Membership Pt. 2

In part one of our discussion of Membership within The Abuse Verses series, we outlined the laundry list of requirements that churches have for church membership and discussed some of the flaws with each of them. For a refresher that list is:

• All require the interested party to attend a class on membership
• All also have an application process
  • I haven’t seen all the applications, but some ask about your employment, previous church history, whether or not you’ve committed any crimes, etc.
  • 3 ask about your previous church- why you left, and if they can contact them about you
• All require that you be baptized
• 4 require that you undergo an interview/meeting with elders or the pastor
• 4 have a vote on whether or not you’ll be allowed into membership
  • 2 place people’s names in the bulletin asking current members about the prospective members.
• 3 allow for someone to be removed from membership for failing to meet any of the requirements
  • 1 allows you to resign from membership if you’re in good standing but not if you’re under discipline.
  • 1 allows you to transfer to another church
• 3 churches are able to tell their members not to interact with previous members at the discretion of the leadership
• 3 have a clause about proper behavior and discipline for failing to act in an appropriate way (though what this means is not clearly defined)
• 4 also have explicit requirements about tithing with consequences for failing to tithe
  • 1 church requires members to tithe even if they are currently living out of town
• 4 have explicit requirements about attendance and service with consequences if one fails to honor them

We briefly discussed all but the last on the list: attendance. This is honestly one of the biggest points of contention between church leaders and members of the congregation. Not only is one verse used to manipulate members of the congregation to attend more regularly, it is improperly read in doing so.

The verse in question states

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.((Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) ))

The first thing to notice is the “and” at the beginning of the verse, which links it to the previous verses. This verse is in the middle of a discussion on persevering, and holding onto the hope of Christ. Verse 24 asks the readers to, “motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

Also of importance, is that nowhere does it say where to meet, or how many to meet. There is a growing trend within the Christian community to move away from large churches and do “church” in what is essentially a small group. The church leaders use the above verse to state that this is not okay. But I don’t see that anywhere in there. I see two things.

1. Keep meeting together.
2. Encourage each other to do acts of love.

The whole passage is about perseverance in the faith, not about being faithful church attendees. There were many Jewish converts at the time who were in danger of lapsing back into Judaism. So the writer of Hebrews was encouraging them to keep meeting with other Christians so they could build each other up.

There was also a threat of persecution during the time, as well as those who were apathetic about their faith because Christ hadn’t returned as they believed he would. The writer of Hebrews was, again, encouraging them to continue meeting together in an effort to keep each other motivated.

Nowhere does the writer state that if you don’t you won’t be allowed back, or you should be looked down upon. It does not say to shame those who do not come into coming. It does not say to send out letters to those who have not come in a while threatening to revoke their church membership if they do not come back soon.[note]Yes, I’ve seen this happen[/note]

The WHOLE POINT is encouraging one another. Building each other up. The body is meant for mutual encouragement. When the church leadership is engaging in shaming someone to come to church, are they more or less likely to come back? And if they do come back, will it be with a spirit of joy or a spirit of shame.  

As I’ve said in nearly every part of The Abuse Verses, any use of the Bible to shame or manipulate someone is abusive and wrong. 

So, if the verse isn’t saying to come to church every week lest you be sent a letter about it, what is it saying?

It’s basically saying, “Hey, stay in touch with other believers.” In whatever capacity works for you. Everyone has different levels of comfortability with others. Allow people to belong to a group of believers in a way that’s healthiest for them.

The point of Christian fellowship is to encourage each other in acts of love. Shaming someone into coming to church is not that. To the contrary, saying, “Hey. I haven’t seen you at church in a while, would you like to grab coffee and catch up?” is. It’s fulfilling the passage in Hebrews in a more Godly way than expecting everyone to come to church every week.

The point is this: the passage clearly states to be engaged and involved with other believers. BUT it does not say how to do so. As long as someone is engaged with other believers and working to build a life of love together, who cares if it happens at a coffee shop or within the walls of a sanctuary?

Why burden someone to do something they may not feel comfortable doing for one reason or another? That’s not “encouraging them in acts of love and good works” like verse 24 asks us to do. Christians are to display care and love for one another, and telling them they’re bad Christians if they don’t come to church is not doing that. 

The important question to ask yourself (and nobody else because that’s not your job) is “who in the body of Christ am I encouraging today?” not “how often did I go to church this year?”