Is Church Membership Really Biblical, or Have We Turned the Church Into an Institution Jesus Never Commanded?

[David]

This article I saw today made me think it would be a good topic for discussion: Church membership biblical, theologians say, despite cultural headwinds

Church membership and commitment are becoming a live issue as formal membership declines. Baptist Press reports today on declining church membership and arguments that belonging to a local congregation is biblical rather than merely institutional tradition.

Maybe church membership is falling because people are finally starting to see the difference between the church Jesus built and the institution men have built around it.

The church is not a building you have to walk into every Sunday to be saved. Your name on a membership roll does not save you. Signing a covenant does not save you. Joining a denomination does not save you. Jesus Christ saves sinners by grace through faith. Period.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV).

And this is where the institutionalized church needs to hear some hard truth. You cannot tell people they need to come to your church, join your membership, submit to your system, and then barely preach the actual truths of the Bible when they get there. Then when people stop coming, make it sound like those people have somehow walked away from Christ because they walked away from your institution.

Those are not the same thing.

Scripture absolutely teaches believers to gather together. Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to neglect meeting together. Christians need fellowship, biblical preaching, godly shepherding, accountability, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and one another. I am not arguing against the local assembly. I am arguing against turning the local assembly into a religious institution that acts like it stands between Christ and His people.

And here is something else I think churches need to seriously consider. Look at what Scripture actually tells the church to be doing.

James says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27, ESV). Paul tells the church to “honor widows who are truly widows” (1 Timothy 5:3, ESV). Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens.” Acts 2:42 says the believers devoted themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2, ESV). Ephesians 4 says pastors and teachers are supposed to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Acts 20 tells elders to shepherd the flock and protect it. Titus 1:9 says they are to teach sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it. Not collect money and spend it on themselves, then ask for more money to pay for their church building when members of their church are struggling to make ends meet.

That is church. Preach the gospel. Teach the Word. Make disciples. Feed the sheep. Care for widows and orphans. Help believers who are struggling. Bear one another’s burdens. Pray. Fellowship. Equip Christians to serve. Confront serious sin. Protect the flock from false teachers. Take the gospel to the lost.

Now compare that with how much time, energy, and money many churches spend today on things the Bible never tells the church to build its life around. Branding campaigns. Marketing strategies. Building programs. Expensive stage productions. Entertainment. Concert-style services. Coffee shops. Membership drives. Membership classes. Fundraising campaigns. Social events. Endless programs. Promoting the pastor. Promoting the church name. Growing attendance numbers. Building bigger facilities and creating an entire religious business around getting people through the doors.

I am not saying everything that is not specifically mentioned in the Bible is automatically sinful. A church can use a building, a website, a microphone, or other practical tools. The question is what has become the focus.

When churches can spend enormous amounts of time promoting themselves while widows are forgotten, families are hurting, believers are not being discipled, false doctrine goes unchallenged, the gospel gets watered down, and people can sit in the pews for years without learning how to actually study the Bible, something is badly wrong.

The Bible never says, “Get your name on a church roll or you are disobedient.” It never says, “Sign a membership covenant.” It never says, “Join our organization to prove you are committed to Christ.”

What it does say is: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27, ESV).

Christians should gather. Christians should belong to one another. Christians should serve one another. Christians should be shepherded by faithful men who actually teach the Word of God. But we should not take those biblical truths and turn them into an institutional system that Scripture never commanded, especially when that institution spends more time promoting itself than doing what Christ actually told His people to do.

Maybe instead of asking why people are not joining churches anymore, churches ought to be asking a much harder question:

Are we actually being the church described in Scripture?


.

 

[bobinfaith]

Now compare that with how much time, energy, and money many churches spend today on things the Bible never tells the church to build its life around. Branding campaigns. Marketing strategies. Building programs. Expensive stage productions. Entertainment. Concert-style services. Coffee shops. Membership drives. Membership classes. Fundraising campaigns. Social events. Endless programs. Promoting the pastor. Promoting the church name. Growing attendance numbers. Building bigger facilities and creating an entire religious business around getting people through the doors.

