Is it about a monthly
meeting? Is it just for those who are
keen? How do I qualify? Does it matter, really?
As we start the new academic
year it might be worth a moment’s reflection – whether you are a member of a
church or not. If you would like to
consider being a member of our church or would like to refresh your
understanding of membership drop Alex a line (pastoralexharris@gmail.com) or
come along to the Beacon International Centre at 7.30 on September 23rd.
But here’s something to get
you thinking…
Is
‘membership’ even in the Bible?
Yes, ‘membership’ is in the
Bible. The New Testament assumes a
clarity about who is part of the church is.[i] Commands to leaders assume those leaders know
who they are leading and are responsible for; the New Testament letters are
written to ‘the church in….’ which
assumes both the church internally and society externally knew who was meant;
and in Acts we read of a number of times of people being sent out ‘by the church’ or of issues arising ‘in the church’ as a defined group.[ii] We may want to acknowledge there are some
blurred edges to this group but nevertheless there seems a clear implicit
assumption that the church knew who it was.
Chester and Timmis summarise
this well:
To be a Christian is by definition to be
part of a community…the New Testament assumes commitment to real people in real
local churches with all their faults and foibles.[iii]
Belonging
in church
There are of course lots of
ways to belong to church, all to be celebrated and all part of our journey with
Jesus.
Some
are fans positive about the church and what it does but who are
watching and appreciative as opposed to part of the adventure of faith
themselves.
Some
are friends further along than just spectators. They are engaged with faith and with church
but perhaps not fully committed – either to Jesus or to the church.
All
can be family by trusting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour
and then committing to this local church as their immediate brothers and
sisters to help them follow Jesus.
We obviously long for people
to move from fans to friends to family and celebrate and respect all levels of
belonging. But it is the ‘family’ level
we now turn to. This is our vision of how we relate, love and lead within the
context of being brothers and sisters.
This is membership.
This family relationship is
defined by love: As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another. (John
13:34-35) But what does this love look
like?
A
wonderful word in the Bible to describe this: Koinonia[iv]
This is the Greek word
translated as membership, partnership, or fellowship in English. One definition has it:
The New Testament describes bonds so vital
and genuine that a deep level of intimacy can be experienced among the members
of a local church…The word has such a multitude of meanings that no single
English word is adequate to express its depth and richness…It is a complex,
rich, and thoroughly fascinating approach to building community or teamwork.[v]
In Luke 5:7 it is used to
describe the fishermen Jesus first called.
They are family linked biologically as two sets of brothers. They are partners linked financially and
socially. They are mutually-reliant on
each other, linked physically in a dangerous and demanding profession. So a commitment to become a member is a
commitment to others of this magnitude.
After 50 years leading in the local and global church John Stott can
write:
Our growth into maturity, according to the
purpose of God, takes place in the context of a family group…it is lone members
of the congregation who hold themselves aloof from a more intimate Christian
fellowship, who are likely to stunt or damage their spiritual progress.[vi]
Koinonia
is
both about rules in an organisation and relationships that are organic. It is more enduring that a legal document and
more tender than an informal relationship.
More binding than both ink and blood.
It is expressed by 59 ‘one another’ verses in the New Testament:
to love, to be at peace, to encourage, to
correct one another, and so the list goes on. You can see the full list in the footnotes.[vii]
Summary
The weight of the Bible’s
material on membership is toward being a committed band of brothers and sisters
helping each other and loving each other so the world can see through our relationships
what God is truly like. Therefore:
It
is about real support in each other’s lives.
Sometime called pastoral care
but perhaps better simply called ‘loving each other’ this is the heart of
church membership. It is truly,
practically, lovingly, bravely and enduringly being brothers and sisters who
are commitment to seeing Jesus reflected in each other and ready to correct and
be corrected when we drift from that. It
should be both organic and relational, and organised and central. So any structure around membership is mostly
about creating the environment where relationships can flourish and steering
people toward committing to love each other come what may, including the
necessary tough love we all need at times.
It is about being family.
It
is about a public, verified statement of your faith as genuine.
Leeman answers the question
‘What is church membership’ like this:
It’s a declaration of citizenship in
Christ’s kingdom. It’s a passport. It’s an announcement made in the pressroom of
Christ’s kingdom. It’s the declaration
that you are official, licensed, card-carrying, bona fide Jesus representative.[viii]
When we accept someone as a
member we are saying to them and to the world – you are a Christian; look here
if you want to see a representative of Jesus.
It is about mission.
