Being Countercultural in a Consumer’s World, by Being a Member of a Local Church

The Universal Church – To church is to be truly human.

Big claim. Yet if you think with a biblically informed worldview then we see that this is God’s plan for the world. God gives us His plan in full in Jesus Christ, who is the truly perfect human, the righteous one, the one whom we are all to be joined to and bearing fruit in (John 15:1-17). In Ephesians 1, we see His plan for the universe outlined in broad brushstrokes and yet that includes the tiniest of detail, namely you. God has put all things under Jesus feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body (Ephesians 1:22 – 23).

God’s intention for his creation and His creatures was for them to be gathered to Him, yet our sin broke the whole thing. Ever since then, God has been fulfilling his rescue plan, which has ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. It happens throughout history again and again: sin scatters, God gathers. So that when Jesus looks at the church, and shows it to the world in His Word, he says: “That’s my handiwork” (Ephesians 2:10). God’s intention is for people to find their true identity in Jesus, and therefore find themselves saved and gathered in Christ’s body, the church. To church is to be truly human.

The Local Church – Local church is family.

We worship one God, three persons, He is in His very nature relational. Being triune, He has designed us for relationship with himself. This relationship is expressed in a community of people whom God has fashioned us for fellowship, and therefore formed us for family. Jesus loved and laid his life down for His church, and as it matters to Him so it matters to us – especially the local church. Church matters because people matter.

The Bible shows us again and again the picture of the local church as a family, the household of God. As God’s children [1 John 3:1] we are members of one another (Romans 12:5), and we relate to each other as family (1 Timothy 5:1 – 2), and this relationship means we need to know who we are committed to being part of the family. As Christians, God has called us to be included in his new community, His family. We have been called to believe, and also to belong.

The Biblical Church – Local church from the Bible

Is local church membership in the Bible? It’s a common question and often a misconception that it doesn’t belong, until we see that the Bible is consistent in showing us a picture of local church membership. Although we have seen from the Bible where we start in our thinking about what is the church and what is the local church, we will now particularly look to see what the Bible says about the concept of local church membership.

In Matthew 18:15 – 20, Jesus says to take issues of unrepentant sin to “the church.” We see a series of relationships that are to be involved in dealing with such issues, and all relationships would need to be spatially local, moreover we would need to know who is the church locally to be able to take any sin issue to them. Here in Jesus’ words we see how church needs some idea of locality in space and time to us, and how there needs therefore to be a concept of who is ‘in’ the local church and who is ‘outside’. Without this concept of membership these words of instruction have no function then and now.

In Acts 2:42 we see the local church in Jerusalem devoted to the fellowship of one another, and in Acts 2:47 the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. It’s very hard to understand these things without locality in mind and membership of that local group in mind.

In Acts 6:1–6, we see where the appointing of leaders happens within a congregation.

In Acts 20:29–30, we see that caring for the flock against wolves of false teachers, and this requires a form of membership of that flock to know who is in it.

Then we see local church membership is so necessary when it comes to cases of unrepentant sin or false teaching and living. This is particularly seen in the case of 1 Corinthians 5, where we see there is an assumption of public knowledge who is in the church and who is not. Paul says in 1Corinthians 5:12-13, ‘For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” Purging or expelling makes only sense in the context of there being a local and visible belonging. And then later, get this, when Paul tells the Corinthian church to admit that same man back into fellowship, he says to them in 2 Corinthians 2:6, ‘For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough’. ‘Majority’ can only make sense if we see that there has to be a recognized whole.[1]

In 1 Corinthians 12–13, the whole description of the church as a body and it’s members of whom all participate in fellowship for the building of the church, only makes sense when we understand locality. This building of the church body of course can only occur as members love one another.

In Ephesians 2:19, Paul uses the language that we are members of the household of God.

In Hebrews 13:7 and 13:17, it’s very hard to remember your leaders and submit to them, unless you know who they are and therefore what body of people you officially belong to and who your leaders formally are. And how do you let the elders who rule well be worthy of double honour (1 Timothy 5:17), unless we know who they are locally? Then we see in 1 Peter 5:1 – 5 that elders are to shepherd the flock of God among them, caring for those in their charge and being examples to that flock. And this role in the local church is not to domineer over members, but for their good, out of love (1 Thessalonians 5:12 – 13).

In 1 Timothy 5:9, we see the ‘widow lists’ were kept in the New Testament church. It would be necessary to understand who belongs to the church in this case, and statements like Galatians 6:10 would only make sense in this way if we know who the local household of faith are to be able to care for them.

Local church is a place to call home for a while.

In our low-commitment culture, being a member of a local church makes a powerful statement about relationships. To be a member is to show your public commitment to Christ and His people, and that you commit to believing in Jesus and being like Him with this specific group of His disciples. Our consumer culture tends to view church in the same way it views all other personal needs and preferences. When our preferences are not being met, we move onto the next product, or person, and we too easily treat church in the same way.

Here’s the beauty then of becoming a member of a local church, it’s counter-cultural and says something so different as this: “I am committed to this group of people and they are committed to me. I am not a consumer but gathered by the Saviour as a gift and servant to give for others sake”.

Local church membership means we’re all cared for.

Membership grows us as Christians and helps us care for one another. Being a member of Reforming Church says that you are being cared for as such and you’re letting us know that you want to be cared for here. When we become a member of a church, we are offering ourselves to be taught, rebuked, corrected and trained (2 Timothy 3:16 – 17). Membership says that we are publicly and willingly submitting to a particular group of leaders and inviting them to care for and disciple us (Hebrews 13:7). Local church membership helps your pastor(s) and elders be more faithful shepherds. The elders and leaders of Reforming take your care as seriously as Jesus does, and pray for you regularly as we teach the Bible and preach the gospel to you. All this we do with your salvation in mind, for the movement of your hearts by faith (1 Timothy 4:16).

Our work is particularly more fruitful when we know clearly who it is who are part of the flock under our care. We know this by who is submitting to the leadership willingly, by allowing us to keep watch over you with joy and without groaning (for that would be of no advantage to you), knowing that we are those who will have to give an account.

One reality we have about our church is that it’s very difficult to know who really considers Reforming to be the place where they are cared for and who considers us to be their shepherds without local membership. Membership helps us to know who call us home so we can particularly care for them. As well as that, there is something special about gathering with your church family, and it’s good for us as something transformative is happening when we hear and believe the gospel together.

[1] See also 2 Thessalonians 3:14 – 15