When churches can spend enormous amounts of time promoting themselves while widows are forgotten, families are hurting, believers are not being discipled, false doctrine goes unchallenged, the gospel gets watered down, and people can sit in the pews for years without learning how to actually study the Bible,

something is badly wrong. .

Good morning, David;

Something is badly wrong.

I've always been a Church going man and one of the concerns that I've witnessed is too much time spent with announcements in Church of the latest and greatest updates. To be fair many of these instances reveal the vision and direction by God for His Church but the Church leader's priorities are out of whack.

There still remain the flock that need their Shepherd. This is a vital piece that is missing.

After Sunday worship the widows, families hurting, disciples not being discipled is false doctrine in itself. What's worse is it can go unchecked and in time the Gospel doesn't sink in for these hurting Christians.

Pastors need to come to their senses and know their priorities. The executive, administration, outreach all have their place but the sheep must come first.

David, there are many Churches in our community where the Pastor and spiritual leadership grasp the Truth and teachings of the Church. We just don't hear enough. There are many Biblical references that support this teaching in the New Testament.

But to align with the topic you're speaking of, many Churches have become a "club membership or institution" that has strayed from the original meaning of worship and faith. This cannot go unaccountable.

Reference Acts 1:13-14, 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. - ESV

So what am I doing about it? For the last 4 years I've guest preached twice a month at Churches that lack a Pastor and are struggling. Aside from preaching I have compassion for the congregation that have many faith and life circumstances. As the Lord leads, I strive to encourage and uplift many (face to face, speaking and praying for them.)

When I'm not preaching Hazel and I attend our home Church and support our new Lead Pastor. There is so much work to be done so I offer encouragement and my experience (when asked) in prayerful hopes our Pastor won't fall into the traps that we are discussing here.

God bless you, David.

Bob

 

[David]

Thanks, Bob. I appreciate your thoughts and especially your concern for the people who can so easily get overlooked when church life becomes too focused on programs, administration, and growth.

I also appreciate what you and Hazel are doing, especially your willingness to help churches that are struggling and without a pastor. That kind of personal care, encouragement, prayer, and time with people matters.

You are right that there is plenty of work to be done, and the flock should never become secondary to running the organization.

God bless you and Hazel.

 

[HeldByGrace]

Maybe instead of asking why people are not joining churches anymore, churches ought to be asking a much harder question:

Are we actually being the church described in Scripture?

This is an interesting one for me. When we were new Christians we became members of the church, signed the paper, paid the tithes, volunteered where they told us to, and then I volunteered as the finance person... This is where the wheels fell off for me. You get a real peek behind the curtains, and it's eye opening and disheartening. Particularly when money is spent on frivolous things, and the account balance for the deacon's fund is $0. As a member we were told which community group we would be a part of, and told that the only way to change groups was to leave the church. Needless to say, it felt very controlling. We moved away and left the church 6 years later.
4 years on, now that same church has changed leadership, and we have returned as the teaching is straight from the Bible. We are reluctant to become members again, but it is now a requirement that you are a member before you are put into a community group (and it's in the group that discipleship takes place). I'm not sure how I feel about this, and am so torn as to what church should look like for our family.

 

[bobinfaith]

This is an interesting one for me. When we were new Christians we became members of the church, signed the paper, paid the tithes, volunteered where they told us to, and then I volunteered as the finance person... This is where the wheels fell off for me. You get a real peek behind the curtains, and it's eye opening and disheartening. Particularly when money is spent on frivolous things, and the account balance for the deacon's fund is $0. As a member we were told which community group we would be a part of, and told that the only way to change groups was to leave the church. Needless to say, it felt very controlling. We moved away and left the church 6 years later.
4 years on, now that same church has changed leadership, and we have returned as the teaching is straight from the Bible. We are reluctant to become members again, but it is now a requirement that you are a member before you are put into a community group (and it's in the group that discipleship takes place). I'm not sure how I feel about this, and am so torn as to what church should look like for our family.

