Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)
We went to a church membership class last night at one of our home churches… and, well, it just got me thinking about the whole idea of church membership.
I don’t really agree with it. 🙂 I mean, I agree with being a member of THE Church… but, not really all these little man-made things we call churches. Seems to me like that is an addition we don’t have to make.
(1) it causes division by making distinctions between Christians, and asking people to "take a side"… that bothers me
(2) there is no mention of church membership in the bible… we are all members of ONE body (it does say that)
(3) the whole idea of going through a class (and then there is an application you fill out) to qualify for being a member of a church seems ridiculous to me. I already know… I DON’T qualify. 🙂 I am a sinner saved by grace. Period. I don’t get in based on what I believe or who I align myself with.
(4) because i am a member of one "church" does not preclude me from being a member of another at the same time — i think i mentioned this before… we are all members of one body…
There’s lots more… that’s just my initial thinking.
One more major thing I noticed… the whole membership process is an attempt to skirt the relational issue. The church is a body, a family, a living entity. God is building it. He has the membership list. We don’t need to separate out the "members" from the non-members. It is a beaurocratic, institutional way to keep tabs on people (one reason given for membership is "so that we know who is teaching or leading"…. well, excuse me, but do you think sitting through a 2-hour class and signing a paper is going to help you "KNOW" who’s teaching??? I don’t think so!) We need to focus less on the procedures and more on the people… more on knowing each other – doing life together.
So… that’s my two-cents for now.
I have more… stay tuned…