Last week, I introduced the topic of ‘membership’ in our weekly newsletter, unpacking the foundational issue of belonging to Jesus and belonging to his body, the church. One of the first marks of membership is that we are committed: committed to Jesus and committed to gathering regularly to rejoice in our common hope and spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Today I want to unpack the idea of ‘responsibility’. In his book, ‘What is a healthy church?’, Mark Dever puts it well: “By identifying ourselves with a particular local church, we are telling the church’s pastors and other members not just that we commit to them, but that we commit to them in gathering, giving, prayer and service. We are telling them to expect certain things from us and to hold us accountable if we don’t follow through.”

Dever continues – “Joining a church is an act of saying: ‘I am now your responsibility, and you are my responsibility’. Biblical membership means taking responsibility. It comes from our mutual obligations as spelled out in all of Scripture’s one another passages – love one another, serve one another, encourage one another. Church members will grow to recognize their mutual responsibilities the more they cherish the gospel. Less will Christians regard their churches as a ‘come-as-you-please and get-what-you-can’ attachment – one more store to peek your head into at the Christian mall. More they will view them as a body in which all parts care for one another – the home in which they live”.

Dever goes on to talk about the big gap between the number of people officially on a church roll and the number who regularly attend. “How often we are proud of our ‘so-called membership’ rather than being distressed by the large number of people who claim to belong to a church but rarely or irregularly attend! Or how often are we at church by the bridge rejoicing in the number of people in the pews on Sunday, rather than being concerned about the large number of people who are not serving in any capacity.”

You see, belonging to a local church should result in acts of service. In 1 Cor 12, Paul describes the church as a body with different members and different gifts. Every Christian has a Spirit-given gift, and that gift is to be used for the building up of the body (not for the puffing up of self! 1 Cor 12:7) The expectation in the New Testament is that we will used whatever gifts, time, energy, money we have with humility and servant-heartedness, to build up God’s local and global church.

Here at Church by the Bridge, I am so thankful for the many people who serve so faithfully and with such humility. But I do want to challenge us to think about the ways we could serve. This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are just a few: sound, PowerPoint, music, welcoming, supper/morning tea, clean-up, prayer, Bible reading, website, podcasting, IT, James Milson visitation, community lunches, outreach, creative design, administration, kids’ church, Explorers club, graphic design, marketing, mission, offertory counting, building maintenance strategic planning, pastoral care, prayer, 1:1 – the list goes on! Some people have suggested that at Church by the Bridge ‘everything is already being done, so there is no opportunity for me to serve’. If you feel that, please come and chat to me – I’d love to suggest a number of ways you might serve. Or if you see a gap in our church ministry and are keen to initiate a new ministry, please come and chat – I’d love to hear from you!

As we serve our Lord Jesus together and are sacrificial with our gifts, money, time and energy, not only do we build God’s church, but we grow ourselves in dependence, thankfulness and obedience. May we be a church that uses our gifts to serve one another and glorify Christ.

With love in Christ
Paul Dale, Senior Pastor