Church Membership – Why Bother?

A NeoBaptist blog reader: PJ, asked if I could do a post concerning the vexed and perennial topic of church membership.

He wrote:

Why should I become a fully fledged voting member of my church? I periodically get “followed up” with by whichever elder feels like they haven’t done enough on this topic lately to become a ‘member’. I’ve attended this one church for over 5 years, am an active and regular participant in church life, I am a long-serving member of one of the support ministries … yet I am not on the official role. This means I can’t vote on church business, but I’ve watched church votes over the past few years and not one has occurred without a near unanimous vote … and I’m not a great fan of church democracy anyway.

OK PJ, here’s my rationale.  I think you need to sign on the dotted line.

Firstly let me say that your belonging to the body of Christ was a done deal long before you needed to sign up to what is an earthly concept [church membership]. The legal entity as it exists is a human construct.  Your belonging to the body of Christ is part and parcel of your inheritance in Christ.  You are a limb ‘melos’ of the body of Christ and you can [and have been no doubt] very effective without your name appearing on the members roll.

Furthermore, you have no doubt been more effective in your belonging and service than a large majority of the ‘members’ on the roll.  That would NOT be unusual.

However, despite the above, and contrary to my rebellious leanings, I think you need to get that pen out and sign on the dotted line.

Reasons you SHOULDN’T sign up:

• to shut them up
• because without it you can’t get to heaven
• because you feel guilty
• because it is in the Bible

Reasons you should sign up:

• your church needs to be a legal entity in order to operate in accordance with local, regional and federal laws.
• this is because you handle money, and carry out ministries/services that are governed by laws, requirements, duty of care, scrutiny etc of various entities trusted by government to regulate these activities. [example: in Australia all staff or volunteers working with children need to have a Blue Card, which involves a Police check for prior convictions in relation to child abuse, etc].
• in order for relevant authorities to recognise and regulate limited activities in your church you need to be an identifiable group.  Either that or you quit interacting with people – which do you choose?
• because you handle finances, you need to be accountable for that, and as such you need to be a recognised entity for that purpose alone.
• the manner in which you handle finances is prescribed by accounting and reporting standards and that must be done by a registered entity.  If you are a loose knit group with no money passing hands then don’t sign up – no need.
• the manner in which you hire and fire people is accountable and as such you need to be a recognised entity.
• you have duty of care and occupational health and safety compliancy requirements, and you need to be a recognised entity in order to do that.
• In order for people to be married you need a celebrant, they need to be registered, and as such they need to belong to a recognised religious entity.
• There are other ministry purposes that can only be carried out through being in the employ of a recognised entity.
• For tax purposes alone you need to be a recognised entity.
• I think I’ve made a good case that for many purposes [not all], you need to be a recognised entity, which I’ll call a RE from now on in [phew!].
• Any RE needs to make decisions in an accountable way, hence meetings where some form of formal procedure occurs in relation to decision making [motions moved, seconded, voted on etc].
• You possess a Constitution or a similar document no doubt so that your purpose and activity can be protected from any Tom, Dick or Harry [with apologies to those individuals] coming along and taking over the place.  [For examples of this talk to your nearest Pentecostal, chances are they attend a split that some group took away from another split].  Yes I know that was harsh, but I’ve lived it OK?
• In order for an recognised entity to make accountable decisions, it requires a membership roll.  Usually this is made up of people who have demonstrated two things at least: demonstrated faith committment, and demonstration of belonging commitment.  Otherwise the three guys mentioned above could easily come in and reorder things the way they want it [remember the talk with your Pentecostal mate?].

The bottom line is this PJ, as much as you belong, until you sign on the dotted line for membership, you place yourself outside of the capacity to participate in the accountable decision making framework of your church.  As such you inhibit the capacity for your church to make decisions.  It’s all very well not to be a member but somewhere along the line enough people have to count the cost in relation to this.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which decisions are made, you have the right to hold the church accountable to its Constitution [or similar instrument].  It may be that consensus happens because the decisions are good, or it may be that the membership just can’t be bothered.

The remedy to that does not lie in your continued refusal to sign up. Be active from within and militate for more biblical ways of church membership adherence.  As a member you are able to say things that the pastor can’t – never forget that!

As a pastor my philosophy on decision making in church meetings is as follows:

• never introduce a concept at a church meeting for the first time
• issue the information in printed and digital form months beforehand
• hold ‘open forums’ where the issue can be aired, agreed and disagreed with
• meet personally with known opponents to address concerns
• appoint sub-committees that involve normal members so that key decisions are shared

Apart from the arguments above about matters that are secular, the ultimate safety net for the theological consistency of your church is the church meeting and the Constitution.  As stuffy as they are, Constitutions can serve you well and save you much – if drafted and and used intelligently.  These instruments can only be administered by recognised members [as is the law of the land in many countries].

If you are some small emergent group and you don’t really do anything that requires financing or regulation then don’t have a membership.  If though, you are active within a church that does need to be accountable in matters both secular and sacred, you can;t have your cake and eat it I’m afraid.

Welcome aboard PJ, we need people like you in our decision making frameworks!