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Written by Brandon Adent

Why Not Membership?

In January, we wrote about reasons for membership, which you can see here. We talked about why it’s important, as well as a why people choose to become members of a local church.

This week, we’re going to take it in the inverse; we’ll be looking at a few reasons people object to local church membership. We’ll then briefly attempt to provide an answer to each one in turn.

Ultimately, our prayer is that you would see that membership is not just a cute idea or mere adherence to antiquated practice, but is rooted in Scripture, for your joy, and for your good.

 So, with that, let’s get started:

 1. You’re Unaware Of Any Biblical Basis For Membership

This is a reasonable objection. Membership - in the formal sense - doesn’t get much air time, and it’s not addressed as directly as other topics in Scripture (“You shall not murder”, “you shall not commit adultery”, etc). It can be easy to think that membership just isn’t that big a deal.

It is true that there is no 11th commandment: “Thou shalt be a member of a local church”.

We do, however, have a bunch of letters written to newly formed churches as part of the Scriptures, known as “epistles”. If you look at these letters, particularly 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus 1, you will find it hard to get around the issue of “order”: for authority to exist, there must be someone under authority; a particular “flock” entrusted to a particular group of shepherds; a particular group of Christians to a particular group of pastors.

I won’t take the time to unpack all this here, but if this is where you land on this topic, it’s worth looking at these passages to get a sense of the implications. I do think you will find that if you look for the answers, you will find that the Bible does uphold local church membership.

2. You’re Looking For The Perfect Church

Now, I want to be careful with this. To be sure, you should look for a church that preaches the gospel, where you agree theologically, where the elders are respectable, where you feel loved and appreciated.

But looking for the perfect church is like looking for a unicorn: Even if you found one, you should be skeptical.

There is no perfect church, because there are no perfect people but Jesus. And while all Christians are new creations in Him, (2 Cor 5, Eph 4.24), we’ve all got a lifetime of sinful thinking and habits to unlearn.

Some day, we will all be like Christ, but until then we keep going and growing as we seek after him. And God uses His Church as a means to grow His people to be more like His Son (Eph 4.11-16). There’s just no better impetus for growth than participating in a community of people who love Jesus, love you, will call you out on your sin, and will expect to be called out on theirs.

3. You’re Unsure Of Your Future Plans

This one especially comes up in college towns. Honestly, as a student, I felt the same way. All of these objections are matters of the heart. This one is particularly so.

Honestly, this can be a pretty lazy response, extending far beyond the subject at hand. Often, when it comes to subjects like membership, we just don’t want to do the work and devise a way out using our circumstances. Really, we should just be honest with ourselves and others about not wanting to do the work in the first place. Then, with the Holy Spirit’s leading, we can discern why we don’t think the good that may come is worth the effort.

Now, that said, this can be legitimate. If you’ve just starting coming to gatherings recently, will be graduating in six months, and aren’t sure where you’ll end up after that, that’s a different conversation. If you find yourself here, talk with one of the elders or a GC leader to figure out the best course of action.

4. You’re Afraid To Be Known

Often, I land here. Even having been a member for a few years (and attending for several), I worry about what people would think of me if they really knew who I was.

This is why we need to be reminded of the gospel continually. If you are in Christ, you are perfectly known by Him. In fact, He knows every wicked thought, word, and deed that has and will proceed from your being. And in full knowledge of this, Romans 5.8 says “…God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Because we have peace with God through Christ, we don’t have to be afraid to be known by other people, because ultimately they don’t define or own us. So we can be a part of a local church and not be afraid to be known.

Grace In And Through The Church

Whatever your reasons for not pursuing membership at a local church, you need to know that it’s okay to not know where you stand.

What’s not okay is apathy.

We really hope you’ll consider the motives behind your resistance to this teaching. Are you afraid? Proud? Lazy? Whatever the reason, subject it to the authority of Scriptures. Ask questions. Search for answers.

Ultimately, remember that the Church is a group of people bought by the blood of Jesus. If you are His, you’ve been made a saint, and saved into his church.

Covenant membership assures that you will be known, loved, and protected as a part of a community. We don’t get it perfect, and we may fail. But the testimony of the Scriptures is that God continually pours grace on people who don’t deserve it. 

And being a member of the Church is part of that grace (Eph 4.11ff).

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Gospel communities are built on the truth of the gospel that saves and restores people to God and brings them into His family as a group of people commissioned by King Jesus to go into the entire world and make disciples of all nations—starting right in our own city and neighborhoods as GCs on mission for Jesus. Gospel Communities is a place where people grow as disciples of Jesus, while growing to make disciples of Jesus. 

