I’ve noticed two unhealthy extremes when it comes to church membership. On one end are those who won’t join a church, and when anything happens that they don’t agree with, they quickly find a new church. On the other end of the spectrum are members who claim ownership of everything related to the church and won’t relinquish control to anyone, even the pastor. This seems particularly true if the church is part of a denomination where pastors are assigned by an outside body and rotated frequently.
For the first person the mindset is “I don’t need to tie myself down to any church. I can go wherever I’m most comfortable.” For the second person it is “This is my church and I will outlast anyone who wants to change it.” I believe God’s response to both people would be “Remember whose church it really is—Mine.” Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). God “put all things under [Christ’s] feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23).
If we are committed first to Jesus’ lordship, we will endeavor to obey His commands, including all the commands that require us to commit to one another in love and fellowship, “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Corinthians 12:24). Those who are inclined to church-hop are a bit like adopted children who only want to be in relationship with their Father and won’t connect with anyone else in the family. While all Bible-believing churches are part of the universal Church, God has given us localized bodies so we can relate to one another on an individual level.
If we are committed to His lordship, we will also obey His command to submit to those in authority over us, including pastors we may not agree with on everything. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17). That’s not to say that pastors and other leaders never make mistakes, but unless it is a doctrinal issue or a legal issue, there should be abundant grace extended. The wise pastor will seek counsel and weigh it carefully to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Christ is still the head of the universal Church and, whether we acknowledge it or not, the head of the local church. It’s not the pastor, not the elder board, not the bishop, not the denomination. Each of those may have some measure of delegated authority, but they are ultimately accountable to Jesus Christ. Much has been said about the increasingly rapid decline of church membership in the West. I believe that is largely due to a faulty understanding of the church. If it is merely a club to which we belong, then we can come and go as we please. But if it is a Body under the headship of Christ, we need to take seriously all the commands from our Head as to how we are to commit to and submit to one another out of love for our Lord.
“And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18).
