This article was originally published on our congregation’s earlier website. It is summarized here, with the author’s permission, and the complete original remains available for anyone who wants to read it in full.
Pribble argues from Hebrews 13:17 (“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves”) that formal church membership is a biblical command, not merely a modern institutional convenience. He challenges the idea of the “unattached believer” who considers himself part of Christ’s universal church while avoiding accountability to any local congregation, explaining that the “rule” in view is the pastoral authority of a congregation’s elders, who shepherd the flock in Christ’s stead (1 Pet. 5:1-2).
Surveying Psalms 84, 48, and 26, he describes the gathered church as “the city of the great King” and the place where believers most fully enjoy fellowship with God and with one another. Turning to Matthew 18:15-20, he explains the church’s “power of the keys” — the authority of a lawfully constituted church court to bind and loose — and argues that this discipline, and the accountability it requires, is only possible for those who have formally joined a congregation. He also ties membership to the Great Commission, arguing that baptizing and teaching disciples is properly the task of the organized church rather than of parachurch ministries.
He closes with practical counsel: place yourself under a true church marked by faithful preaching, right administration of the sacraments, and the practice of church discipline; transfer your membership promptly when you move; and consider whether the ministries you support encourage the planting of local churches.
Rev. Stephen Pribble is the pastor of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Lansing, Michigan. This article is © 1996 Stephen Pribble. A companion piece, “Choosing a Church”, is also summarized on this site.