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As my church is without a pastor at this time, I have been thinking about churches and all that is going on in the world. There is a great “falling away” that the Bible warned us would happen but I still want to believe that God’s church has more relevance today than at any other time in history. As I study
and read, I ran across this from Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church. I cannot say any better than he did.
From Rick Warren:
While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intended for it to be private. In God’s family you are connected to every other believer, and we will belong to each other for eternity. The Bible says, “In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5).
C. S. Lewis noted that the word “membership” is of Christian origin, but the world has emptied it of its original meaning. Stores offer discounts to members, and advertisers use member names to create mailing lists. In churches, membership is often reduced to simply adding your name to a roll, with no requirements or expectations.
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To Paul, being a “member” of the Church meant being a vital organ of a living body, an indispensable, interconnected part of the Body of Christ. We need to recover and practice the biblical meaning of membership. The Church is a body, not a building; an organism, not an organization (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 6:15, 12:12-27).
God’s purposes for his Church are identical to his five purposes for you. Worship helps you focus on God; fellowship helps you face life’s problems; discipleship helps fortify your faith; ministry helps find your talents; power helps fulfill your mission.
There is nothing else on earth like the Church!
Brinda Blair
Magee, MS
