Tag: membership

The Beautiful Body of Christ

Written by MattMacNaughton on August 24, 2022. Posted in Serving. No Comments on The Beautiful Body of Christ

I’ve recently taken up teaching piano lessons, and between that and being a vocal coach, I am continually amazed at what our bodies can do. For example, when we rotate our arm as though we are opening a door handle, the internal movement of our bones is not one solid unit that just turns but actually two separate bones that follow around the circular shape of the rotation (if you put your hand on your opposite wrist and then rotate, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about). The position of our tongue creates different vowel shapes. We can actually teach ourselves to wiggle each toe individually! I don’t know why one would want to, but all this to say, the way God designed our bodies is incredible.

And this picture of a body, with all its different functions, is an analogy that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 12 to describe the way that the church functions and serves one another. Throughout this letter, Paul is addressing a lack of unity among the believers in Corinth on various topics, not the least of which was the structure and daily function of the church. Reminding them that salvation comes from Christ and Christ alone, he addresses in chapter 11 that Christ is the head of the body, not a church leader. And as he goes on to how that plays out then for the rest of the church, he states:

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

So first, we see that we serve because Christ has called us to serve. The local church is not a place where people come to “get” something in exchange for goods or services. No, the local church is a people who gather frequently and serve one another. We are connected through the commonality of the mission Jesus has given us to go and make disciples, and the presence of God’s Spirit in us is what binds us together. When we look around and see all different backgrounds, interests, life stories, preferences, it’s a picture of the unique nature of a local body of believers. And each person is designed by God for something special. Paul continues-

1 Corinthians 12:15-21 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

We serve because we are all uniquely made by God for different functions. If we were a church full of people who just love greeting people, it’s a great sentiment, but no one would ever make it into the front door. If we were a church full of people who love caring for babies, the nursery would not be able to contain the bodies of all of us, let alone the love! We are each given different inner desires and gifts, different life experiences and positions, and we each have a role to play in the daily function of the church. Whether it’s teaching in KidLife or cleaning the bathroom, every part of the local church function has great value in God’s eyes.

1 Corinthians 12:22-27 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

We serve out of a heart captivated by the love of Christ. Paul goes on in chapter 13 to tell us that these gifts of service are meaningless without love. And so regardless of how we might feel about our gifts and abilities, God has a place for everyone in His church to provide a vital function in the encouragement and edification of the local gathering. The people of Grace Life are not an accidental or random collection of individuals, but a beautiful body of believers called to serve one another in love as we live out what God has called us to.

If you’ve been wondering where you fit in, talk to Pastor Matt or myself about the areas that the Spirit is pressing into your heart as you seek to build and be built up in the body of Grace Life Church. You can also sign up to join any of our serve teams here.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Ben

Church Membership at Grace Life Church

Written by MattMacNaughton on June 18, 2022. Posted in Discipleship, Membership. No Comments on Church Membership at Grace Life Church

What is church membership, and why does it matter? For the people of Grace Life, our partnership covenant is birthed out of our love for the church body and her individual members whom we hope will experience the fullness of joy which is found in the presence of the Lord. This helps us with three things:

To clarify the biblical obligations and expectations for both the elders of Grace Life Church and the individual members of Grace Life Church body.
To establish teaching and doctrinal parameters for Grace Life Church body.
To serve as a tool for reflection and growth toward holiness.

Each of these functions is in accordance with our overall vision to provide an accessible explanation of the Scriptures in hopes that Grace Life Church would grow in the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.

But first, we must answer a few questions. What is the church?

The church is an embassy that represents the kingdom of God on this earth.

An embassy is an institution that represents one nation inside another nation. It declares its home nation’s interests to the host nation. And it protects the citizens of the home nation living in the host nation. The embassy does not make us a citizen, but it officially affirms it. In this case, the church represents the heavenly kingdom of God while we are here on earth. Like an embassy, the church must approve those who are a part of the Kingdom.

The church exists to display the glory of God because all things exist for His glory. Those of us who trust in and follow Jesus are caught up in something much bigger than ourselves. We have graciously been invited into God’s redemptive purposes in the world.

Since the beginning, God has been creating and calling forth His people for the display of His glory in a grand narrative of redemption and reconciliation. Though creation now suffers the curse of Genesis 3, the gospel is the means by which the world is being made right. The gospel also carries with it the promise of ultimate renewal, a restoration even more glorious than Eden, and thus believers eagerly anticipate the return of Christ. The Church universal (i.e., all believers, everywhere) is the means by which God is fulfilling His purposes in the world (2 Cor. 5:17-20). The Church universal is being used to write God’s beautiful and dramatic story of redemption and reconciliation. In light of this reality, the opportunity to join a local church body (i.e., a particular group of believers in a particular locale) is much more than a commitment to consistent attendance or active involvement in community. It is also a sacred call to be involved in the redemptive work of our sovereign God to push back the darkness of a fallen world through the power of the Holy Spirit with the light of His Son, Jesus Christ.

