Church Membership

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Deadly007

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Hello, I am a Christian who attends a Baptist church in Kent, UK. I have been asked about "joing the church" or "Church membership" a couple of times, however each time I have said no thank you.
My wife has asked me why I do not wish to join and my answer is simply this, there is no Biblical model for joining or being a member of a church.
Surely by attending a church and being a christian I am automatically a member in the eyes of god?
 
Paul had mentioned something about not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together. I think as Christians we should be meeting together for mutual support and accountability. We need to fellowship together. He was aware that that worldliness rubs off on believers.
 
You were a member of THE Church the moment you got saved. Men make up their own organizations to fullfil the Scripture Anonimous is quoting (Heb. 10:25). There is nothing in Scripture requiring those organizations to be as they are today. That includes the human idea of "membership". He is right, you need accountability. Most churches do not provide much of that, anyway.
 
kenisyes said:
You were a member of THE Church the moment you got saved. Men make up their own organizations to fullfil the Scripture Anonimous is quoting (Heb. 10:25). There is nothing in Scripture requiring those organizations to be as they are today. That includes the human idea of "membership". He is right, you need accountability. Most churches do not provide much of that, anyway.
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AMEN Kenisyes. I think the church has strayed a bit. I get looked at kinda "cockeyed" when I ask how the church got so off track. I think we have gotten so organized that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing...and does not care. There was only one thing that got the first church off it's backside. Persecution. If it were not for that it might never have left Jesusalem...at least not as fast. Is that what it will take again?
 
Deadly007 said:
Hello, I am a Christian who attends a Baptist church in Kent, UK. I have been asked about "joing the church" or "Church membership" a couple of times, however each time I have said no thank you.
My wife has asked me why I do not wish to join and my answer is simply this, there is no Biblical model for joining or being a member of a church.
Surely by attending a church and being a christian I am automatically a member in the eyes of god?
Click to expand...

When we accept Christ we become a member of the body straight away.
I agree with you, that having to be a member in the church is nothing biblical, just man made rules!!
My hubby and I too were attending a church for a while and they kept asking me to be a member and I aalways said no, eventually I left the church.
I was told that there is a purpose for signing up as a member, it has something to do with the church having to pay taxes or not and depending on which country you live in, how much or none.
 
In Germany, church tithes are added to your income tax. You declare a denomination, and they add so much percent, and send it to the church. Last year, there was a big news story. Apparently, Catholics were declaring themselves unchurched to save the tax. After a while, the German Catholic Church decided to excommunicate them.
 
I'm not comfortable with the idea of church membership in certain ways. One church I went to made you a member if you just went there and got to know the pastors, fine big deal, didn't have much of an issue with it, because frankly, I really could have gone either way. A lot of churches though a list of guide lines and rules, such as you can't drink, or you have to tithe a certain percent of your income each year, which is just a load of garbage.
 
I've been at my church for about six years now. I'm quite active there, serve there in a large capacity, and know the pastors quite well. It has crossed my mind a few times to become a member; it just involves taking a short 1-time "membership class" just so you know what you're agreeing to. I just never really thought it was a big deal. I know that it's my home church. I know I'm plugged in there. I don't really see the point in becoming a member. My wife and I recently got married there, she's already a member (and a former employee) and they gave us a big discount on the premise that I will become a member sometime this year. They don't normally work on those terms, but all the pastors know me so they know I'm not just going to skip town. I'll keep my word and become a member because I said I would, not really because I think it's important.
 
My church has whats called "the partnership" scheme, and basically what that does is, enables you to be actively involved in things like AGM (annual general meetings), allows you access to see the finance reports, nothing huge or that, basically in my eyes its a mere declaration of you saying, this is the church that i am attending, I can up and leave if i want, I can do whatever really, being a partner just enables me to be more active within the church.

However in the terms of membership, it seems a lot of churches do "membership" schemes to prevent what I call sheep stealing lol, and that basically means, the church like any organisation needs numbers, so when you attend the church, along with all the biblical stuff of teaching, a place to worship etc, the church wants to keep you a member in order to function, however (and this has happened to me), I have had two separate pastors/ministers, try to convince me to up and leave my church and attend their churches. So often churches want your declaration of support to ensure that you are more likely to remain their church goer and not someone elses lol. it is sad, however in modern day, you have sooooo many churches and denominations that looking for that right church is like a game of Where's Wally (or Waldo, depending where your from lol..)
 
"Joining the Church" usually means Tithing in my experience. I went to a church one time where they just referred to you as a visitor if you didn't Tithe
 
Deadly007 said:
...there is no Biblical model for joining or being a member of a church.
Surely by attending a church and being a christian I am automatically a member in the eyes of god?
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Amen, at least in the context that membership "status" and attendance have contrasting circumscriptions. The "church" - to my understanding of Scripture - was established as an open collective; not an institution.
 
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