Why Membership?

Good morning, Gateway Chapel!

Scripture

Prayer

What do you do for fun? For me, I golf. I love to golf. One of the most fun things for me is to be around really nice golf courses. If I can play awesome, but even if today you said, “Chris, let’s just go to Chambers Bay in Tacoma, and let’s just look at it.” And I’d be like, great! Let’s do it.

About ten years ago, I got to both look at and play Fircrest Country Club. Know where that is? Swanky, old school country club. Super rare opportunity because it was is very private, very expensive, but also a really nice course so I was pumped to play.

So I got to play and I invited Morgan to walk along with me. We drove there together in Morgan’s 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer which if you ever saw it was a beauty…had a spoiler and a sub-woofer in the trunk, but it could fit my golf clubs so that’s what mattered.

We drove HWY 16 all the way to Fircrest, pulled into the parking lot, got ready for the day, me with my clubs and appropriate country club attire (no denim, collared shirt), Morgan’s got her golf stuff on, too and we’re excited. I’m going to play, Morgan’s gonna walk along, it’ll be a great time.

Well, part of the deal getting to play there is you have to play with a member, and I don’t remember this gentlemen’s name but he meets us at the pro shop. We’re all ready to go, and this guy says to me, “You ready to play?” And I say, “Yes sir!” And he turns to Morgan and he says, “What’re your plans today?” And Morgan says, “Um…I’m just gonna walk along.” And the gentlemen says, “Oh…I’m sorry, today is men’s day.” And we look at each other like, “What? Men’s day?” He says, “Yeah it’s men’s day.” And I said, “Sure, but she’s not playing.” And he says, “Right, but she’s not allowed to walk on the course, either.”

This is a real thing! So as you can imagine, Morgan sped off in that black Mitsubishi lancer and I found another ride home. Looking back telling that story I should’ve left too but I ended up playing and having a nice time. Was I in sin? Quite possibly.

This morning we’re going to be talking about church membership. It’s possible that when we talk about church membership, we have elements of Fircrest Country Club membership in mind. Exclusivity. Only for the elite. You have to dress like us, talk like us, look like us…or you’re out. Are they the same?

We’re in our fourth week of our sermon series: Why Church? We’ve been looking at some foundational aspects of our life as the church asking God to give us a renewed vision and joy for who we are and why we do the things we do as his people. So at Gateway Chapel we have church membership, why is that something we value?

The Bible has its own portrayal of membership. This morning we’ll be in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and in this passage we see the word member not in regards to a club you aspire to join, but a body in which the many members are united by God in love.

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Paul is not giving a proof text on why local churches should have membership systems, but I think there are parallel principles that show us the value of membership in the local church. So this morning we’re going to examine 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, see what Paul was talking about, and look at five principles I suggest as to why church membership.

Pray

1 Corinthians is one of many New Testament letters written by Paul. Paul was an apostle. He met Jesus in a powerful way and the trajectory of his life changed forever. Everything he did was about helping people live in light of who Jesus is and what he had done.

And 1 Corinthians is a letter written to a church which Paul is trying to help. They had a lot of problems. Problems with leadership, sexual sin, they were suing each other, they had questions on marriage, food, worship gatherings, spiritual gifts…and Paul is writing to help them navigate life in light of Jesus.

And in 1 Cor 12, Paul is addressing the issue of spiritual gifts. Every Christian has some God-given gift which they are to use to serve God and others. And the Corinthians were ranking these gifts, using them to benefit themselves rather than others. This caused division, power struggles, and chaos.

And so in the spirit of unity and diversity I want us all to read the text together, but in a unique way.

We’re going to read the whole text but each section of seats will read a different pat. Front right section you guys read every word in RED, back right section you read every word in GREEN, back left you read everything in YELLOW, front left you read everything in BLUE.

Read 1 Cor. 12:12-31.

Based on that reading, what would you say is Paul’s main point?

One body, many members.

Your physical body has many members or parts - limbs, organs, cells, hairs, joints, nerves - but it’s one body.

