] challenging reading [/url]

About church membership: If there were no membership, you would have wolves come in and destroy a brotherhood and once they have accomplished it, will run off. Actually, methinks this question is rooted in an independent spirit that does not want to submit to others which is anathema to brotherhood. (EDIT: The moderators prefer a scripture to substantiate a position: here is one: consider 1 Corinthians 5.)

Many churches put a huge emphasis on membership, and as you pointed out, they end up with more unsaved members than saved members many times.

Do you not think the reason this happens is when a church is more concerned with numbers then the quality of spiritual life n a person? Too many people are more interested in joining a social club for the personal benefits then they are in joining a group that works to build each other up and act "as iron sharps iron". When this sharpening occurs they run off to another social club (called 'church') where they will be celebrated for any reason - you fill in the blanks.

And then there is the question of voting. Should churches vote on issues facing the church?

What kind of issues are you referring to? If it has to do with issues pertaining to "thus saith the LORD" these should never be put to a vote. You either obey God and his Word or you don't. Simple. It is not up for modification.

Should the church be a democracy?

I will vote with the other poster who says it should be a theocracy. Hebrews 13: 17 is still in my Bible, like it or not...

In our brotherhood, members vote for trustees, SS superintendent, church hostess, librarian, ushers, etc. We do not vote on which scriptures are applicable for today, which can be ignored or which ones are no longer relevant. This method is Biblical as far as I can discern from the scripture. And it works with us frail humans.

ginnyrose

I'm not sure what you are talking about here What difference can "membership" make to the risk of "wolves"? And how can lack of it possibly show an independent spirit, or lack of submission one to another?

Good question...

In 1Corinthians 12 the scriptures refers to the church as a body, using the human body as an analogy as to how it works, interdependent on each other for its functions, survival. The function of the church is to build each other up, to edify each other, to assist each other, just like human body does. No part of our body is of any use to the other if it is disconnected. That is why churches will have guidelines, or by-laws - whatever you want to call it- to spell out briefly what the gospel is all about and gives the leaders - as well as anyone else who is a member there - a framework from which to minister, to serve.

Now how does this prevent wolves from coming in? It is no guarantee it still cannot or will not happen, but you are opening the door for it by not requiring [i]something[/i] from the members. Membership means commitment to each other, to assist in their welfare, be it spiritual, physical, or material. Without this commitment, the brotherhood will not (or should not) allow such a person to occupy positions of leadership. Let me tell you a story. This happened just recently.

A gifted couple started attending a church. This church had membership rolls but seemed to have ignored its role in how they did church. Anyhow, this man was very gifted and before too long the man was teaching Sunday School and such like. In the meantime, he was backstabbing the leadership, and people started leaving and this couple did, too. And then the church disbanded. Extreme? you could say the church's leadership was weak and that is true. In any case, they could not withstand the onslaught this wolf brought with him. Members can become 'wolves' as well. And if this happens the church will exercise its authority to silence him/her by excommunication.

Pain to the body means something is hurting and needs immediate attention. When you are disconnected from the body, that pain cannot be shared and felt.

Benefits of church membership? It is all about brotherhood. And how often does this expression appear in the NT? The saints are referred to brothers, sisters. In my part of the globe brothers and sisters are connected by blood. We are committed to each other. In the church we are connected by the Blood of Jesus who is our head and so we work to support, assist each other. Like a family or a team.

Make sense?

ginnyrose

[u][b]Acts 2:46-47[/b][/u]

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

I don't know about signing a card to say that I am a part of something. It kind of reminds me of the good old "pinky swear" that we used to do. [i]Or this:[/i]

[u][b]Matthew 5:33-35 [/b][/u]

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.

So would taking part in a man made ritual of claiming membership in the church be considered the same as Mat 5:33-34? I don't know. My oath is to the Lord, and not to a man made custom.

Miccah,

Matthew 5: 37 says:"But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil." This verse , just a few verses below the reference you shared, informs us that we will be saying 'yes' or 'no' to people. It is swearing that Jesus is prohibiting in verses 34-36. I have never heard that becoming a member of a church is akin to oath making. If it is, you better high-tail (run) out of there: it is not a God - fearing church. A God - fearing church will not require one to violate any of Jesus directives to become a member. Is this saying it too strong? Yes, I have heard of churches who think they are the only organized church going to heaven, but I do not find that in my Bibles, be it NASB, or the KJV. The churches I am acquainted with do not require a card to be signed. And if a church does require it, does it say you will be faithful to this particular church until death? That should raise a red flag if it does because that is a promise one may not be able to fulfil because one does not know the future that well.

What say? Make sense?

ginnyrose

I think it is perfectly fine and well to become a member, as long as you are comfortable with the churches beliefs and doctrin. I do not find any exact doctrin to support it, other that in the early churches found in Acts. Paul wrote to these churches by name. Thereby I would say membership was certainly implied. I have been a member of a local church for many years and I have been very happy there.
:-)

Krispy,

I believe so in a sense and in a sense not. At my first Church there was no such thing. It was actually frowned upon. However in our day of mega Church people walk in and out without even being noticed. Sometimes in a large congregation things need to be more formal and organized. I think it is wrong to be false about it like has been pointed out. However I see good that can come out of it. Like for instance I dont think it is biblical to have unsaved people tithing to your ministry, yet it seems most Churches will just take from whatever anonymous person gives. Also many Churches at their meetings will allow unsaved to come to their meetings for years in hopes that they will get converted so membership can be a good statement to them and also to the community so they dont believe that they are actually part of the Church if they are in error. I would like it done just to acknowledge those who have been walking with God righteously with God. Though my whole argument lies upon the Churches being large so it should probably jsut be broken into smaller groups and be more personal and none of that would have to be worried about.

KrispyKrittr wrote:

They met in homes and it seems that all these little house churches were networked together creating a "church" as a whole in one city.

Krispy

One church in one city. This is what we have been praying for for the last 3 years. That all the body will come together under the banner of Jesus Christ with no denomonations.

Just as Paul wrote to one church consisting of one city.

Interesting subject.

I've been involved in churches for about twelve years and not one of them had "membership", until recently. I've begun fellowshipping at a church in the town I moved to and they have membership.

Their rule is that only members may join in communion, but other than that nothing else is "restricted". If you are already a member of another church which teaches similarly (i.e. not Mormon, Roman Catholic, Unitarian) , you may also join in communion.

Their requirements for membership are that you conform to a basic orthodox statement of beliefs and are aware of the bible's teaching about discipleship and biblical church discipline.

I'm in the membership class right now. It is ten weeks long, the pastor is meeting with about eight of us personally and teaching us one hour lessons on the basic foundational doctrines of the faith. This lets the elders know where we are at and gives us a good idea of where the church is at.

I think it's wise, albeit not mandatory for all churches. The scriptures instruct shepherds to "know the flock" and it makes sense to get to know the sheep/goats before they enter the fold and begin espousing whatever winds of doctrine.