As a pastor in Australia, there are two questions I must constantly answer in conversation: “What is the gospel?” and “What is a church?” I have come to see that they are, in some respects, the same question. 

After 17 years in the US, I returned to Australia two years ago. Getting outside the US has given me an opportunity to look back in with fresh eyes. The following two articles are some of my reflections. 

I wrote the first article with Australian Christianity in mind. I have printed it and use it in conversation with unchurched professed Christians. When Rooted Thinking came across the article and wished to publish it, I asked to write the second article. The first article presents the problem. The second presents what I think is the biblical solution.

I pray that the Lord would use these articles in the USA, Australia, and beyond, to cause a more biblical Christianity to flourish, not so that we may have something but so that Christ may have something—the reward for which he died, a people, the church.

Their Numbers are Growing

I have met them all over the world. They say, “I am a Christian, a follower of Christ, but I am not a member of a church.” “The Lord is my shepherd. Why do I need a pastor?” “The Bible never commands Christians to join a church.” “I am a Christian, and I used to go to church, but not anymore.” The Scriptures speak so clearly to such people that I am surprised they make such statements. 

Below are four biblical matters I think you should ponder. If the Scriptures say what I think they say, local church membership is vital to Christianity. These matters lead me to the conclusion that authentic Christianity requires local church membership. If we refuse to submit ourselves to a healthy local church, are we following Christ?

The Holy Spirit 

Every Christian possesses the Spirit of God. If you don’t, you don’t belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). Why does Christ give his followers the Spirit? One of the main effects of Christ’s gift of the Spirit is to unite believers into one body (Eph. 4:3). Because there is one Spirit, the body of Christ is one (1 Cor. 12:12–13). Disunity in the body of Christ contradicts the unity produced by Christ’s gift of the Spirit.

Beyond unity, the Spirit of God also gives spiritual gifts to the individual members of the body. These gifts are for the edification of the body (1 Cor. 12:27–28; Eph. 4:11–16). So, the Spirit of God creates the body and gifts the members so that each may contribute to the growth and edification of the other members. That means that every member whom the Spirit includes in the body and gifts is needful for the spiritual growth and health of the other members (1 Cor. 12:21–24). 

Christianity is not a religion that’s just between you and God. Christianity is a religion that puts God’s Spirit within you to unite you with other members of the body of Christ because you need those other Christians if your Christianity is to be genuine. Far from making Christians autonomous, Christ’s gift of the Spirit makes Christians dependent on the other members of the body for edification and spiritual growth. 

A Big Question

The big question to settle is this: What is the scope of this “body?” If every member of the body that the Spirit adds is needful, who are those members? If it is the “whole body” that causes the growth of the body (Eph. 4:15–16), what are the boundaries of this “body?” Is this the universal church or the local church? 

Two considerations settle that question. First, Ephesians 4:11–16 makes clear that this “whole body” is equipped for ministry to itself by pastors who teach (Eph. 4:11–13). Pastors minister locally. They equip that local body in that place to build itself up. That means that the whole body that contributes to your spiritual growth is a local body—a local church. 

Second, can we really say that every member of the universal church is needful to the spiritual growth and edification of every other member (1 Cor. 12:21–24)? Does that mean every Christian in the universal church today is “needful” to your spiritual growth? Has every saint from the past contributed to your spiritual growth? Can you say that every saint in the universal church who will live after you is “needful” to your spiritual growth?

A Big Answer

These two considerations drive us to the necessary conclusion that the “body” referred to in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 is the local church. Christ has given you the Spirit, and the Spirit unites you to a specific local church because every member in that local church is necessary for your spiritual growth, and you are to theirs. 

Can I ask you a question? If this is the shape of your salvation—being given the gift of the Spirit to unite you to the body of Christ—can you live as a spiritual recluse and be a faithful follower of Christ? If you refuse to commit to a healthy local church, are you actually growing in Christ? Can you be a healthy Christian outside of a local church?

The Great Commission

Because Jesus Christ possesses all authority in heaven and on earth, he commands his followers to make disciples of all the nations (Mat. 28:18–20). According to Christ, discipling has two aspects: baptism and teaching to observe all he has commanded. Jesus commands his followers to “teach [converts] to observe all the things I have commanded you.” Because Jesus is a great king with all authority, his disciples must “observe” or obey all that he commanded. To achieve that outcome, Christ commands Christians to “make disciples” by “baptizing” and “teaching them to observe.” 

Do you hear what Jesus is saying? He is not saying, “Give converts Bibles, let them read, and then watch them observe all the things I commanded.” He is not saying, “Teach them all I commanded.” 

Two-Person Activity Required

Making disciples requires “baptizing” and “teaching to observe.” Baptism is a two-person activity.  You don’t baptize yourself. Is “teaching to observe” any less a two-person activity? Can you really teach yourself to observe all Christ has commanded? In other words, making disciples is always a two-person activity. One baptizes, and the other is baptized. One teaches to observe, and the other is taught to observe. In other words, Christ is saying that without the influence of other Christians and your submission to their work to disciple you, you will never become a faithful and mature disciple of Christ. 

Christ instructs other Christians to come alongside you to teach you to observe all he has commanded.  That involves teaching, example, accountability, exhortation, rebuke, admonition, and encouragement.  What Christians are doing that for you right now? Who holds you accountable to obey Christ? Who has that authority over your Christian walk?