We are doing a mini blog series on Gospel Communities (Theological Foundation, GC for an Individual, GC for a Family, GC for a church) 

Mini Blog Series:

• Theological Foundation: The Church Church Not On Sunday
• GC for an Individual: 6 Ways Gospel Communities Are Helpful For Individuals 
• GC for a Family (2 Blog Posts): In Sickness And In Health, Desperation And The Love Of Discipleship Groups; How Is A Gospel Community A Safe Place For My Family?
• GC for a Church: 

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How Is A Gospel Community A Safe Place For My Family?

What is the first thought that comes to you when you hear the word family? Your brain probably thought of  mom or dad. Or if you were unfortunate not to have a mom or dad you probably thought of siblings or close friends. In any case, you probably think of someone close to you that you share life with, that will be there for you no matter what and visa versa. When you're that close to someone you have this great bond between each other that you know not many things can separate your relationship.

Gospel Communities Are For Families

Personally, I believe our world thinks of the term family in a very shallow way. We all struggle in someway with the idea, "what can the family bring me?" The "Me" attitude comes ultimately from sin. We think that our family is supposed to bring "Me" joy. In most cases, a healthy family does give joy to its members. The biblical picture of a family shows parents are to care, protect and teach their children. Children know that their parents will be there for them as they grow up into manhood or womanhood. God created this social structure for two reasons. First, He desires to show off the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church. Second, to bring stability to people. When we see families broken apart by sin we see everyone affected because this is not how families are naturally designed to work.

The reason I have given so much time explaining the term family is because of the hope we have for Gospel Communities within our church. Our hope is that these groups of people continue to pursue the "other" oriented plan and care for one another while learning to care for those who do not yet know Jesus. You see, Gospel Communities are one of the primary ways within the church that we see biblical family played out in our lives. These groups of people are called to care for one another, serve one another and protect one another. Gospel Communities are called to be a family of people living life together, pursuing to build one another up in the gospel while pursing others who do not know Jesus.

First Hand Account

Our hope for these different blog posts we have written is to give everyone an idea to why Gospel Communities are so important. We want people to understand the importance to joining one and committing to the family. Here is a first hand account of one family's story of how Gospel Communities were and are helpful for their family.

When we arrived at Redeemer, we were doing our best to heal from losing our church family in North Carolina. The leadership at our former church pushed us out of the church and misrepresented us in the process. We felt betrayed by the very people with whom we shared our lives. We arrived in Washington with a lot of baggage (and we aren’t referring to what was in our trailer). Our trust in the Church had been shaken and we had a firm mistrust of leadership.

Hebrews 3:12-14 says, "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."

God used Gospel Communities at Redeemer in a major way to protect us from unbelieving and hardened hearts. At times, we were being exhorted by someone from Redeemer every day. We were invited to three GC’s our first week in Washington. When we joined one, we were welcomed with open arms of love and encouragement. Our GC became our family in Washington. This was purely God’s grace toward us. This family gently cared for our fragile hearts and souls. When we felt like we had no ability or even desire to minister to God’s people, they selflessly and sacrificially served us. Redeemer’s leadership and our GC provided us with the Gospel-saturated safety and time we desperately needed for healing.

To a large degree, our GC at Redeemer has restored our trust in God’s gracious gift in His people. Their love and care for us has restored our desire to love and serve the Church. 

End Result

At the end of the day the end result for anything is that we want people to grow more in love with Jesus and look more like Him all the time. We want people to grow in greater knowledge of their identity in Jesus and allow their identity to impact everything in their lives. The place where we believe this happens best is within a Gospel Community. You see, Gospel Communities are not a Bible study or a small group. Gospel Communities are groups of people that share life together, learn together and pursue others to help them understand who Jesus is and why he is so sweet. When you're that close to people within your Gospel Community you have this great bond between each other that you know nothing can separate your relationship with them because of Jesus Christ's perfect sacrifice and His forever shaping of our hearts.

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At Redeemer we love foster care and adoption. We love that a perfect Father has adopted us. We love that imperfect moms and dads get to adopt. As a church we have seen a number of families adopt or serve as foster families and have more in the process. While participating in adoption it is an amazing gift God allows us to enjoy, it can also be overwhelming and intimidating. Below is a first hand account of what one family learned by going through the process of adopting their son from Ethiopia.

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Ethan's Reflection on the adoption process:

In Zechariah 7 God speaks through Zechariah “And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”  It is passages like these help us know that God has a heart for the fatherless that has impacted adoption journey and our decision to adopt.  

