All of Jesus’s disciples belong to the universal church which is composed of all Christians in all locations. God Himself adds each person to His church when he or she becomes a Christian. The book of Acts tells us that the early Christians were “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 ESV).
All Christians should also belong to a local church. By local church, I mean a congregation of Jesus’s disciples in a specific location. It is God’s intention that all Christians should gather together in person (circumstances permitting) for mutual edification and encouragement (Heb 10:24-25). There are circumstances that make this impossible. For example, health problems may prevent some people from meeting with the local church.
Situations which prevent a person from being able to meet with the church in person, doesn’t mean they no longer belong to their local church. To belong to a local church, biblically speaking, is the same as belonging to a family. Not being able to see your family regularly doesn’t mean you are no longer part of the family.
Who are my sheep?
Many Christians in North America (and perhaps other places also) have departed from the biblical concept that belonging to a local church is the same as belonging to a family. There is an unbiblical notion which makes church membership out to be more like joining a club or organization than joining a family. What’s more, this idea is often perpetuated by those who should know better – church leaders.
“Without church membership, how is a pastor supposed to know who he will be held accountable for?”
For example, one church pastor asked, “Without church membership, how is a pastor supposed to know who he will be held accountable for?” I have no reason to doubt this pastor’s sincerity, but his question reveals several symptoms of a problem which undermines the biblical idea of church membership.
A pastor who makes official church membership the delineation between which sheep he will care for, versus those he will not, reveals problems with his concept of the local church.
His sheep?
A mindset which prompts a pastor to ask how he is supposed to know which sheep he is supposed to care for may expose that he thinks the flock belongs to him. Let us not mistake whose sheep we are talking about. Peter wrote this to his fellow elders (pastors):
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Pet. 5:2–4 ESV)
The flock belongs to God! All human pastors are undershepherds who serve the chief Shepherd. Pastors are merely stewards, or caretakers, of the Christians who Jesus has entrusted to his care.
“Unaffiliated” sheep?
Some Christians have a tendency to “church hop.” It is frequently the case that there are people who attend a church for weeks or months and aren’t on the official roster of the local church. Does this mean the pastor has no obligation to care for those who wander into his pasture? Does this mean he does not need to get to know them and discover what their needs are?
Since these “church hopping” sheep belong to the chief Shepherd, wouldn’t an undershepherd be responsible to care for any of the Master’s sheep that end up in his pasture? The New Testament gives us the answer:
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly (1 Pet. 5:24 ESV)
A pastor cares for all the Christians that are among him and he is to care for them willingly! If accountability is the pastor’s concern, take care of ALL the Master’s sheep in the pasture!
Deuteronomy 22:1-4 required Israelites to care for wandering animals. They may not have known where it came from, but the law taught them they were responsible for caring for it regardless. The principle is the same in the local church. A pastor should not refuse to care for a stray sheep because it isn’t “his.” A pastor is accountable to feed all who are among him.
It isn’t the shepherd’s job to brand the sheep like a rancher brands cattle to mark them as his. It’s the shepherd’s job to feed and protect the Master’s sheep. Too many pastors are fixated on “their flock” and forget they are but stewards of God’s flock.
Accountable for or accountable to?
It is true that shepherds are accountable for the sheep entrusted to their care.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Heb. 13:17 ESV)
A pastor is right to be concerned about how well he leads and shepherds because he is accountable for the souls under his watch. It stands to reason that he should be more focused on the quality of his care than on which sheep he is or is not responsible for.
Christians are accountable to their pastor and to each other. This is a good thing because such mutual accountability is for our own good and aids us in our spiritual growth and development. However, accountability is a two-way street! Pastors are not only accountable to the chief Shepherd, but also to the sheep. In the same context of 1 Peter 5 where Peter gives instruction to elders, he also gives instruction to those under the pastor’s care:
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for (1 Pet. 5:5 NKJV)
“All of you” includes the pastor! Pastors are fallible humans and also need the accountability that all Christians require. Pastors are not only accountable for the flock, but they are also accountable to the flock.
Christians should make a commitment
God never intended for Christians to come and go in a local church as it suits their whims. Belonging to a church family involves making a commitment. While our modern ideas of church membership are foreign to the Bible, membership itself is not.
Biblical membership is about family and relationship. It is not about hopping over to the neighboring church when they have a more interesting pastor, better worship music, or better coffee in the lobby. It is about belonging to a family and committing to them.
Church membership doesn’t exist so that the pastor can know who “his” sheep are. Church membership is about relationships. A relationship is what every shepherd needs to have with his sheep and what the sheep must have with one another. Relationship is how membership is determined and not by a name written on a church roster.