In-Person Activity Required

What Christians should you look to for discipling, teaching, and accountability?  The Great Commission gives an answer. The first aspect of making disciples is baptism. YouTube preachers don’t baptize those they teach, and while they may be able to teach you, they can’t teach you to observe. They can’t hold you accountable to obey Christ. Christ gave baptism to the local church. Thus, it seems that this work of “teaching to observe” also belongs to the local church. The work of making disciples occurs in the local church. 

Christian growth requires submission to the work and influence of other Christians in the local church to help you grow in Christ and observe all that Christ commands. If you don’t submit yourself to the ministry of other Christians in a local church to disciple you, can you really call yourself a faithful disciple of Christ? Are you really submitting to him as your king? Can you be an authentic and maturing disciple of Jesus Christ apart from membership in a local church?

Submission to Elders

You have been patient to read this far. I have two more things I want you to think about. First, there is church leadership. I want to ask you some questions below about church leadership, but you must recognize up front that all church leadership functions locally. Pastors and elders oversee local churches. 

When Paul gathered the elders from the church in Ephesus and told them they were responsible for overseeing the “whole” flock of God, he wasn’t gathering church leaders whose responsibility included watching over every saint in the universal church (Acts 20:17, 28). These Ephesian elders died before millions of saints ever lived. The flock that Christ tasked them to oversee was local.  There are local “flocks” that can be called “the whole flock.” The “church of God” they were to oversee was local (Acts 20:17).

Boundaries Around the Flock

Church leadership operates to oversee local churches. So, when Paul charges these elders to “care for” the “church,” he calls them to care for the local church. If they were to care for “all the flock,” there had to be boundaries around that flock so that these elders may know who they were responsible for. 

As a pastor myself, passages like this scare me. I am responsible to Christ for “all” the flock. Who is that? Every person who sets foot in my church building once? Twice? Every six months? What are the boundaries around this “all the flock?” If that line is blurry, I can’t discharge my duties to care for “all the flock” with any degree of confidence or integrity. Pastors can’t take this responsibility seriously without insisting on church membership. 

Probing Questions

In light of these things, I want to ask you some questions about church leadership:

What elders are you obeying and submitting to right now (Heb. 13:17)? 

Which elders will give account to Christ for their care of your soul (Heb. 13:17)? 

Which elders are “your” leaders (Heb. 13:17)? 

Does the YouTube preacher you listen to qualify as “your” elder? 

Have you had the opportunity to watch his way of life and imitate his faith (Heb. 13:7)? 

Which elders know they are responsible to Jesus Christ for watching over your soul (Heb. 13:17)? 

How will they know unless you commit yourself to the body of saints they oversee? 

If you don’t obey Hebrews 13:17 and submit yourself to the care and oversight of elders in a local church, can you really say you are an authentic and mature Christian?

“One Another” Commands

There is one final matter to consider. John tells us that we should love “one another” “in deed” because love for our brother shows we have passed from death to life (1 Joh. 3:11, 14, 18). This “brother” is another Christian brother because this love is for “one another” (1 Joh. 3:11). Christians love “one another” (Joh. 13:35). This love is mutual. It is two-way love. The street has traffic flowing in both directions. Love is shared amongst Christians. 

Boundaries for One-Anothering

What are the boundaries within which this command applies? Are you obligated to meet the needs of every Christian you become aware of? Remember that John says that any Christian who has this world’s goods and becomes aware of the needs of a brother and does not actively love that brother in deed has no right to call himself a Christian. Are you aware of Christians in need in Iran? Africa? The church across town? Have you loved those brothers “in deed?” If you haven’t, can you say that God’s love dwells in you?

Fulfilling this command with any integrity within the boundaries of the universal church is impossible. Instead, the boundaries within which this command applies are local bodies of believers—those Christians with whom you have agreed to form one of these “one another” communities. In other words, if the command goes two ways, are the Christians toward whom you feel the responsibility of love aware that they bear that same responsibility toward you? Have you agreed to form a “one another” community where this kind of mutual love is shown?

One-Anothering as Church Membership

The New Testament is full of these “one another” commands. They are mutual. That means they must be obeyed in communities of Christians where there is mutual agreement on who is part of the “one another” community and who is not. Unless everyone knows who is a member of your “one another” community, you can’t fulfil Christ’s “one another” commands with any integrity. This agreement that defines the boundaries of a “one another” community is another way of speaking about church membership. 

Church membership is simply an agreement amongst a limited number of Christians to fulfil these “one another” commands. So, with what other Christians do you have that kind of relationship and mutual agreement? Can you really follow Christ and obey your king’s commands if you refuse to commit yourself to a “one another community” (i.e., a local church)?

Conclusion 

There is wonderful freedom and joy in submitting to these things.  Christ commands us to do what he knows will make us joyful, fruitful, and healthy Christians.  He has your best interest at heart when He commands you to join a local church.  No church is perfect, but Jesus is.  He specializes in using imperfect people to do supernatural things.  The spiritual growth you experience over the long term as a member of a healthy local church will astound you.  Find a healthy local church and commit to it.  That’s just what Christians do.

Continue to the second of the two-article series: COVID’s Gift: The Gem We Should Now See We Were Missing.

David grew up in North Queensland, Australia, as an MK (missionary kid). He went on to Bible college and seminary in the USA where he earned a Ph.D. in Theology. He and his wife Naomi and their seven children now serve in Brisbane, Australia, as church planting missionaries. David is very burdened to train men for pastoral ministry.

If you would like to contact David, here is his email.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).