The reality of this "vertical" adoption of Christ for his people and how we were fatherless and God chose to adopt us as sons and daughters has been probably one of the most impactful realities and truths that drove Kelli and I to adopt our son Kenesa.  Without God's grace and mercy of the "vertical" adoption and an understanding of what that took and how amazing it is, we may have not have been compelled and burdened to care for the fatherless in our world and felt called to "horizontally" adopt a son who had no father half way across the world. This language from the small book "Reclaiming Adoption" by Dan Cruver and others has really impacted us.

God also calls us to care for those who are oppressed or are prone to oppression and we have a deep conviction to God's call to those people as well. Other passages in the Bible that have compelled us much like Zechariah 7:10 is Isaiah 1:23, Jeremiah 5:28 and Exodus 22:21-22 to name a few. Even before God would reveal his Son (Jesus) he was showing us his character and his care for the needy oppressed (fatherless) in the Old Testament.  He knew what we ultimately needed but He also cares about the display of his Glory at all times and this is one way his Glory is shown; the picture of “horizontal” adoption. What it demonstrates is that the Kingdom of God is at hand and it is coming in fullness one day.  God will continue to demonstrate and show his rule and reign over the earth.

We started the process of adopting our son in September of 2011.  It took nearly 2 years for that reality of legally adopting Kenesa to be complete and we were able to bring him home in late August of 2013. It was a very tough process (to say the least). Two of the toughest aspects for us were the unknown length and many ups and downs of the process and also the sacrifice financially that we had to make to bring him home.  God provided for these needs and guided us through these struggles through our local church family as well as our immediate family. The Abba Fund enabled Kelli and I to obtain a no interest loan that paid for the airplane tickets for our first visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This trip was made for the purpose of our court process of legally adopting Kenesa in Ethiopia. It was a blessing to have that paid for and to know that those funds came from the generosity of individuals in our local church.

We now know that this child, our son, has a home and an earthly father. Hopefully one day will be able to call his heavenly father "Savior".  Pray that every night for him.

Kelli's thoughts on the process of adopting her son:

The adoption process has so many highs and lows. I will never forget the day we received our referral for Kenesa. It was February 22, 2013 at 10:00 am. I was getting ready to leave the house and the agency called asking if I wanted to see a picture of our son! I was in tears and so excited! I raced down to Ethan’s office with our daughters Lucy and Madeline; we all laid eyes on that picture of our son for the first time. He was beautiful. I instantly knew the Lord had picked him to be a part of our family. We then had to wait 3 months until we got to fly and meet our sweet boy for the first time. Meeting Kenesa was one of the best days of my life. He had and still has a huge smile. Even though we knew we had to go back home and leave him behind leaving Kenesa in Ethiopia was so hard. We had to return home and waited for the U.S. Embassy approval.

I would wake up every night at 3 am checking my email (1 pm Ethiopia time) for that approval email.  I would constantly be thinking of him lying there in his crib and I wanted to be with him so badly. Why was this taking so long? Why couldn’t my son be at home with me where he was supposed to be? In those moments I had to preach scripture to myself, I had to pray, I had to remember that I have comfort and security in my Savior not in this adoption and its process. In those moments God was telling me to “be still” He needed me to know that he was in control, he had been in control this whole time and that he was going to bring my Son home. My good friend told me that when I pictured my son laying in his crib that I needed to picture Jesus laying in the crib with him and that was massively helpful.  

We finally got clearance to bring him home in August of 2013. Receiving the email that we could bring home Kenesa was another day I will never forget. Traveling to pick him up and taking him home to meet the rest of his family was just amazing. There were times during the process that I was angry, angry with God, angry with our agency, angry at the increasing cost, angry at how long it took. Our church family and immediate family was such a huge support to Ethan and I. Praying for us, giving financially, and just loving and caring for us as we went through this process.

What I have learned is that God’s timing is not our timing but it is perfect, just and right. God needs us to “Be still and know that I am God”. He has always has a plan; he wants us to trust in him. 

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. - Ephesians 1:3-10

Through Christ we have been adopted into God's family. Through Christ we now have an identity as sons and daughters of God. Through Christ we are shown that adoption is an amazing eternal reality by God that we get to show towards others here on earth. Through Christ we are free to pursue earthly adoption, to bring children who have no family and bring them into our family. Adoption and Foster Care are beautiful moments that ultimately point to the wonderful process God went through to adopt us into His family. It is because of Jesus Christ we are able to say we have been adopted for eternity, and the wonderful part about it is that we can not repay God for what he has done to adopt us. Grace from God is an eternal gift but it cost sure cost something. It cost our Savior His life. 

