Want to
M
y wife and I
recently visited
the services of a
local church in
our community.
by Jim Fowler be a Member?
It was only a matter of a
for the growth of the local body,” organic, spiritual Body of the
few weeks before we were and to “commit ourselves to Church that is enlivened by the
solicited to “join the spread the gospel.” Aha, just as I very life of the living Lord Jesus.
church” and “become a suspected, becoming a member is Drawing the analogy between the
committing oneself to the legalistic functional members of our physical
member.” Why is it that performance responsibilities of giv- body, Paul explains that every
local churches are so keen ing money to the church, working Christian is a functional member of
as a free laborer, and recruiting the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians
to draw people into others to do the same. This sounds 12:14-20).
church membership? strangely akin to asking someone My little “pinky” finger is a func-
When I asked people why it was to join a chain-gang while paying tional member of my physical
so important to be a member of higher taxes for the privilege. body. Although it may be one of
their church, their responses were
Membership or Member?
almost ludicrous: “So you can
serve on one of our committees” It is necessary for Christians to dif-
Aha, just as I suspected, becoming a
(as if I wanted to serve on another
committee!). “So you can vote in
ferentiate between accepting mem-
bership in a local church (or
member is committing oneself to the
the elections of the church” (par-
ticipate in the ecclesiastical democ-
denomination) and being a mem-
ber of the Body, the Church of
legalistic performance responsibilities...
racy). “So you can become a leader Jesus Christ. Membership in an or-
in the congregation and help to ganization is not the same as being
determine the direction and pro- a functional member of an organic
gram of the church” (I thought the body.
Church was to be led and directed Nowhere in the Bible is there
by Jesus Christ). any reference to membership in a
The pastor of the local church church organization. It is a con-
presented us with an “Application cept that is foreign to the new
for Membership” card that ex- covenant literature. On the other
plained that by joining the church hand, there are several references
we would be making a covenant (Romans 12:4,5; 1 Corinthians
pledge to accept the responsibility 12:14-27; Ephesians 3:6; 5:30) to This sounds strangely akin to asking
to “contribute regularly,” to “work Christians being members of the
someone to join a chain-gang while paying
26
higher taxes for the privilege.
Christians should never be ...every Christian who has been overwhelmed by
pressured to make commitments the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ
of performance (as religion (1 Corinthians 12:13) is an organic member
always does), but are to be of the Church of Jesus Christ, and there
receptive to the inner dynamic is no divine requirement to “join” an
of the indwelling Spirit of Christ to organization with a commitment pledge to
bear fruit from the Root of the Vine (John 15:5). work towards its growth and advancement.
the “weaker members” that Paul Church of Jesus Christ, as de- Church and the human institution
mentioned (1 Corinthians 12:22), it scribed in the New Testament, is of churches and denominations of
did not have to apply for member- the organic Body of Christ collec- churches that are legally formulat-
ship to “join” my body, or make a tively expressing the life of the liv- ed as organizations to provide visi-
“covenant pledge” and sign a state- ing Lord Jesus in the personal ble and tangible form and
ment to contribute and perform to interactions of the members who structure to the spiritual abstract of
make my body grow. Likewise, have individually received Jesus as the Body of Christ.
every Christian who has been over- their life. Great perversion results when
whelmed by the Spirit of God into The members of the Church are the human institution of a church
the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians comprised of every Christian indi- organization is identified as syn-
12:13) is an organic member of the vidual who has been “called out” onymous with the divine institu-
Church of Jesus Christ, and there is (Greek ecclesia) to follow Jesus as a tion of the organic Church, the
no divine requirement to “join” an disciple, and therein to fellowship Body of Christ. To join a religious
organization with a commitment and commune together in their group by accepting membership in
pledge to work towards its growth common participation in the Body their organization is not to be con-
and advancement. of Christ. strued as equivalent to becoming a
The functionality of an organic member of the Church of Jesus
member of the Body is derived
Divine or Human Institution? Christ which occurs only by the
from the Life within (John 14:6), The Church, the Body of Christ, is personal receipt of the life of Jesus
and directed by His Spirit (Romans a divine institution. It was institut- Christ by faith.
8:14). Christians should never be ed when Jesus declared, “on this On the other hand, one who has
pressured to make commitments of rock I will build my church” received Jesus Christ as their life,
performance (as religion always (Matthew 16:18). Jesus indicated and has thereby become a Christ-
does), but are to be receptive to the he would build his organically ian and a member of the Body of
inner dynamic of the indwelling functional Church wherein faithful Christ, is not necessarily required
Spirit of Christ to bear fruit from Christians could collectively ex- to seek membership in a church or-
the Root of the Vine (John 15:5). press his life and character togeth- ganization—despite the persistent
er in one Body. and often pressured attempts to
Defining the Church When people refer to “church” bring you into their “fold.”
Adding to the misunderstanding of they fail to differentiate between It is necessary, however, to clear-
what it means to be a member of the divine institution of the ly state that a Christian who is a
the Church is the ambiguity of our member of the Body of Christ
usage of the word “church.” The
most popular colloquial usage
Membership in an organization is not the must not withdraw into isolated
“lone ranger” individualism, for
refers to a church building. Secon-
darily, a church is identified as a
same as being a functional member Christ within will always seek fel-
lowship with other Christians in
legal and social organization
formed for religious pur-
of an organic body. whom he indwells in order to col-
lectively express his inter-
poses most frequently per- personal love-life and his
formed within a church love for all mankind. We
building. But the biblical need each other for the
reference to Church does complete functional ex-
not apply to a building or pression of the Body of
to the human formation Christ. This may, or may
of a legal institutional en- not, be accomplished
tity with defined polity within the context of
and membership. The membership in any human
FALL 2010 27
...a member of the Body of Christ, is not necessarily required to seek membership in a
church organization—despite the persistent and often pressured attempts to bring you
into their “fold.” Lord lives.
Jesus Christ in Christians’
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