Hello HeldByGrace;

I've read and heard how many Christian Churches will have their members sign a paper, "assign" members where they should serve and mis-allocation for monies sent to low priority instead of high priority needs. The first two, get on board or move on, and the last is the Church leader's poor stewardship of people's offerings or donations. All three are not Biblical.

A Pastor's priority aside from shepherding their members should be praying for the gifts all the whole body and the Lord's leading where His people serve reference 1 Peter 4:10, Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 1:9-10, Ephesians 1:16-17.

I don't blame you for being reluctant to become members again of this Church. But I do praise God for your family being prompted to attend, worship and pray for this Church, whether you're there for the long run (at times the Lord sends us for the season.)

God bless you and your family.

Bob

 

[by grace]

Are we actually being the church described in Scripture?

ask your self that question am i the body of Christ is very complex no such thing as a perfect church.. the word tell us to strive to enter in at the straight gate

 

[David]

Are we actually being the church described in Scripture?

ask your self that question am i the body of Christ is very complex no such thing as a perfect church.. the word tell us to strive to enter in at the straight gate

I agree that there is no such thing as a perfect local church because there are no perfect Christians. But that really was not the question I was asking.

The question is whether what we are calling “church” is actually functioning the way Scripture says the church should function. There is a difference between an imperfect church made up of imperfect believers and a church adopting practices, priorities, and requirements that Scripture never gave it.

Paul wrote, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” ~1 Corinthians 12:27. And Scripture tells us what that body is supposed to be doing: teaching the Word, making disciples, caring for one another, bearing one another’s burdens, praying together, shepherding the flock, and guarding against false doctrine.

You mentioned Jesus saying, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” ~Luke 13:24. Absolutely, but in that passage Jesus was addressing entering into salvation, not whether a local church organization is operating biblically.

So I think the question still needs to be asked, not “Are we a perfect church?” because none will be, but “Are we actually being the church described in Scripture?” If Scripture is our standard, that is something every church and every believer ought to be willing to examine.

 

[by grace]

what we are calling “church” is actually functioning the way Scripture says the church should function.

once again each one has to ask themselves that question. the Body of Christ has many members . a building is just that untill we assemble . i know the question . each group can say we are trying do we miss the mark? yes the church i pastor when we can try to help others out. a lady in the community lost her husband in a tractor accident. he was starting it but crossing starter relay . it started and it was in gear ,,the tractor ran over him.. long story short they had no insurance . he had a basic funeral casket and buried . our church gave $$$ directly to the funeral home. we never said a word.. a women who recently started fell broke her foot cut her knee open.. we went seen her last Saturday. she needed gauze pads . we went bought some on the Church,

that is just a small way of us trying to be the Church . has any of us sold our possessions and gave it to the church like in acts

one of my biggest turn offs is hearing or reading a denomination claiming to be the real true Church. the body of Christ must function in unison much like the natural body . only the church head is Christ he controls our movements through the Holy spirit . : led of the spirit ..be ye not drunk in excess of wine.. but be ye filled with the spirit... controlled . when drunk we are controlled by alcohol. when filled with the spirit ..we are to be controlled by the spirit

i hate trying to write God called me to speak i am not a great writer. my grammar will give one a headache. so thus is my response

but in that passage Jesus was addressing entering into salvation, not whether a local church organization is operating biblically.

if a church is truly functioning church we are striving to enter in at the starit gate


" If Scripture is our standard, that is something every church and every believer ought to be willing to examine."


if were honest we stand in room/need of improvement





.

