Sign Me Up

Versión en Español → Spanish

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by Bishop Matt Thomas

Most of us like to be a part of something positive, moving and fruitful. We like to be involved in the conversation and to be considered a valuable part of something moving forward.

When something good happens, people emerge to take at least partial credit for the success: “I was on the ground floor.” “I was on the committee that shaped this event.” “I bought in before it was popular to do so.”

Membership is a way to shape the most important institution in the world — the church. Being a member is a way of formally identifying with and committing to the church. It says, “You can count on me, and I will count on you.”

Nevertheless, an aversion to the idea of membership has grown in recent years. Some note there was no formal membership in the first-century church. Although today’s membership process was not involved, I do not think anyone would contend there were not members of the body of Christ or community of faith.

The protest is generally about a formal process of identifying who is committed and accountable to a specific fellowship. Whether or not a “sign on the dotted line” version of membership is included, the quest to identify who is committed to and accountable to the believing community is nothing new.

This argument is rarely if ever plied with such vigor to property ownership of churches, ordination and professionalization of the clergy, or the use of the term “missionary” as a vocation — none of which existed in the first century.

The idea of membership has Old Testament origins. Great pains were taken to define the community of Israel. The New Testament advanced the notion of reviewing what constituted the believing community. A sizable part of most epistles discussed who qualified to lead and to have voice in the community, who should contribute to it and how these things would happen.

Formal membership is a continuation of that conversation with an effort to add cultural clarity and regional specificity to what meaningful belonging to a community involves. Membership is a way to say “sign me up,” to be part of something significant, to have a voice, and to levy your gifts and abilities to help the community.

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