In today’s age and culture, which eschews accountability in favor of the independent spirit, people often view the notion of church membership as constricting and constraining, an old-fashioned and passé practice of a more heavily institutional age. We often hear in contemporary religious discourse questions such as “Where is that in the Bible?” and statements like “I do not need church membership. I already have a personal relationship with Jesus.”

Surely something as formal as church membership is an outdated practice or holdover from a bygone era and out of step with today’s modern sensibilities?

Not so fast, argues Jonathan Landry Cruse in Church Membership. Far from being a cumbersome relic or an unnecessary burden, church membership is not only biblical but also a blessing. Written by Cruse, who serves as the pastor of Community Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Church Membership is part of the Blessings of the Faith series from P&R Publishing, one of several short and accessible treatments on some of the distinctives of Reformed and Presbyterian churches.

In his introduction, Cruse acknowledges the prevailing attitudes of the hyper-individualistic age in which we live yet warmly insists that the message of Scripture has always been (and still is) that the one who believes in the Lord and his promises is the one who rightly belongs to the Lord’s people. The believer’s home is among the people of God. This is part of the great blessing of the Christian faith: The Lord not only saves his people from sin and death, but he also saves them for himself, and he saves them into his body, his people—the church (16–18).

In the first chapter, “The Nature of Church Membership,” Cruse gives a particularly good overview of what church means. Fundamentally, he explains that the church is the people of God (20). He then goes through common labels and metaphors that are familiar to most Reformed folks but that are probably unfamiliar to newcomers to the Christian faith or to the Reformed tradition. He succinctly explains the distinction between the invisible church and the visible church, noting that the visible church is found all over the world and comprises those who profess the true faith, as well as their children, in keeping with classic confessional and Reformed emphases (34).¹

He gives attention to the notion of the local church with a good explanation as to how it is a congregation of a particular people in a particular place (30), as well as laying out the classic Reformed understanding of what constitutes a true church (31) before going into a brief overview of some of the classic biblical metaphors for the church: kingdom, bride, temple, body, family (32–36).

In the second chapter, “The Necessity of Church Membership,” Cruse ably and crisply lays out the case for why church membership is biblically right, good, and necessary. While acknowledging that the desired proof text demanding church membership is an elusive phantom, Cruse notes precedent for the practice in church history (40–41) and urges readers to appreciate the classic Reformed corollaries of covenantal principles and “good and necessary consequence” (42–43).

With these categories explained, Cruse helps his readers to see that while the “Thou shalt join a local church” verse may not be found in the Bible, the notion of church membership is very much a legitimate deduction and inference from Holy Scripture. The New Testament presupposes that there are local bodies of known members who are being intentionally shepherded by their pastors and elders (46–47).² Moreover, the many injunctions and exhortations given to Christian believers in the New Testament assume a Christian community with whom they interacted (and therefore to which they belonged) on which those Christian duties could actually be exercised (48).³While the New Testament may not provide us with the precise logistics of things like new membership classes, attendance tracking, roll calls, or particular phrasings of membership vows (46), it is nevertheless evident that Christians lived their Christian life and exercised their Christian worship in communities of assembled Christians in specific locales—in other words, as part of a local church.

But church membership is not merely a necessity to which the Christian is obligated. As chapter 3 makes clear, there are indeed benefits of church membership. Cruse helpfully enumerates some of these benefits, including spiritual oversight, which comes by way of spiritual protection via loving and biblical oversight by one’s church elders (55), a necessary and difficult work that a man enters into willingly for the benefit of both the pastor and the congregants (56). There is also the benefit of spiritual correction, or what is often called church discipline. Cruse notes that while this term may initially carry negative connotations for modern audiences, the church historically has had a very positive view of discipline, in that “it exists to restore people from sin, preserve the true doctrine of the church, and keep God‘s people pure in the eyes of the world. In other words, it is only a good thing!” (58).