If you know of someone that has gone, going or plans on going through the process of adoption and/or foster care. Take some time this week to ask them their story.

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Church membership is an important part of Redeemer Church. But as a staff we get a ton of different questions from people about why as a church we desire for people to become members. To answer this question, you will see below we put a quote from 9Marks.org from an article they wrote titled why every Christian should become members and second we wanted you to hear from a few of our current members explaining why they love being a member of a church. May these responses help you further understand the joy it truly is to be members of a local church.

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Every Christian should join a church because Scripture requires it. Granted, there is no direct command in Scripture that says, “Every Christian must join a local church,” but two factors in Scripture indicate that every Christian should be a member of a local church.

1. Jesus established the church to be a public, earthly institution that would mark out, affirm, and oversee those who profess to believe in him (Matt. 16:18-19, 18:15-20). Jesus established the church to publicly declare those who belong to him in order to give the world a display of the good news about himself (John 17:21, 23; see also Eph. 3:10). Jesus wants the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t. And how is the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t? They are to see which people publicly identify themselves with his people in the visible, public institution he established for this very purpose. They’re to look at the members of his church. And if some people claim to be part of the universal church even though they belong to no local church, they reject Jesus’ plan for them and his church. Jesus intends for his people to be marked out as a visible, public group, which means joining together in local churches.
2. Scripture repeatedly commands Christians to submit to their leaders (Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). The only way to do that is by publicly committing to be members of their flock, and saying in effect, “I commit to listening to your teaching, following your direction, and to submitting to your leadership.” There’s no way to obey the scriptural commands to submit to your leaders if you never actually submit to them by joining a local church.

 - 9Marks (Why Join A Church?)

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Why Do I Love Being A Member Of A Local Church?

Quote From Vanessa: "I choose to become a member of a local church because I love Jesus. Jesus loves his bride the church and I want to be more like Jesus. I also get to be a part of this really awesome family. I have the security of being in a family. I know the people who will be there to teach me, lead me and support me. On the flip side, I get to be a part of that for someone else. And the reason you should become a member of a local church is because you gain a family. Jesus loves and his committed to his bride and we should too." 

Quote From Brandon: "Admittedly, a big part of the decision to become a member at Redeemer was my upbringing. My parents instilled in me that church involvement was vital to ones’ growth as a disciple of Christ. As I got older, I came to a deeper understanding that membership isn’t a formality and it’s not rooted in my service. Membership is rooted in covenant. This means that I have committed to know others, and to being known. It means that a specific local church is my closest spiritual family. They’ve committed to praying for me, and I’ve committed to praying for them. Should I fall, they shall seek me out, and vice versa. Membership has been a huge blessing to me. It’s not always easy, but the hardship is worth it." 

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Blog Post by Rob Berreth

Men, this morning as I was praying God laid you on my heart and reminded me of our time together this past fall at he Act Like Men conference. I want to remind you of a few things I said and encourage you to seize this next year, to not waste it, and to plan now for how you can grow and make a difference.

Men, you are not a mistake. Your gender is not a mistake. God made women and men in His image. Both men and women are absolutely needed and essential. Your culture often doesn’t tell you this, and more often than not, denies or scoffs at this truth. As A.W. Tozer said so many years ago:

“The Church at this moment needs men, the right kind of men, bold men…We languish for men who feel themselves expendable in the warfare of the soul, who cannot be frightened by threats of death because they have already died to the allurements of this world. Such men will be free from the compulsions that control weaker men. They will not be forced to do things by the squeeze of circumstances; their only compulsion will come from within—or from above.”

This past fall during our Act Like Men’s conference we focused on four ways, or handles, or commitments that men can engage to guide themselves as they live for God’s glory, the good of those around them, and for their own good. In this coming year it is worth looking at these categories and making a specific plan about how you will engage each one by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit. All of us that love Jesus want to look more like Jesus by this time next year. Not so we are loved or saved or forgiven, but because we are.

Here are the four statements:

• Men Obey God
• Men Lead Their Families
• Men Serve Their Church
• Men Sacrifice Themselves

As a way to make this practical there are a few questions or thoughts to get you thinking about ways to integrate these handles in 2014. But before you start. Remind yourself of the Gospel. Preach to yourself the ultimate truth that only Jesus perfectly obeys God. That Jesus leads His people. That Jesus serves His Church. And Jesus sacrificed Himself utterly for all who trust in Him. Guard vigilantly from making 2014 a year of working hard to merit what Jesus has already earned. Equally fight against wasting 2014 and the privilege of growing more mature like Jesus by God’s grace.

