We’ve been reading through this fantastic book by Joshua Harris in our young workers group. Tonight’s chapter is the second last and focuses on the church: God’s invisible presence in the world made visible.
After listing lots of New Testament passages about the role and purpose of participation in a church Harris says this:
What all this adds up to is that the New Testament assumes believers will participate in a local church where they can be baptized, partake in communion, be taught God’s Word, [express corporate] worship, use their gifts to serve, be cared for spiritually by qualified leaders, be held accountable by a loving community, and bear witness to nonbelievers of Jesus’ saving death. Christians are to join an assembly not just for their own spiritual health but so that the world around them can clearly see the reality of Jesus Christ. (p205)
I think that’s a wonderfully succinct summary of what it means to be a part of a local church. And I also think it’s a helpful way to think about church membership.
Church membership is a verbal and physical commitment to the above. It’s a commitment to love, serve and give to God’s people in a particular place and time, and a willingness to submit to the church’s authority as expressed through scripture and in its loving and godly exercise by qualified leaders.
So have you thought about becoming a member of your church? What’s holding you back? Put your comments and thoughts below…
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