 

[bobinfaith]

once again each one has to ask themselves that question. the Body of Christ has many members . a building is just that untill we assemble . i know the question . each group can say we are trying do we miss the mark? yes the church i pastor when we can try to help others out. a lady in the community lost her husband in a tractor accident. he was starting it but crossing starter relay . it started and it was in gear ,,the tractor ran over him.. long story short they had no insurance . he had a basic funeral casket and buried . our church gave $$$ directly to the funeral home. we never said a word.. a women who recently started fell broke her foot cut her knee open.. we went seen her last Saturday. she needed gauze pads . we went bought some on the Church, that is just a small way of us trying to be the Church . has any of us sold our possessions and gave it to the church like in acts

one of my biggest turn offs is hearing or reading a denomination claiming to be the real true Church. the body of Christ must function in unison much like the natural body . only the church head is Christ he controls our movements through the Holy spirit . : led of the spirit ..be ye not drunk in excess of wine.. but be ye filled with the spirit... controlled . when drunk we are controlled by alcohol. when filled with the spirit ..we are to be controlled by the spirit

I hate trying to write God called me to speak i am not a great writer. my grammar will give one a headache. so thus is my response
if a church is truly functioning church we are striving to enter in at the starit gate
" If Scripture is our standard, that is something every church and every believer ought to be willing to examine."
if were honest we stand in room/need of improvement

Hello by grace;

You share an important question and I would like to share my thoughts.

By now most of us should distinguish between a Church building and the assembly of believers, and how we define our heart of worship.

First, we're blessed to learn that your Church family put everything aside attending to the lady who tragically lost her husband as well as tend to another who broke her foot and injured her knee. Second, no Church building can do that.

When a religion or denomination gets "puffed up," claiming to be the real, true Church is an immature, naive statement. A Church that actually functions the way Scripture says the church should function includes a humble spirit and an act of humility, not perfection, reflecting the character and example of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:3-8, 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - ESV

Unfortunately, many Christians attend Church continuously with "new baggage," - behavioral things they bring upon themselves. Why? They aren't discipled or lack listening ears. Otherwise, it's easy to be nice and then mean depending on the other or situation.

I'm not talking about trials in life that we cannot control.

As a result, it's no wonder people don't want to attend Church. I don't blame them. Truth is, this continues to happen.

Example, as I read this morning, people hate to hear Biblical Truth that may counter their opinion, mislead interpretation. Everyone who desires Christ and the body of believers has the potential to gain knowledge and wisdom from God's Word, incessant prayer and apply it.

by grace, I understand when you say you don't like to write. No worries, as long as I've known you, you've always managed to get across what you're going to say. God bless you for that.

Overall, I'm with everyone here and as I'm sharing I'm also receiving what each of you have to say.

God bless you all.

Bob

 

[David]

once again each one has to ask themselves that question. the Body of Christ has many members . a building is just that untill we assemble . i know the question . each group can say we are trying do we miss the mark? yes the church i pastor when we can try to help others out. a lady in the community lost her husband in a tractor accident. he was starting it but crossing starter relay . it started and it was in gear ,,the tractor ran over him.. long story short they had no insurance . he had a basic funeral casket and buried . our church gave $$$ directly to the funeral home. we never said a word.. a women who recently started fell broke her foot cut her knee open.. we went seen her last Saturday. she needed gauze pads . we went bought some on the Church,

that is just a small way of us trying to be the Church . has any of us sold our possessions and gave it to the church like in acts

one of my biggest turn offs is hearing or reading a denomination claiming to be the real true Church. the body of Christ must function in unison much like the natural body . only the church head is Christ he controls our movements through the Holy spirit . : led of the spirit ..be ye not drunk in excess of wine.. but be ye filled with the spirit... controlled . when drunk we are controlled by alcohol. when filled with the spirit ..we are to be controlled by the spirit

i hate trying to write God called me to speak i am not a great writer. my grammar will give one a headache. so thus is my response

if a church is truly functioning church we are striving to enter in at the starit gate


" If Scripture is our standard, that is something every church and every believer ought to be willing to examine."


if were honest we stand in room/need of improvement

I think what you described is a good example of what it means to actually be the church. Helping that family with the funeral and helping the woman who was injured are the kinds of things that really matter.

