Local Church Membership

Articles

Antoine N. Holloway
01/26/14 - Church Bulletins

In Acts 9:26a, the Bible reads, “And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples.” In this text, we have a Biblical example of a disciple, whom God has already added to His church through obedience to the gospel (Acts 2:47), attempting to join himself to a group of Christians for the purposes worship, fellowship, study, & outreach. It is unfortunate that many do not understand the necessity of joining a local congregation of believers. Even if one sees the necessity, we err greatly by having the wrong view of local church membership i.e. what can this congregation do for me OR what activities do you have for my children OR what will others think of me if I join here OR what do I get for my financial contribution weekly. When these needs are not met or the answers are not to the liking of the inquisitor, then many will either go into a deeper compromise of their faith or abandon Christ altogether. If we call ourselves Christians, disciples of Christ & members of Christ’s body, then there must be certain resolutions we make to insure that God receives the glory as members here at Wildercroft. Let us resolve to do the following:

I Will Be A Functioning Disciple At Wildercroft (Acts 8:4). I will worship where I have identified. I will study the Scriptures. I will get to know my brethren outside of services. I will reach out to the lost, directing them to worship God with me as my brother.

I Will Be A Unifying Disciple At Wildercroft (Ephesians 4:1-3). Will people leave? Yes. Will people get discouraged? Yes. Will people be dissatisfied? Yes. However, as a member of this congregation, we must do everything Scripturally possible to reconcile, live peaceably, & discourage any attitude of discord & division. After all, our Lord died so that we may be one (John 17:20-21).

I Will Not Let Wildercroft Be About My Preferences & Desires (Philippians 2:1-11). Since being a disciple joined to this group, you may have instituted a lot of things beneficial to the group here. You may have baptized many. You may have given a lot of money to the Lord here. You may even have a lot of influence among the brethren. Nevertheless, it is not about you. It is not about me. It is not about anybody who is a member here. It is all about Jesus. The more we all can grasp the concept of “none of self & all of Thee,” the stronger this congregation will be for the One who has all authority (Matthew 28:18).