Why is Church Important?

here is my thought flow process to answer the following question in preparation for SUMMER YOUth Church. it's not meant to be a complete essay, nor was it presented word-for-word, but rather as a tool that i used in my prep time. this time i offered two COMBO-questions to the students to vote on which COMBO they'd like me to answer. check out the poll and the results here.

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1. what's the importance of being a "member" of a church?
2. Is church really necessary?
3. Is going to church necessary?


In order to answer this question well, i think we should look at a little bit of Ecclesiology ["the study of the Church"] and some brief Church History.

[*Ecclesia -the root word for Ecclesiology- comes from the greek word that means "to assemble" or "to gather". so "CHURCH" is simply "the gathering". this is similar to "Bible" simple meaning "book" in latin.]

I also feel it’s important to look at what church IS and what church ISN’T. BASED ON WHAT WE SEE IN SCRIPTURE, here’s a very detailed description of what the Church IS:

1. The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. [if Jesus isn’t LORD, it’s not the type of CHURCH we are talking about here!!!]
2. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership,
3. gather regularly for preaching and worship,
4. observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion
5. are unified by the Spirit,
6. are disciplined for holiness, and
7. scatter to fulfill the great commandment and
8. the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.
[Driscoll & Breshears in Vintage Church]

Also, we often get the term “church” mixed up with the building that most churches meet in, by the same name. a church can be of many sizes. here are some examples that are referred to as “Church” in Scripture.

A “house church” is called a “church” in Romans 16:5 (“greet also the church in their house”), 1 Corinthians 16:19 (“Aquila and Priscilla, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord”).
The church in an entire city is also called “a church” (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; and 1 Thess. 1:1).
The church in a region is referred to as a “church” in Acts 9:31: “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up.”
Finally, the church throughout the entire world can be referred to as “the church.” Paul says, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25) and says, “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers . . .” (1 Cor. 12:28)
We may conclude that the group of God’s people considered at any level from local to universal may rightly be called “a church.”
[Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine]

The founding of the Church: [Matt 16:13-18]

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Peter’s Confession was that Jesus was NOT just a prophet or a good man [as many refer to him today], but the Christ, the Son of the Living GOD! and on that principle the Church is founded. NOT on the person and work of PETER/"the First Pope" [as the Roman Catholic Church would say] NO! of course not! The Church is founded on the person and work of JESUS as the Son of the Living GOD!

Jesus came to earth as a missionary. He left the comforts of heaven, joined us as a man, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, entered into our culture, with our customs, and told us about His Father’s Kingdom. He then laid down His life for our sins and ascended into heaven. But before he returned home, he gave the charge for those that follow him to do as he did. Our citizenship is now in heaven as citizens of the King. We are to not gather and live in our holy huddles of Christian culture corners, but rather to, AS JESUS DID, enter into the culture and customs where we live. To [sinlessly] engage in loving relationships those that are not yet Christians and tell them of the power and goodness of our loving GOD. Jesus also commanded that we are to preach the good news about jesus, and baptize disciples [followers] in His TRIune name. [matt 28]

The new testament church began in just this way, and has since become a model for us in the 21st century on the organization of church. In acts 2, on what is known as “the Day of Pentecost”, the Holy Spirit empowered preachers and leaders for the church to tell of GOD’s Son, Jesus, the Savior. And people were saved. Then they GATHERED together and Acts 2:42-47 describes it like this:

“they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Once their daily routine started as a Church, they began to run into problems. Organizational/administrative problems, like ones found in Acts 6 [the need for overseers of ministries] and Acts 7 [problems with false doctrine and corrupt leadership]. The LORD provided ways for them to navigate these, and they remembered that HE is the Senior Pastor of the Church, and they were servants of His, living out this new life in obedience to His commands.

The church began to form organizational structure, as ordained by Pastor Jesus. Through the new testament letters by Paul and others, we see the Church run into problems and instruction on how to respond. Some letters were written to the Church as a whole, and to be read by proxy, as if Paul [or the author] were there reading it, and some letters were written specifically to the pastors of the local church [timothy, titus], encouraging them and instructing them in leadership. None of them went to seminary, Bible College, or seminars and conferences on church leadership. They studied scripture, were faithful to living it out and applying it, and trusted Pastor Jesus. Sometimes they had to get together to agree in unity, by the spirit’s leading, on what to do in certain areas, as the need arose. Historically, these were referred to as “Councils” [ie. the Council of Nicea 325AD], and most often were guided by the Holy Spirit with the attempts to preserve sound doctrine. Theologians penned writings to further instruct the church, but they all were tested to make sure they pointed back to Scripture and lifted up Jesus. Some were preserved and some were destroyed as heresy.

