Church Member

Excerpts from interview with Thabiti Anyabwile on his new book "What is a Healthy Church Member"

What inspired you to write this book?
By God’s grace, love for the local church. The Lord has knit us together in His body, making each member essential (1 Cor. 12:12-27). I long to see the Lord’s people live with full love and empathy for one another, making our life together as a redeemed people central to all our living. So much of the book market for individual Christians, however, leaves out the corporate aspect of the Christian life. There’s a great deal written to stimulate personal piety. But it’s often abstracted from the spiritual reality of the church. And it’s in the church that God intends for his people to be discipled (Eph. 4), to complete His love (1 John 4), to learn to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), and so on. So, I wanted to offer something that helped individual church members see the connectedness between their personal spiritual health and the health of their local church.

What is the main thesis of this book? Or, what is one main thing that you hope that people will take away from reading this book?
I would rejoice if the Lord would allow the readers of this book to walk away thinking, "I have a lot to contribute to the strength and vitality of my local church", and, "that has a lot to do with my own communion with the Lord". It’s my sense that most “average Christians” feel they can do little to make their churches places of sweeter communion, or they tend to think that improving the church means adopting a new method of some sort. I pray that What Is A Healthy Church Member? actually says, “No, you have a lot to contribute. Every member is essential. And here are some biblical recommendations for impacting your brothers and sisters in Christ right away.”

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Do you think church membership is undervalued in our current church culture? If so, why?
Certainly. There are probably a number of factors. We share five reasons why people undervalue church membership in our new members class:

First, some Christians are not well informed. They’ve simply never thought much about the issue or been taught that church membership matters and is biblical.

Second, some Christians are indifferent. They think of church as an optional extra, sort of like the sunroof or the heated seats in a new car. It’s nice if you desire it, but not necessary to operating the car, or in this case the Christian life.

Third, some Christians are committed individualists. Their conception of the Christian life stops with “my personal relationship with Jesus,” and fails to see that the broader family really is essential. Often, these persons can be somewhat anti-authority as well. If they see in the church or the church’s leadership something that feels or looks like real oversight, they may recoil at the thought of having people “intruding” into their lives. In that sense, they may think of themselves more highly than they do others and not appreciate church membership.

Fourth, some Christians may simply be indecisive. If they have a consumer’s mindset when it comes to finding a church, they may shop around forever until they find a “custom fit” for their spiritual lives. And, of course, no such custom fit really exists so they keep shopping and never commit to any one body.

Finally, some Christians struggle with an inversion of their affections. What I mean is they’re not opposed to church membership per se, they may even know its importance, but they are emotionally attached to some previous church even though they are physically hundreds of miles away in a new city or even country. They remember fondly the church of their youth, or a pastor that was really influential in their lives, and they sometimes think that joining a church where they now live is somehow to have less affection for that previous church. What we want to encourage people to recognize in this situation is that (a) they should work to join their hearts with their bodies and commit to a church where they live, and (b) joining a new church does not diminish their love for other saints.

Why is church membership important anyway?
“Member” is a Christian word, a biblical idea. Many people think that pastors who stress membership are borrowing from the Rotary Club or some secular outfit. Actually, the idea arise straight from the body metaphor in places like 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. And when you read those passages you see two remarkable things: (1) God designs the body to the point of arranging each member in it just as He pleases (1 Cor. 1:18), and (2) His intent is that through the church He would receive glory (Eph. 3:10) and His people would grow into the full maturity of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). If we are Christians but not attached to the body as recognized and functioning members of it, then (a) we, in effect, say that God does not know what He is doing in putting us in the body and we know better than God does, and (b) we think there is a path to glorifying God and reaching spiritual maturity that does not involve what God in His word says is essential and desirous. Church membership is simply a practical way of reflecting God’s glory as we live together in love, unity, peace and joy and of helping one another mature into Christlikeness. Those are critically important goals that can only be met through Christ’s body.

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