I agree with you too that the church is not a building or a denomination. It is the body of Christ, with Christ as the Head.

And I especially agree with your last point. If we are honest, every one of us and every church has room for improvement. None of us has arrived. We just need to keep going back to Scripture and asking whether we are living out what Christ has called His people to be.

And don't worry about your writing. I understood you just fine.

 

[by grace]

“Ah! I saw a woman gossiping about another member; a man that is a hypocrite; the worship team living wrong; people looking at their phone during service; among so many other things wrong in your church,” she replied.

The pastor was sad to hear her reasoning, but not surprised, as he’s heard it all before. That’s why he let her go. But not before she did one final thing for him.

“But before you go, do me a favor: Take a full glass of water and walk around the church three times without spilling a drop on the ground. Afterward, leave the church if you desire.”

An odd request to say the least, but the woman knew it would be a piece of cake.

She followed his instructions, walked three times around the church with her full glass of water, and returned to him — task completed.


The pastor prompted her with just one more thing before she left:

“Before you leave I want to ask you one more question. When you were walking around the church, did you see anyone gossiping?”

She told him, “no.”

Then he asked if she’d spotted any hypocrites, or come across anyone on their phones.

Again the woman replied, “no.”

Then the pastor offered up this perspective-shattering, thought-provoking analogy that would leave even some nonbelievers shouting “amen.”

“You were focused on the glass, to make sure you didn’t stumble and spill any water. It’s the same with our life. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we don’t have time to see the mistakes of others. We will reach out a helping hand to them and concentrate on our own walk with the Lord.”

 

[Yesua888]

Some more on the "church"

The Bible identifies believers collectively as the church, primarily using the metaphor of the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it," and
Romans 12:4-5: "So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

Ephesians 1:22-23: Describes Jesus as the head over all things to the church, which is His body.
Colossians 1:18: Identifies Jesus as the head of the body, the church.
1 Corinthians 3:16: Asks, "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple," referring to the community of believers.
2 Corinthians 6:16: States, "We are the temple of the living God."

Individuals are members of the body, the phrase "I am the church" is not found in Scripture; rather, the church is the collective body of all believers (Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

 

[David]

Some more on the "church"

The Bible identifies believers collectively as the church, primarily using the metaphor of the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it," and
Romans 12:4-5: "So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

Ephesians 1:22-23: Describes Jesus as the head over all things to the church, which is His body.
Colossians 1:18: Identifies Jesus as the head of the body, the church.
1 Corinthians 3:16: Asks, "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple," referring to the community of believers.
2 Corinthians 6:16: States, "We are the temple of the living God."

Individuals are members of the body, the phrase "I am the church" is not found in Scripture; rather, the church is the collective body of all believers (Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

I agree. That is an important distinction. Scripture speaks of believers together as the church, the Body of Christ, with Christ Himself as the Head. We are each members of that body, but none of us individually is the whole church.

I think that gets lost sometimes when people start thinking of the church mainly as a building or an organization. The picture Scripture gives us is much more personal than that. We belong to Christ, and because we belong to Him, we also belong to one another as members of His body.

 

[Yesua888]

I agree. That is an important distinction. Scripture speaks of believers together as the church, the Body of Christ, with Christ Himself as the Head. We are each members of that body, but none of us individually is the whole church.

I think that gets lost sometimes when people start thinking of the church mainly as a building or an organization. The picture Scripture gives us is much more personal than that. We belong to Christ, and because we belong to Him, we also belong to one another as members of His body.

Luv it!
My confession: up until quite recently I did not see how important it is to Love our "neighbours" as we love ourselves (or I lost it!). I remember years back always defending and acting like a "mother hen", when a work colleague said "you are not your brothers keeper" ... that stuck in my mind.