It
is about purposeful support of the church family’s mission.
It means being delighted in getting
involved as and how you can in all sorts of ways in the corporate life and
mission of the church. It means
contributing in time and skills, money and wisdom as Jesus’ family together on his
mission, sharing an agreed vision and carrying an appropriate part of that
shared burden.
[i] Jonathan Leeman,
Church Membership (Crossways, 2012) chapter 2 ‘Membership sightings in the New
Testament’ is a good summary.
[ii] It’s
worth noting here we butcher the biblical meaning of the word ‘church’ in
English. It can mean the people, the
building, an individual church, the churches across a town, the global church,
the universal church of all believers across time and space, the ‘national,
Anglican church, etc. In Greek it simply
and only means ‘a gathering of people’.
[iii] Tim Chester and Steve
Timmis, Total Church (IVP, 2007) p.84-85
[iv] John Stott, The Living
Church (IVP, 2007) has a brilliant, short chapter on the meaning and
implications of this word. Chapter 5:
Fellowship: The Implications of Koinonia (p.91ff)
[v] New
Bible Dictionary (IVP)
[vi] John Stott, The Living
Church (IVP, 2007) p.92
[vii] 1. “…Be at peace with
each other.” (Mark 9:50) 2. “…Wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14) 3. “…Love
one another…” (John 13:34) 4. “…Love one another…” (John 13:34) 5. “…Love one
another…” (John 13:35) 6. “…Love one another…” (John 15:12) 7. “…Love one
another” (John 15:17) 8. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…” (Romans
12:10) 9. “…Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10) 10. “Live in
harmony with one another…” (Romans 12:16) 11. “…Love one another…” (Romans
13:8) 12. “…Stop passing judgment on one another.” (Romans 14:13) 13. “Accept
one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…” (Romans 15:7) 14. “…Instruct
one another.” (Romans 15:14) 15. “Greet one another with a holy kiss…” (Romans
16:16) 16. “…When you come together to eat, wait for each other.” (I Cor.
11:33) 17. “…Have equal concern for each other.” (I Corinthians 12:25) 18.
“…Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (I Corinthians 16:20) 19. “Greet one
another with a holy kiss.” (II Corinthians 13:12) 20. “…Serve one another in
love.” (Galatians 5:13) 21. “If you keep on biting and devouring each other…you
will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:15) 22. “Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:26) 23. “Carry each
other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2) 24. “…Be patient, bearing with one another in
love.” (Ephesians 4:2) 25. “Be kind and compassionate to one another…”
(Ephesians 4:32) 26. “…Forgiving each other…” (Ephesians 4:32) 27. “Speak to
one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” (Ephesians 5:19) 28.
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21) 29. “…In
humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) 30. “Do not
lie to each other…” (Colossians 3:9) 31. “Bear with each other…” (Colossians
3:13) 32. “…Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.”
(Colossians 3:13) 33. “Teach…[one another]” (Colossians 3:16) 34. “…Admonish
one another (Colossians 3:16) 35. “…Make your love increase and overflow for
each other.” (I Thessalonians 3:12) 36. “…Love each other.” (I Thessalonians
4:9) 37. “…Encourage each other…”(I Thessalonians 4:18) 38. “…Encourage each
other…” I Thessalonians 5:11) 39. “…Build each other up…” (I Thessalonians
5:11) 40. “Encourage one another daily…” Hebrews 3:13) 41. “…Spur one another
on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24) 42. “…Encourage one another.”
(Hebrews 10:25) 43. “…Do not slander one another.” (James 4:11) 44. “Don’t
grumble against each other…” (James 5:9) 45. “Confess your sins to each other…”
(James 5:16) 46. “…Pray for each other.” (James 5:16) 47. “…Love one another deeply,
from the heart.” (I Peter 3:8) 48. “…Live in harmony with one another…” (I
Peter 3:8) 49. “…Love each other deeply…” (I Peter 4:8) 50. “Offer hospitality
to one another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9) 51. “Each one should use
whatever gift he has received to serve others…” (I Peter 4:10) 52. “…Clothe
yourselves with humility toward one another…”(I Peter 5:5) 53. “Greet one
another with a kiss of love.” (I Peter 5:14) 54. “…Love one another.” (I John
3:11) 55. “…Love one another.” (I John 3:23) 56. “…Love one another.” (I John
4:7) 57. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:11) 58. “…Love one another.” (I John
4:12) 59. “…Love one another.” (II John 5)
[viii] Jonathaon Leeman,
Church Membership (Crossways, 2012) p.64
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