Not that long ago I sent this email to someone interested in becoming a member of our church.
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I'm thinking that it would be good for me to explain some of what we understand membership to be. One good way of getting at this is to think in terms of a covenant, an agreement between folk. So, first, becoming a member of a congregation means making a covenant with the other members of the congregation. And at the heart of that covenant is this from Paul:
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. 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. … The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12.12,13,21
This means that a Christian cannot fulfill what it means to follow Jesus without the rest of the Body and the Body cannot fulfill what it means to follow Jesus without that Christian. We need each other. This understanding of mutual need will show by each of the members of the church becoming more and more involved in, as well as open to, the other members. This is one reason for things like our Bible studies. Becoming a member means promising to pursue these relationships with the others and expecting them to do the same with you.
There is another covenant being established when someone joins a church, the covenant between the member and the leaders. And Scripture speaks about the nature of that relationship, too. Here's one example.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13.17
When someone becomes a member of a church the leaders commit themselves to watching over his soul. That includes things like encouraging, teaching and exhorting him, as well as, various ways of correcting him. We leaders do this aware that Jesus holds us accountable for how we discharge that responsibility. On the flip side, when someone becomes a member of a church he promises to obey and submit to those leaders as they watch over his soul. It is here that I try to make clear to prospective members that the leaders of Faith Reformed have and will make mistakes. We will get it wrong at various times. I know that because we already have. But this is why being a Presbyterian church is so good. Every member of Faith Reformed has the right of appeal to a larger group of church leaders. In our area there are a group of churches, our presbytery, that work together on this. When we get it wrong, there are all these other pastors and elders who can help make it right. And that makes it easier for someone to covenant to obey and submit to the leaders. No doubt, that will be hard at times for anyone. But it is how Jesus has structured His church.
I hope that this anticipates and answers some questions that you might have. Please let me know about any other questions that I have not answered with this.