Healthy Church: Biblical Membership
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What does it mean to be a member of a church? Is membership simply having your name on a list somewhere? Is it attending a particular church regularly, or does biblical church membership require something more? Some Christians are hesitant to become church members because they've been hurt by a church in the past. Others simply don't want to make that kind of commitment. But what does the Bible say about belonging to a local church?
In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman continue our Healthy Church series with the fourth of Mark Dever's Nine Marks of a Healthy Church: a biblical understanding of church membership. They discuss the difference between belonging to the universal Church and being a committed member of a local church. Every Christian belongs to Christ and his Church, but the New Testament also shows believers gathering together in identifiable local congregations where they worship, serve, encourage, and care for one another. Membership is about much more than having your name on a church roll.
Biblical church membership also involves accountability. Hebrews 13:17 teaches that church leaders keep watch over the souls of those entrusted to their care and will give an account to God. But who are those people? And who are the pastors responsible for shepherding? Meaningful membership helps answer those questions. It establishes a relationship between pastors and the people they shepherd, as well as between brothers and sisters who have committed to pursuing Christ together. This is why church covenants, mutual accountability, and meaningful commitment matter for a healthy church.
Unfortunately, our culture often treats commitment as something to avoid. It's easy to approach church as a consumer. It’s easy to attend when it's convenient, moving elsewhere when preferences aren't met, and resisting the kind of relationships where other Christians might speak into our lives. But the biblical picture is different. The church is a body, and its members belong to one another (Romans 12:4–5). We need the local church, and the local church needs its members.
Why should Christians take membership seriously? What should meaningful membership look like in a healthy local church? Join us as we discuss biblical church membership and the healthy church on Salty Believer Unscripted. We also give an unscripted, unsolicited, and unsponsored shout-out to Christopher Ash's Not Old, Not Young, Not Done and Jen Wilkin's Dust to Dust.
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