Moira Baptist Church
Membership
page
The
following notes adapted from the student pages on Windsor Baptist
web site www.windsorbaptist.org, help
us to explain Membership to those unfamiliar with Baptist belief and
practice.
WHAT
IS THE CHURCH?
Now, that is a question which would really take a complete book to
answer fully, but here are two main points to consider,
At one
level, the church is the total number of God's people everywhere,
When Paul said that Christ is 'head over everything for the church
which is his body,' (Eph. 1:22,23) he was speaking not just of the
Christians who belonged to a church in Ephesus but of everyone everywhere
who believed in Christ, This is usually called the 'universal church'.
At a
second level, Paul talked about 'the churches of God' (1 Cor, 11:16)
and he wrote letters addressed to separate companies of God's people
as in 1 Cor.1:2 and lThess,1:1,These are examples of 'local' churches
- not the buildings. of course, but the groups of people whose lives
had been changed by Christ, and who gathered together to worship God
in particular places,
Please
note - the New Testament knows nothing about a Christian belonging
to the universal church while at the same time neglecting to become
a member of a local church.
WHAT
DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MEMBER?
Originally a 'member' was a limb or part of a body, and Paul uses
this idea in some of his letters, He sees the church as the body
of Christ, and each person as a member of that body (Rom. 12:4,5).
Everyone has a part to play, working together in a living relationship
with Christ who is the head of the body and the source of its life
(Eph. 4:15,16). Read 1 Cor. 12:12-27 to see how Paul stresses the
fact that just as members or parts of a body operate in a coordinated
way for the well-being of the body, so Christians as members of
Christ's body, the church, should work together as a unity- 'Now
you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it' (v.27).
WHO
SHOULD BECOME MEMBERS?
That question is reasonably easy to answer because the Bible makes
it clear that New Testament churches were composed of believers who
had been baptised (Acts 2:41; 16:13-15, 23-40), The sequence is always
the same - faith ± baptism ± membership. For a person
who has accepted Christ as Saviour, then baptism and church membership
should be the next logical steps.
WHY SHOULD A PERSON BECOME A MEMBER OF A CHURCH?
As Baptists we rightly stress that a person's salvation is personal
and individual. Each person 'must be born again' individually into
God's family. But once we become children of God the stress should
be on the family aspect, on being members of the 'household of God'
(Eph. 2:19) or as Paul puts it in Gal. 6:10, the 'family of believers'.
The idea of 'household' or 'family' suggests a place where we can
share our joys and sorrows, and where we can grow up and become mature.
In other words these are the privileges of belonging.
The idea
also suggests certain responsibilities - of caring for one another,
of maintaining the well-being of the family, and accepting its discipline.
Certainly church membership has its obligations - to promote true
Christian Fellowship (1 Cor. 12:25-27). to attend the various meetings
regularly(Heb. 10:24,25), to give financial support to the work (2
Cor. 9:7), and to share prayerfully in the decision making (e.g. Acts
13:1-3).
Please
note - the New Testament letters addressed to groups of people, to
congregations, should be read with that in mind. The writer's intention
was to comfort, instruct, exhort, or warn the community of believers
and should not be applied merely at an individual level. I like the
way one writer puts it - 'Whenever English readers hear the word "you"
in a Letter addressed to one of the New Testament congregations, we
need mentally to translate it into the pleasing "you all"
of the southern States or even the delightful Ulster colloquial "yous"
or "youse'uns"!'
HOW IS A PERSON RECEIVED INTO MEMBERSHIP?
Faith
± baptism ± membership.
The actual
procedure is very simple, When you apply for membership you will be
interviewed by office-bearers of the church who will want to hear
your 'testimony' and know something of your spiritual experience.
When the church has accepted your application after hearing a report
from those who interviewed you, you will be received into membership,
usually on a Sunday at the Lord's Table, The pastor or one of the
elders will give you 'the right hand of fellowship'(Gal. 2:9), That
may seem a strange term for a simple handshake, but it means a great
deal more than a mere 'Hallo' or introduction, It means that you are
accepted into the fellowship and care of the church with all the privileges
that will bring. The handshake is also a sign that you commit yourself
to the church to fulfil the obligations that being a church member
will involve. The 'right hand of fellowship' is the sealing of a contract
between you and the church in the presence of the congregation.
