Church Finder (Part 2) THE CHURCH – WHY JOIN ONE?

THE CHURCH – WHY JOIN ONE?

“So where do you go to church?” I asked the young man. It was a question that I have asked thousands of times over the years. It is a good conversation starter and often opens the door to sharing the Gospel. The young man with whom I was having lunch had come to our Wednesday evening Bible study. He seemed to know his Bible fairly well for a man in his early twenties and seemed motivated to grow in his walk. His answer to my question was enlightening.

“Well I go to “Church A” on Sunday mornings. They have the most awesome praise team and their musical worship is just so Spirit filled. I go to “Church B” on Sunday evenings. The Pastor there is a very good Bible teacher and he is very practical in his application of God’s Word. Let’s see, I go to “Church C” on Thursday evening because they have a huge singles’ ministry. I have a lot of friends that go there and I meet a lot of people each week. The Bible study is poor and the worship is second rate but the fellowship is wonderful. And now I am thinking of attending your Bible study on Wednesday evenings,” he explained.

“Wow! You are really busy but I have a couple of questions. First, where are YOU serving and ministering for the Lord? Second, where is your church membership?” I asked.

The young man looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. He had no clue how to answer my questions. His problem stemmed from a wrong understanding of what the local church is and what its purpose is. Many people in our culture today have the same problem. The local church is one of the most important subjects about which the New Testament teaches.

“All believers are members of the church!” an exasperated lady replied to me as I was teaching on this subject.

“Based upon what teaching in the New Testament?” I asked her. As she stammered and fumbled with the pages of her Bible, I asked everyone to turn to Acts 9:31 (So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.). “Do you realize that this is the ONLY verse in the New Testament that clearly points to the idea or teaching of the universal church?” Needless to say my class was stunned. Most of them thought that the majority of the teaching in the New Testament was about the church being the totality of believers everywhere. Even in Revelation when the word “church” is used it is not in the universal context. In Revelation 19 all believers are brought together for the final feast. There we are referred to as the Bride of Christ rather than the church.

Why then do most people believe that the teaching on the church in the New Testament is mainly about the universal church? I contend that is true because it is easy. In the universal church I have no responsibility or accountability. I am a member by virtue of my faith and that is all that is expected of me. The vast majority of the teaching in the New Testament however, is on the local church. The local church is a body of baptized believers who have committed their live together to fulfill the Great Commission. Therefore, each member of the church is accountable to the body and has responsibilities as well. That means that being a member of a local body is about more than just showing up on Sunday. It begins there but it is about so much more.

The New Testament uses three illustrations to describe the church. The first is the family (Ephesians 3:14-15). Through Him every family in heaven and earth gets its name. That is why we sing “I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God.” The second is the body (1 Corinthians 12:12ff, Ephesians 1:22-24, Colossians 1:24). Each of us is a part of the body but Jesus is the head. The third is a building (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). He is not saying that the church is the church building but that the church is like a building. The church is the people of God built together to become something greater than the sum of their parts. In each of these illustrations there are two truths being taught. The first is that church cannot be the church without each of its members. In other words, without the members there is no church. Therefore, the corporate body needs each member. Each member has unique gifts and abilities, given to them by God, that are necessary for the church to fulfill its mission. That is why church attendance is so important. When we are not present for the corporate worship and ministry of the church, the church is a body without one of its parts. It is a building without one of its walls. It is a family without one of its members. Yes it can accomplish some of what it was created to accomplish but not all of it. The second truth is that each member needs the church. “I can get what I need by going to many churches,” one might say. Not true! If church is only about GETTING then that might be the case. The church however is about serving as well as be served. That is a common misunderstanding that we have about the church in our consumer culture today. “What can you do for me? What kinds of ministries do you have for me and my kids? How are you going to meet my needs?” are the usual questions we ask about a new church. While there is nothing wrong with those questions per se, they are incomplete. We should also ask, “How can I serve? Are there opportunities for me to exercise and grow in my own spiritual gifts? To whom can I be a blessing?” It is only in this understanding of a church that we come to realize the biblical picture of the church. It is not and was never intended to be a convenience store that we visit every now and then to stock our spiritual pantry. It was intended to be a family, a body and a building of which we are integral parts. We need the church as much as the church needs us.

The idea of Christian “free agency” is a detrimental one to the Christian culture today. When I was a kid, most ball players spent their whole career with one team. We became attached to those players we saw year after year. Then free agency came into the picture. Now many players change teams every year, often going to the highest bidder. Just when you think you know a player, he moves on to another team that offers him more money. For better or worse, it is the way of things is sports today. We have taken this idea and transferred it to the things of God. Therefore, we can attend three or four churches and not be committed to any. We can use the church to get what we want and never be accountable or responsible to anyone. “Sounds good to me!” you might say. Just remember that there is no example of a growing Christian in the New Testament outside the context of the local church. Even Paul was accountable to the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3, 14:26-28) after they had sent him out on his missionary journey. I like to compare church membership to a couple getting married. A couple that is living together without the commitment of marriage may think that they are getting everything out of their relationship with each other. When they get married (even those who have lived together for a long time) they find that they have a different, more fulfilling and intimate relationship with their spouse than they ever could have with their roommate. The same is true of joining a local congregation of believers. You will so come to realize how much you were missing before. The idea of a Christianity that is without accountability and responsibility is not found in the Scriptures.

Why join a church? Because that is the only place you will find what you need to grow as a Christian. It is God’s plan for your personal spiritual growth and for reaching the world. Are churches perfect? Not a one. But God uses those imperfect bodies to accomplish His perfect will. Without church membership, we are merely consumers of a Christian product. But as church members we are part of the family of God and body of Christ. He is the head. He is in charge. That is His plan. Who are we to change it?