Church – what
does it mean to belong?
There are four images in the Bible of what church
should be like: a loving family, a fruitful farm, a strong fortress and an
interconnected body[1].
Why meeting
together is crucial for health as a community and as individuals
These metaphors explain why meeting together should
be a priority:
It brings us together as children before our loving heavenly Father to
say thank you for his kindness through worship and prayer and to eagerly hear
his voice as his Word, the Bible is taught.
It brings us together as individual plants to be fed nutrients and
refreshingly watered by The Farmer, who will perhaps pull out weeds that have
taken root or ripen fruit that’s ready.
It is the ‘missional’ opportunity for people to experience and join
God’s people.
It brings us together as bricks in one building before our Architect so he
can strengthen, mend the inevitable cracks that form in the truth-buttresses and
truth-pillars of our lives; to restore the weathering that has occurred in our
understanding of God; and perhaps correct a design fault. It brings us to Jesus the cornerstone so we
can re-align our lives to him where we have drifted.
It brings us together as many members of one complete body before our
Head so to be filled freshly with his Spirit to move from being the gathered
body of Christ out into our ordinary lives as his scattered body, using God’s
gifts to serve others.
We ‘must nor neglect meeting together’ but ‘stir
one another towards love’ and ‘encourage one another’ (Hebrews 11:24-25). Being at church should be a priority. The Bible is central to this as the way God
speaks and works as our Father, Farmer, Architect and Head. The Bible shapes all we are and do: our sung
worship; teaching; praying; sharing of life; and openness both to God’s Spirit
and one another. We do this for the
adults in ways appropriate for them and for the children and young people in
ways appropriate for them. We do this
both for those who are mature Christians and for those who are not yet
Christians.
How does
God lead his church?
Jesus leads
his church.
All these metaphors show God and Jesus as the ultimate
leader of his church – the Father of the family, the Farmer of the farm, the
Architect and Cornerstone of the fortress, the Head of the body. In 1 Peter 5:4[2]
Jesus is described as the ‘chief shepherd’.
Jesus leads his church – he is the chief shepherd, the senior pastor,
the CEO or whatever other metaphor we would choose to use!
Jesus leads
his church through everyone generally.
For the church to flourish it needs all its
children listening to their Father, all its crops responding to their Farmer,
all its buttresses and pillars molded by the Architect and aligned to the
Cornerstone, and all its body-parts obeying their Head. Therefore as a church we believe and seek to
practice that all have, in different ways and degrees, a responsibility to help
build his church. Equally major aspects
of our life as a church we seek to discern together as a church, usually through what we call ‘church meetings’ –
regular gatherings of the church membership to pray and discuss and confirm.
Jesus leads
his church through everyone generally under the care and authority of some specifically.
God also gives the church ‘under-shepherds’[3]
to have particular responsibilities in leading the church. In the same passage that speaks of Jesus as
the Chief Shepherd Peter says ‘To the
elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder…be shepherds of God’s flock that
is under your care, watching over them…’
(1Peter 5:1-4) In different ways[4]
these leaders lead and serve the church.
Belonging
to God’s church - What is ‘baptism’?
Jesus has a universal church that stretches across
all time and it includes everyone who has, ever did or ever will believe in
him. When someone first becomes
persuaded to trust and obey Jesus the Bible encourages them to be
‘baptised’. ‘Baptise’ literally means to
immerse or cover in water. It is a
dramatic, symbolic way of showing your new life in Jesus and that you are now
united with him and therefore united with all other Christians ever. Baptism is something people generally only do
once and shows both their faith in Jesus publicly and, by default their
belonging to Jesus’ worldwide universal church.
Belonging
to God’s church - What is ‘church membership’?
There are many ‘levels’ of belonging to a local
church. The church is a place that all
find acceptance and a place to contribute.
Alongside that general sense of belonging, many churches, including ours,
have something we formally call ‘membership’.
Where baptism is entering Jesus’ universal church as you believe in him,
membership is a way of expressing your belonging to one local church and
uniting specifically to the others who make up that local church. This is committing in a serious way to a
specific local church. The word in the
New Testament most often used to describe belonging to the church is koinonia.
It is translated into three English words:
Partnership: In Luke 5:10[5]
koinonia is used not about church
membership but to describe how Andrew & Peter and James & John work
together in a small business and were also related as cousins and
brothers. So being part of a church is
partnering together in significant ways for a significance cause like these
brothers and cousins committing to one another in a dangerous business
enterprise.
Fellowship: The idea here is committed
companionship or togetherness. It is the
‘fellowship’ envisaged on a great adventure where neither trial nor joy
separates the bond between you and your other travellers. Acts 2:42-47:
‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship…’
Membership: Not in the sense of paying dues at the local
golf club but in the sense of being part of; becoming an essential ‘member’
that completes a body. It is about
integration and co-dependence. In
1Corinthians 12:12-26 it is used to describe the body functioning as a whole
when each member uses its gifts to serve the others, all under Christ’s lead.
Of the many levels of belonging to a local church koinonia describes the fullest level and
is something to be rejoiced in but also considered seriously. It comes with particular responsibilities
that are not light.
Church
membership shows that you understand the need to be committed to the mission of
God via a specific local church.
Church
membership follows on from baptism and shows a personal commitment that is
reflected in the way we live as a Christian.
Church
membership provides a group of people who are prepared to commit time, energy,
finance and spiritual gifts to the local church.
Church
membership means taking a responsible part in discerning major aspects of
church life through church meetings.
Church
membership means that you have put yourself under the leadership and care of
the pastors and elders: you know they are committed to serving you, to
promoting your spiritual health, to helping you when times are hard, and lovingly
correcting you if needed.
[1] See: http://lionheartedandlamblike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/why-did-god-create-church.html.
Our four values as a church resonate with these four images: A loving
family (loving people); a fruitful farm (courageous in mission); a strong
fortress (Bible saturated); an interdependent body (Spirit dependent).
[2] ‘And when Christ the Chief Shepherd
appears…’
[3] The Bible uses a mix of language to
describe these roles including elders & deacons (borrowing Jewish synagogue
language); pastors and shepherds (borrowing Greek language); and leaders
(borrowing secular language) depending on the culture being written to and what
they would be most familiar with. The
Bible is more concerned not with the title or name but the character and
competence of the individual. Places
like 1 Corinthians 4, 1Timothy 3, the whole of 2Timothy and Titus, 1Peter 5,
and Hebrews 13 also expand in depth on what it is to serve as a leader in God’s
church. Importantly church leadership is
always seen as plural in the Bible not singular.
[4] Pastor/minister is a visible leader
set apart by the church with particular Bible teaching, prayer and mission
responsibilities. Elders have a responsibility
for spiritual health and vision over the whole of church. Deacons have specific responsibilities over
particular areas of church life.
[5] ‘…and so were James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.’
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