Here is my quick and dirty pastoral list of "applications."
1. You can belong to a church without believing, but you can't be a member without being part of the body of Christ (member literally, means "body part"). When someone asks me if they can become a member of SCPC without being a believer, I don't say "no". I tell them that it's impossible. Believers are "members" and members are "believers." That is like asking if something can become an "arm" without becoming a "body part".
2. We offer hospitality to people who come and who make themselves at home within our churches, but their must be a moment of discipleship where we join with the other believers and commit to the Lordship of Christ. This is the sine qua non of "joining" our church. People can experience the church as psychologically where they "belong" (and we hope they will), but joining the church is committing to Christ and each other.
3. In my church (a PCUSA church) this comes at membership. But membership gives us no privileges, just more responsibilities. The members commit to financially support the church, to elect and serve as leaders, to raise and nurture new believers and children in the Lord.
4. While many today believe without belonging, this is the most pervasive mistake of the day. Indeed, I got word that the speaker at our Junior High camp told the kids that church wasn't important only faith was. Fortunately our Junior highers saw through that and challenged the notion.
Final, so what: The pervasive issue in all of this is how Christianity which is a personal and communal faith deals with the pervasive, enduring, almost unquestioned heresy of the past three hundred years. Stay tuned on Monday.
Tomorrow, a great link for your weekend reading.
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