And in the same way, the church - the body of Christ - has many individual members that are extremely different, but they’re one body.

The Corinthians have different gifts but they are not disconnected. Paul wants them to see that the way to truly realize their individual gifting is to see their corporate connection to the body of Christ.

Now, you might notice, Paul is not talking about local church membership as a system. He’s not asking them to sign up for a membership class.

He’s talking about membership as an illustration to the reality of their unity in Christ.

Define church membership: Membership is a mutually recognized commitment between the local church and a believer.

So why does Gateway Chapel practice structured church membership?

Membership reflects reality.

1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Local church membership reflects a global reality.

Paul says all the members are in one body…so it is with Christ. He will go on to say you are the body, and not like the body. You ARE individually members of the body of Christ. Membership reflects reality. It’s a local, particular, contextualized version of a global, cosmic, eternal reality in Christ.

So if we are the body of Christ, why do we need a membership class and other things on top of what

What compels people to get married and sign documents and go through all the hassle?

Gene was talking in our membership class last Sunday about how in the 60’s everyone was rebelling against everything, including things like marriage. Why get married? It’s just a piece of paper. And I’m like Gene I’m pretty sure that’s not just the 60’s.

There are so many comparisons between local church membership and marriage. Love compels two people to commit to each other through the institution of marriage. The love of Jesus compels believers to commit to each other in the local church through church membership. Membership reflects reality. You are the body.

Membership is inclusive.

1 Corinthians 12:13 ESV

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. Those are HUGE differences. Morgan understandably bristled at “Men’s Day” at Fircrest, but every day was Jewish people only day in the temple. Every day slaves did not have the rights or privileges of free people.

But membership in the body of Christ is inclusive to all people.

Now, is there a line? Yes. And that line is trusting Jesus. The Bible says there are two kinds of people in the world, those who humble themselves and fear God by saying I need him, and those who pridefully reject God and say I can do this on my own.

So I think what membership does it says, “We’re a church open to all people on the basis of faith in Jesus.” Can you hang out with us if you’re not a Christian? Absolutely! And, we want to invite you into something more. There is more to church than hanging out. There’s meeting Jesus. And he’s inclusive to all people who humble themselves and trust him.

Membership values unity without uniformity.

All throughout our text, Paul’s point driven home in a variety of ways is differences does not have to mean division. There is unity without uniformity.

I’d like to read this passage from the Intro of Mark Devers’ book, “9 Marks of Healthy Church”

Nose and Hand were sitting in the church pew talking. The morning service, led by Ear and Mouth, had just ended, and Hand was telling Nose that he and his family had decided to look for a different church.

“Really?” Nose responded to Hand’s news. “Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Hand said, looking down. He was usually slower to speak than other members of the church body. “I guess because the church doesn’t have what Mrs. Hand and I are looking for.”

“Well, what are you looking for in a church?” Nose asked.

“Well, I guess we’re looking for a place where people are more like us,” Hand finally stammered. “We tried spending time with the Legs, but we didn’t connect with them. Next we joined the small group for all the Toes. But they kept talking about socks and shoes and odors. And that didn’t interest us.”

Nose looked at him this time with genuine dismay: “Aren’t you glad they’re concerned with odors?!”

“Sure, sure. But it’s not for us. Then, we attended the Sunday school for all you facial features. Do you remember? We came for several Sundays a couple of months ago?”

“It was great to have you.”

“Thank you. But everyone just wanted to talk, and listen, and smell, and taste. It felt like, well, it felt like you never wanted to get to work and get your hands dirty. Anyway, Mrs. Hand and I were thinking about checking out that new church over on East Side. We hear they do a lot of clapping and hand-raising, which is closer to what we need right now.”

Talk about Austin in church forums

Look at your fingers. Now look at your nose. I made you all go cross eyed. Paul’s showing us…you as a church are very different. But you need each other. Your nose is in a world of hurt when it itches without a finger. Your stomach is very different from your mouth, but they definitely can’t do life apart from each other.

