Is church membership a command? What happens if you don’t join a local church? What does the Bible say?

I conferred with my husband a bit on this one as we discussed the pros & cons of church membership and in this episode I share what we concluded.

For a more in-depth look into the topic, head to the podcast or video links above.

KEY POINTS

  1. Church membership is an issue of liberty, not right or wrong.  The Bible doesn’t address it in the regards of how we have “memberships” in today’s local churches.
  2. I briefly discuss “Baptist Brider” theology and why they specify the “necessity” of being a member of a Baptist church to be in the Bride of Christ.  I am not a Baptist Brider.  I believe that everyone who is saved is in the Bride of Christ and also part of a universal church (but not in the Catholic description of the universal church.)

Pros of being a church member:

    1. It helps with church administration as anyone who wants to be a teacher or vote on church issues.  Anyone who is a “member” will have gone over the constitution and statement of faith and decided if they agree with it enough to join.  If someone needs to be removed from a position in an area of ministry due to false doctrine, the pastor has a clearly written policy and agreement to refer to.
    2. It shows a commitment to your church family and opens doors for awareness, communication, helping out in time of need and hospitality.
    3. It provides a level of accountability within your church family if you or they are being overtaken in a fault.
    4. It keeps church splits at bay by only allowing those invested in the church to vote on church matters. Pros for being a church member:

Cons of being a church member. I honestly can’t think of any.  If you don’t like or agree with a church, you don’t have to join.  No biggie.

As always, thanks for being here and thanks for being my friend.