What is Stewardship?

Membership Means We Are Different but We Still Work Together

With a country club membership you pay others to do the work for you. With church membership, everyone has a role or function. That is why some are hands, feet, ears, or eyes. We are all different, but we are necessary parts of the whole.

Each part, therefore, has to do its work, or the whole body suffers. There is a beautiful diversity in the midst of unity in church membership. The Bible makes it clear that if one part does not do its job, the whole body does not function well. But if one part does its job well, the whole body rejoices and is stronger:  "So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. 12:26).

Membership Means Everything We Say and Do Is Based on a Biblical Foundation of Love.

Most Bible readers will speak glowingly of 1 Corinthians 13, commonly known as "the lover chapter." It is read at weddings. It is used for a husband to declare his love for a wife, or vice versa. It is preached to demonstrate a fuller meaning of agape or unconditional love. 

Note the italicized word:  biblical. Sure, you can remain on the rolls of many churches and never show up or give. You can remain an "active" member in other churches by being a CEO Christian:  Christmas and Easter Only. You can even be a revered member in a number of churches by giving a nice sum to the church each year, even though you never lift a finger in service or ministry.

 If you are a member, you must be a functioning member. It's just that simple.

While there is nothing wrong with using the love chapter in these contexts, its original meaning was to demonstrate how church members relate one to another. Can you imagine 1 Corinthians 13 being read at an acrimonious church meeting? Its in full biblical context that might be the best place to read it.

If we could just abide by the principles of the love chapter, we would have completely healthy churches. It would be a revolution!

Just look at some of the relational principles of 1 Corinthians 14:  "Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked and does not keep a record of wrongs" (vv. 4-5).

The principles of these two verses alone are sufficient to cause a revival in most churches!

Church Membership Is Functioning Membership

Do you know how to remain a member of a country club? Pay your dues. Do that and people will be available to serve you. 

Do you know how to remain a biblicalmember of a church? Give abundantly and serve without hesitation.

But please understand. That type of membership is no biblical membership. That approach to membership is man-made, man-centered, and man-maintained. It is totally contrary to what the Bible teaches. It has no place in our churches.

Biblical church membership gives without qualification. Biblical membership views tithes and offerings as joyous giving. There are no strings attached. Biblical church membership serves and ministers as a natural way of doing things. 

Biblical church membership is functioningmembership.

Again, let's return to 1 Corinthians 12 to grasp this concept more fully. When Paul was using the metaphor of the body to speak of the church, he did so for two primary reasons. First, the body is a unified whole. Likewise, the church is to be unified in its mission, purposes, ministries, and activities. 

Each of these parts is suppose to function. The foot is to walk. The hand is to grasp hold. The ear is to hear. The eye is to see. The nose is to smell.

We who are church members are all supposed to function in the church. The concept of an inactive church member is an oxymoron. Biblically, no such church member really exists.

Such is the reason we are exhorted to know our gifts and abilities, so we can use them best to serve the church for the glory of God. The fact that there is so much diversity in our church is our strength. Everyone has a function. Everyone should be functioning. Everyone should have a role.

Because we are all different with different gifts and abilities, we will function differently from other members. But if we are true and biblical church members, we will be functioning members.

One of the ongoing questions you should ask yourself and God in prayer is:  "How can I best serve my church?" you should never ask yourself if you should be serving your church.