Introverts need extroverts. High energy doers need low energy resters. People with kids need people without kids to remind us that life isn’t all about kids.

Democrats need republicans. People who’ve gotten two boosters need those who chose not to get vaccinated. The call is not to be best friends or share saliva, it’s to be a part of this body.

Membership is a way of saying I am committing myself to this local body of believers who are very different than me because they need me and I need them.

Who’s someone here who’s very different from you? How could you show interest in them, for even two minutes on a Sunday? How would that show unity without uniformity?

Membership creates care.

1 Corinthians 12:24–25 (ESV)

24 ...God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

God has intentionally designed us so we’d care for one another.

Just like our bodies.

Think of how your one body with many members cares for itself.

Your legs exercise to keep your heart healthy.

Your hands work to dress yourself so your unpresentable parts as Paul calls them are respected.

Your eyes and brain tell your feet where to go so you don’t walk off the sidewalk and into oncoming traffic.

When I cut my finger with a knife chopping onions, my mouth comes to the rescue. When you stub your toe, your mouth screams words to let the world know you’re in pain.

When your tongue tastes something amazing, your mouth smiles and your eyes light up. Your whole body rejoices!

This month would’ve been the due date of the baby we lost earlier this year. And Dorraine Eash wrote a card on behalf of all of you, and gave us some flowers. Deeply grateful.

And when the Lechnirs say they’re pregnant, we celebrate with them!

When we needed food for the campout, the Rays got their hands dirty and served us.

Aaron Taylor at our last membership meeting was wanting us to know he’s a long time fixer upper guy and would gladly help with home projects and issues in the church.

Our goal as a church is to care for each other in order to make disciples of Jesus. It’s not just care for each other so we feel better. And membership means that you matter. Like each part of your body contributes to the success of you, each one of you here has a real impact on our ability to care for souls and make disciples. And I think there’s tremendous value in making that commitment public in church membership.

In my opinion, this is the number one reason we started the process of membership of Gateway…the elders want to know who we’re called to care for. Our church looks very different than it did three years ago.

The system of membership creates and cataylzes care because it’s the church and the believer committing to caring for one another using the gifts God has given you. In sickness and in health. Membership is an opportunity to oppose consumeristic Christianity that none of us want to be a part of, but it’s the water we swim in that says, “I’m just here until I get a better offer.”

Membership is God’s work, not ours.

Membership in the body of Christ is not something we achieve, but something God has done for us.

1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

1 Corinthians 12:24 (ESV)

24...But God has so composed the body...

1 Corinthians 12:28 (ESV)

28 And God has appointed in the church...

God found a way to bring back the relationship between himself and us that seemed eternally severed.

The Bible says we all have chosen to detach ourselves from God, like separated limbs, and even though reattaching to the body is exactly what we needed to survive, we kept choosing to do life on our own…like a pile of body parts.

And so while we were sitting there, full of potential and made in the image of God and yet a broken body…God sent Jesus to have his own body broken on the cross, paying the penalty of our sin and forgiving our sins so we could be reattached to him through faith in Jesus.

And so that’s the beauty of membership in the local church, it’s a reflection of God’s work through Jesus on the cross to bring people back to him. And those people, who formerly didn’t want to associate with him, now gladly say, “Sign me up! I want to be a part of the body of Christ. I want to care for this goofy group of people as a reflection of my love for Jesus.”

Membership does not equal salvation. Membership does not result in more love from God. There have been many members of churches, and even leaders of churches, who didn’t or do not know Jesus. There have been many non-members of churches who do know Jesus. And yet my hope is that if you do know Jesus that you would consider church membership…if not here, than someplace else.

Because membership reflects reality. Membership is inclusive. Membership is unity without uniformity. It’s created for care. And it’s God’s work, not ours.

It’s a system we have to say that you are wanted. You are chosen. You have God-given strengths that have purpose that is bigger than yourself. You have people who can care for you and help you and understand you.

How can you receive God’s love today?

How can you show care for someone else?

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