Fast forward to today. this process has been going on, with Pastor Jesus at the helm, for 2000 years. From a ragtag group of men, to the largest religion in the world, more people gather globally on Sundays to worship JESUS than for any other event. And they gather as "The Church".

In our world, in our culture, and in the varying cultures around the world, what Church “looks like” and how it’s done may look very different. However, a few elements must remain the same:

1. it’s center and focus MUST be to glorify and worship the GOD of the Bible, Jesus, as LORD.
2. it studies and is based upon Scripture, NOT opinion.
3. it is organized under qualified leadership, as the Bible dictates.
4. it observes the sacraments of Baptism ["baptizing them in the name of..."] and Communion ["do this in remembrance of me"] as commanded by Pastor Jesus.

Since it is a global expression, how each of these items look can vary. That is an “open hand” distinction.

Why is it important to be a “member” of a church?
Those that gather are MEMBERS of the global Body of Christ [1 corinthians 12]. Some churches play up the idea of formal membership and others play it down. [open hand]. But here are a few thoughts regarding membership:

You don’t really become a member by signing a document or taking a class. These things are not in the Bible. These are just things we do to help clarify who is a member and who is not. As i was talking to pastor Gary about this in preparation for this message, he likened it to a marriage ceremony. we don't have any examples of what a marriage ceremony should contain in Scripture, but we've developed a tradition that seems to work really well. our church membership process is like that. you take a saturday class to hear about our church's beliefs and history, share your faith story with an elder, confirm you have been baptized [by immersion] - or get dunked, and then are affirmed by the church on a sunday morning.

Entering into a church’s membership IS a covenant agreement! That’s a special agreement where you promise to seek the good of Jesus via the local Church you are a member at. Additionally, when you enter into membership of one local church, you could also say that you are affirming your membership of ALL Jesus-following churches, as one local church is just an expression of the global church.

This idea of "official membership" is helpful in several ways:

1. it distinguishes who is a part of the church, and therefore who the pastors and elders are held accountable for shepherding. [do we shepherd the once-a-year guests? the weekly guests? the committed members?] [1 peter 5:1-4]
2. it determines who is under the authority of the church for exercising church discipline. [matt 18, titus 3]
3. it determines who is trustworthy for the shepherding of the flock [teachers of classes, Sunday school/children’s workers, small group leaders, etc.]
4. it reminds the Church Member that they are there to SERVE and to GIVE to the Body, NOT just take! [2 Cor 8-9]
[HT: John Piper, Why is Church Membership so Important?]

Church membership also seeks to put a stop to CONSUMPTION. Do you just come to church and take take take? Do you take classes, attend youth group, listen to the music, hear the message, and not give? Not just money, but your attitudes, your actions, your service? Or do you invest into your local church because IT is the agent that the LORD has chosen to use to bring the gospel message of Jesus to a hurting world? The Church is set up to run as a family or as parts of the Body. all members are important, and all have to contribute to the good of the organism.

a word on “church hopping”:
there's a difference between "church hopping" and "going to lots of churches". it's really easy to hide your sin and fake it with lots of different people so no one can get some tabs on you when you church hop. that is unhealthy, and something clarifying church membership seeks to avoid. but pursuing GOD and real relationships with people in several different churches throughout the week is a great thing, and i would totally encourage for someone in most of your positions: young and single. i did this when i was at that stage of life. Furthermore, I think it’s healthy for a pastor who serves/works on Sundays to occasionally attend another church to benefit from their gathering as well.

are you church hopping and running from deep, intimate relationship with people who can see through masks and disguises and keep you on the up and up?

OR

are you attending lots of churches and getting involved with/serving at lots of churches because you want more and more and more of JESUS, and at this stage in your life you have the time to do so?

So, WHY is Church important?

Because JESUS chose the local church as a vehicle to bring His Kingdom here. And so we are obedient to Him when we support the local church as members of His Body!

What a local church looks like should be 100% based on Scripture, and we should continually aim for that. Some are. some are not. When you see those two not lining up, seek REFORM! [RE: Martin Luther in the 1600s] <-just make sure it’s a closed hand thing you’re going after and not an open hand topic!


how are you currently actively supporting and investing in your local church?
how are you currently consuming from your local church and not giving to the mission of JESUS?




[PS. "fellowship and such" was NOT on the list.]