d d d Your first paragraph discussing details of biblical church membership was a hot
button for me, as well.[2] And, during my musings on the matter, I realized some
of the trouble with correcting the congregation may, in fact, lie with leadership. The
fact is, however, clergy have no choice in the matter if they are going to be
examples of obedience before the Lord. Moreover, correction is encased within
Scripture (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
So then, I am beginning to believe that pastors and other church leadership may
find difficulty sharing this information possibly due to the pressing weight of
tradition surrounding congregational practices, preferences, and much more (cf.
Prov. 14:12). In other words, after so much time and so many people
misunderstanding the issue (or, more accurately, simply not knowing the biblical
perspective), some clergy may not have the heart or the guts to expose the errors
with such a great, contrasting, and long-held set of beliefs! Furthermore, there
may be even more weight supplied by worries of membership losses, being
reputed to “not want people there,” being accused of being “unloving,” or maybe
even misinterpretation of Scripture by those who simply want things understood as
they have always been. I only know that people do not care for change and often
have strange reactions to the ones for which they do not care. But Christians
should also remember that outlooks were hardly ever “rosy” for the first church,
nor did they live in such relative safety as do we, in our era.
d I discussed two of the three marks that you mentioned – church membership
and evangelism as these are some of the marks that my church needs to improve
upon. d For membership, I believe that it is an issue of teaching and training
members exactly what it means to be a church member. d Being a member of a
church is different from being a member of a country club or any other
organization. d I believe that people join a church for various reasons and do not
fully understand what being a member of a church is truly about as well as the
responsibilities of being a church member. d Dever makes an important point
regarding church membership by stating, “church membership is a crucial topic for
understanding what Christ is calling us to as his disciples.”[1] d Churches need to
do a better job teaching about church membership and the expectation that comes
with it.
Evangelism is another issue in which the church needs to do a better job in
teaching. d For the last two years, our pastor has encouraged us to evangelize. d
The problem I see is that not many people in our church are going out with our
evangelism team to go out to evangelize. d They believe that it is the minister’s and
leadership’s responsibility to evangelize. d d The concern is that they do not
understand that the Great Commission is for all disciples of Christ to fulfill. d
Therefore, I agree with you that there is a lack of understanding in my church and
churches across the country that do not understand what “biblical” evangelism is.
Finally, it’s great to see growth in the number of people join the church. d d
However, this number is irrelevant when it comes to spiritual growth. d d This is
where discipleship is important to the growth of the church. d I have learned that if
a church makes discipleship one of their top priorities, then the church will grow
and become the institution that Christ desire for her to become. d d We are in a
spiritual battle and as a result, we need to make sure that we do more than give
bibles to new members and tell them to figure it out. d We must teach discipleship
in our churches and have a mentorship program where a mature member of the
church can mentor a new believer and member of the church.
I agree with you that we as the body of Christ must hold each other accountable
according to the Word of God. d We have to understand that the lives we live are
greater than ourselves. d We are representatives of Christ. d We must represent
Christ everywhere we go and in every facet of our lives. d As a result, we cannot
be afraid to rebuke or hold each other accountable because our testimony to the
world depends on it. d As Dever mentioned, “we need to be able to show that there
is a distinction between the church and the world—that it means something to be
a Christian.”[1] d This is why church discipline is so crucial.
I believe that discipleship and growth are also crucial to the body of Christ and in
local churches. d I have learned that a church that makes discipleship one of the
top priorities, then the church will grow and become the institution that Christ
desire for her to become. d Also, discipleship will help with discipline because
teaching discipleship will help members to understand what it means to be a
Christian and how we are to represent Christ. d Therefore, I believe that
discipleship and discipline go hand in hand.
[1] Mark Dever, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013),
184.
