It doesn’t matter how many weddings I attend, the vows that the couple expresses to each other always make me think of my own. We live in a culture where people hate obligations. We want to be free! So, when two people express their commitment to each other, it feels radical and beautiful at the same time. The beautiful part isn’t just that they’re in love. It’s that they realize their only hope for preserving that love is through concrete commitments. As I hear theirs, I’m reminded of my own, and I’m encouraged as a result.

Church membership isn’t a marriage vow. There’s no “’til death do us part.” But there are similar dynamics at play. We make basic commitments to one another because we believe they help preserve our faith. God puts children of God into the family of God in order to protect and strengthen believers against the inevitable tendencies to sin, complacency, selfishness, and error. And the commitments we make help to clarify how we’re to be family to one another.

There aren’t many opportunities to rehearse membership commitments the way there are with weddings, so one of my roles as a pastor is to try and graciously hold them up, so that they continue to define who we are as a family. As Peter said, “I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have” (2 Peter 1:12).

In our membership process, we make 4 basic commitments to each other. Let me share what they are.

1. Show up

Hebrews 10:25 warns against “neglecting to meet together” and while that doesn’t mean that Christians have to be at church every time the doors are open, it does imply that we prioritize the gatherings of God’s people. At our church, that means Sunday worship and life groups and/or prayer groups. We treat these gatherings as God’s sacred means of building us up through fellowship. (Read more …)

2. Serve

While many people show up at church, church members do so as hosts, not guests. We are each responsible to share our gifts and invest our talents to make the family of God all that it can be. When members hear of a need, they jump in to meet it. When they see a person they don’t know, they reach out to welcome them. When church members don’t serve, the body of Christ walks with a limp. (Read more …)

3. Give

A church is different than a country club. Our mission includes everyone. Because of that, we don’t charge admission or exact a fee for services. But that doesn’t mean that the ministry doesn’t cost anything. As a Christian moves from being a guest to a member, they take ownership of their local church’s financial needs and give regularly and sacrificially to forward the mission of the church. (Read more …)

4. Follow

One of the lowest points in Israel’s history occurred between the time that Moses led them as a prophet and Saul was established as her first king. It was the time when “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Living outside of God-ordained authority is a formula for compromise. God gives leaders to the church to guide and protect His people, but it is through church membership that a Christian formally accepts this authority and commits to living under it.

Show up, serve, give, and follow. These are commitments that should be basic to anyone who calls Jesus “Lord,” but they’re formalized through church membership. Are there any that you needed to be reminded of? Are there any that require course corrections in your life?

Just as wedding vows protect love in a marriage, the commitments of church membership help to preserve the direction of our faith. If you’re a church member, lean into these commitments as God’s guard rails. If you’re not a church member, find a place where you can commit yourself as one. Wolves seek sheep that wander from the flock.

In awe of Him,

Paul