I OBEY GOD

• To obey God you need to know what He commands, what pleases Him, etc. Pick a time and devote yourself to reading His Word. Do you have a Bible plan? When will you read? Where? Etc.
• When will you pray? What will you pray for?
• What right now in your life is not producing love for God and distracting you from obedience? Why are you doing this? What is going to change to battle this area of disobedience?
• What times do you feel most obedient to God? How can you pursue that lifestyle more often?
• Ask your spouse and/or friends about areas in your life that they see patterns of sin, apathy, etc. Make a plan for fighting these areas.
• Reflect on areas of obedience. Make a list of ways you are following God. Spend some time thanking Hom for how He is changing you.
• Plan now to do official theological and practical training in your local church. Redeemer will be launching new programs, tacks and opportunities Fall of 2014. There will be something for everyone with time commitments ranging from 3 months to 2 years with a variety of opportunities. We will be focusing on Bible and Doctrine, Church and Mission, as well as personal character and growth.

I LEAD MY FAMILY

• To lead my family I need to lead myself. Where am I not a leader of self? Think through various areas like physical and emotional health, financial responsibility, spiritual vigor, etc. What really needs to grow? What PLAN are you going to make to get there?
• If married, ask your spouse how you can lead better. Be humble and grateful that she would help you see where you can grow. Avoid defensiveness by remembering that only Jesus is perfect.
• Prayerfully seek some vision for your family. What do you want your marriage to look like next year. In five years? Same with your kids. What about your lifestyle, how you are on mission as a family? How you engage the Bible as a family? How your money is used, your time spent, your resources stewarded, etc? Write a vivid description of what you want your family to look like in 10 years. Ask your family to help. If you aren’t married or don’t have kids, ask your friends to help.
• What legacy do you want for your family? In 20, 30, 100 years what do you want your family to be known for?
• Write a vision statement with your spouse for your family. What is your families mission? What are your core values? Now, how are you going to get there? What’s your strategy? What resources do you need? Who can help you? If single, you can do this with friends, Discipleship group, or Gospel Community.

I SERVE MY CHURCH

• If you are not a member of a local church become one.
• Use your gifts for the good of the church. If you don’t know what those gifts are ask someone to help you figure it out. God has endowed you with gifts for the good of His church and they are needed. You are needed.
• Ask yourself this question: if everyone in the church gave at my level of service, giving, prayer, participation, etc would my local church be stronger or weaker?
• What do you aspire to in your local church?
• Do you know the mission and vision and strategy of your local church? How can you specifically support these things?
• Reflect on evidences of grace from this past year as you reflect on your local church. This can be ways you have served or ways you have been served.

I SACRIFICE MYSELF

• In order to do any of the above things well we need to embrace what it means to sacrifice ourselves. Remember, only Jesus sacrificed Himself completely. He also sacrificed Himself uniquely. Meaning, you don’t give of yourself for the forgiveness of sins, the reconciliation of all things, the promise of a new Kingdom. You give sacrifice yourself to make the truths of Jesus’ sacrifice known and felt.
• What is holding you back from giving yourself, like Paul says, as a drink offering? Do you struggle with laziness? Or fear? Or distraction? Recognizing and naming the specifics can be very helpful in battling.
• 2 Tim 2.3 the Spirit calls us to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ not entangled in civilian pursuits since our aim is to please the one who enlisted Him. What specifically does being a good solider look like in 2014 for you? Focus on what might entangle you or distract you. More than that, focus on what it means to want to live to please the one who enlisted you.
• What will your schedule look like in 2014? Make an ideal schedule that reflects someone who obeys God, leads his family, and serves his church.
• What other men can help fight alongside of you as you pour yourself out? If you are not in a Discipleship Group (DG) get in one. If you don’t know what a DG is ask your Gospel Community or talk with someone in the church and we can help.

I can’t say this enough, Jesus is enough. His obedience, leading, service and sacrifice is enough. We want 2014 to be a year marked with believing that truth in thought and deed and action and effort. But this is effort that is grace saturated and Gospel driven. We can take risks because in Jesus death is dead. We can step out and live differently because in Jesus we have a new identity. We have nothing to fear because Christ has conquered. May God give us the grace to “act like men” for His glory, the good of our cities, our church, our families.

Jesus Is All

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