But another benefit of church membership is assurance, particularly through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (61–65). Cruse notes that God has given the sacraments as a means by which he communicates his kindness and comfort to his people. He intends the sacraments to be tangible signs and tokens that his people can taste, observe, and feel, that reassure God’s people of his love and favor toward them. Not only that, but by partaking in the sacraments, these tangible means serve to reinforce to God‘s people that they truly do belong to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that, but another wonderful benefit of church membership is the companionship or fellowship that Christians enjoy with one another in what is commonly referred to as the “communion of saints” (65). This is a benefit that, in this author’s opinion, cannot be overemphasized, especially in our day of increasing loneliness and hyper-isolation. As creatures made in God’s image, we were created with a hardwired craving in our souls for some level of community, friendship, and support. And that is exactly what the Lord provides for the Christian through the local church.

In the fourth chapter, “The Responsibilities of Church Membership,” Cruse is quick to note that words like “responsibility” or “duty” might strike some as burdensome, but that even this aspect of church membership is a blessing (75). It is important to remember that church membership is not merely a passive endeavor in which we are mere consumers or recipients. An attendant nature of church membership is that it involves participation and responsibility on our part.

Cruse outlines the general contours of church members’ responsibility, noting our need to be faithful in attending corporate worship and expecting God to do gracious business with our souls (75–78). Also, there is a duty to participate in the life of the body, recognizing that we have gifts and skills that we should exercise within the life of the local church for its benefit and betterment. While Christianity is not all about me and my preferences, my participation in the life of the larger body of Christ is important, and this is one way in which we can biblically combat the hyper-individualistic mindset of our culture and reinforce the corporate dimensions of the Christian faith (78–83).

Deriving from that, life in the church greatly aids the Christian in learning better how to die to self. It conditions us and trains us to die to our preferences, even our selfishness, to esteem others as better than ourselves (Phil 2:3) and reminds us of the Lord‘s command to obey the leaders whom the Lord has placed in our lives as those who must give account as shepherds of souls (Heb 13:17) (86).

Finally, Cruse notes the churchly responsibility of outreach, missions, and evangelism (88–89). As the Lord Jesus Christ has given the Great Commission to his church, we participate in it and have a duty to do so in a variety of ways, according to our giftings, station in life, and individual callings. Tangential to that, life in the church helps God’s people grow in holiness, as we are trained to exhibit more Christlike conduct and godly behavior, which, as the Scripture makes clear, ultimately has an attractive element that serves the purposes of evangelism (89–92).

In the final section (95–120), Cruse articulates succinct, pastoral answers to many of the most common questions surrounding church membership. All of the book is quite useful, but this section may prove the most so for readers who are wrestling with questions about the biblical understanding of church membership. Common questions are addressed regarding knowing what kind of church to join, physical proximity to a church, what to do when moving away temporarily (such as when attending college), membership vows, new members classes, the difference between communicant and noncommunicant members giving financially to support one’s church, level of involvement in different ministries and programs, what to do in situations of disagreement or feeling disconnected, how to grapple with past experiences of hurt in the church, and how to speak with friends who claimed that church membership or even attendance is optional.

Cruse has provided readers with a clear, succinct, and warmhearted volume that well outlines the biblical case for the necessity and blessing of church membership. Any pastor or elder who has visitors or even longtime congregants seeking to better understand the importance of membership in the local church will be greatly helped by making this fine resource available.

Notes

1. Westminster Confession of Faith 25.1–2.
2. 1 Thess. 5:12; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:2, to cite a few examples.
3. Matt 18:17; John 13:35; Phil 4:2; Heb 10:24, to cite a few examples.

©Sean Morris. All rights reserved.

Jonathan Landry Cruse, Church Membership (P&R, 2024).

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Post authored by:

• Sean Morris

  

  Sean was educated at Grove City College, Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson, MS), Edinburgh Theological Seminary, and the University of Glasgow (Scotland). He earned his PhD from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, and serves as a minister at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, TN. He also serves as the Academic Dean of the Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education and has published numerous theological and devotional articles. Sean lives in Oak Ridge with his wife, Sarah, and their children.

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