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Taking Church Membership Seriously

In my sermon series on Vital Signs of a Healthy Church, I have basically said things that we all agree on.  But the next two vital signs we’re going to be looking at may seem somewhat controversial to some of you.  This week we will consider why we need a biblical understanding of church membership, followed by a message on biblical church discipline.  These two vital signs are closely connected.  You really can’t exercise church discipline unless you embrace the concept of church membership.

These days we don’t take church membership seriously.  Let me give you a couple of examples to illustrate what I mean. There are some whose names appear on our membership rolls, but who have not attended for years.  But they are not bashful about invoking their “rights of membership” when they want to use our facilities at no charge.  Then there are a number of people who equate church membership with salvation.  Some people actually believe there will be a roll call in heaven.  And when “the roll is called up yonder” they plan to be there.  The roll that is called “up yonder” they assume, comes from the membership roll down here.  So even though church membership is important to people who hold on to such concepts, they are doing so for some unbiblical reasons.

But by and large the attitude toward church membership has shifted.  In a recent Leadership Weekly poll, about a third of those who responded said church membership is not all that important.  Why are more churches no longer emphasizing the importance of membership?  A couple of reasons come to mind.

First, we've given in to our culture's antagonism toward commitment and accountability.  Like parents who are afraid to discipline their teenagers, church leaders are afraid they will be unpopular for emphasizing commitment and accountability.

Second, there is a concern that if we create a barrier at the front door to the church, not as many people will enter, and the pressure leaders feel to grow the church is enormous today. But what we don't realize is that by not emphasizing membership we may have a wide-open front door, but we also have a wide-open back door. Numerical growth is really not helped by deemphasizing membership.

The church should be less like a cruise ship and more like a battleship, says Ken Sande of Peacemaker Ministries. Rather than emphasizing their casual atmosphere and fun activities, Sande says it's time for churches to raise the bar, to focus on a serious mission, and ensure that every person aboard serves a vital function. To make the shift, Sande says we must recapture the importance and meaning of church membership.