So then, what is a church member?

A church member is someone who is formally recognized as a Christian and a part of Christ’s universal body.

There are two qualifications for being a church member in the New Testament: salvation and baptism. There is freedom to pursue ways to determine if someone has been redeemed. At Grace Life Church, we believe that baptism is a symbol of what Jesus has done for us and that it is a baptism by water immersion after a person has placed their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Church membership matters because God calls His people into covenant, not only to Himself but also to each other.

He calls us to a life of sacrifice, generosity, service, and radical commitment to the good of the body. This happy obligation is most readily pursued within the context of a particular body—a local church. In light of this reality, membership is not merely a responsibility but a blessed opportunity to covenant with a particular people to live out the gospel together.

Membership is not about privilege or prestige. It is not some elevated level of access with secret insider benefits. It is not a legal document or means of control. Membership recognizes and responds to the call of discipleship in the context of gospel-centered community. It is an affirmation and agreement to contribute to the good of the body rather than consume from it. It is a formalization of that which already implicitly exists. It is an obligation to sacrificially seek the good of others in the body of Christ by taking the general call toward service and incarnating it within a particular people.

Christians commit themselves to each other in the context of the local church in countless ways. At Grace Life, the current process for partnership involves participating in a class, reading a book, and completing a questionnaire. Far from mere formality, these expressions are important representations of the formal commitment that members make. So if you have not yet committed yourself to the local body of Grace Life Church, plan to attend The Intro on June 26th after the morning gathering to learn what the next steps are towards becoming a member.

In Christ,

Pastor Ben

We Belong Together: Biblical Membership at Grace Life Church

Written by MattMacNaughton on March 3, 2021. Posted in Monthly Newsletter. No Comments on We Belong Together: Biblical Membership at Grace Life Church

Let me take you to a moment in my living room, almost a year ago. It’s Wednesday afternoon. The furniture has been pushed to the side, replaced with lights, cables, microphones, and a video camera. Intentional design has gone into the backdrop, replacing pictures with less distracting artwork. Julie gets the camera shot perfect. We do an audio check. All good. She presses play and heads to her corner of the house where she and the kids try not to be heard on the video. I look at the camera, I take a breath, and begin my sermon. I’m a few minutes in and the air conditioner kicks on, and my mic is now picking up the air from the vent right above it. I stop and turn off the A/C, jotting down a note to turn it off next week before I start recording my sermon. I take a breath and begin my sermon again. For close to 12 weeks, I would record the sermon on Wednesday, edit it on Thursday, upload it to YouTube on Friday, and then watch it “live” on Sunday mornings. I learned a lot about my preaching on those online only Sundays. Some time after the cat knocked over the camera in the middle of recording my sermon and before the sermon I preached where I forgot to press the record button on the audio software, I remember wrapping up a sermon and saying to Julie, “This is not what church was intended to be”. Church is intended to be in the presence of other redeemed brothers and sisters in Christ, worshiping the risen Savior through singing, the preaching of God’s Word, and prayer. Church is a gathering of people, not a place or an experience. Church is about the body of Christ, not our preferences. I could keep going but the point has been made. We need to continue pushing towards a Biblical understanding of the church. Ephesians 2:19-22 states,

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

If there is anything we have learned over the last year I hope it is this: we need the church! Not just the Sunday morning gathering, but the weekly interaction with other believers. The Christian life was not designed to be lived in isolation, but in community with other children of God. We belong together. If you are not a member already, I want to invite you to become a member of Grace Life Church. Grace Life Church Membership is birthed out of our love for the local church body and her individual members whom we hope will experience the fullness of grace and joy found in Jesus Christ. A church member is someone who is formally recognized as a Christian and a part of Christ’s universal body. Jonathan Leeman writes in his book Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus: “Church membership is a formal relationship between a Church and a Christian characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.” Church Membership is not about status. You don’t get extra benefits and it doesn’t earn you more control. Membership recognizes God’s saving grace in your life and your desire to grow in His Word through intentional discipleship in the context of a local church. It’s a commitment to the entire body of Christ that you will be a contributor and not a consumer. Membership is recognizing the Biblical responsibilities given to a congregation and taking those matters seriously. Church Membership is committing to the local church for the glory of God, knowing that the local church is committed to your sanctification. There are two qualifications for being a church member in the New Testament: Salvation and Baptism (Acts 2:41). There is freedom to pursue ways to determine if someone has been redeemed. It is the responsibility of the Elders to protect the people of the church and to make sure wolves do not sneak in and destroy (1 Peter 5:2-12). The first step in becoming a member of Grace Life is to attend The Intro this Sunday, March 7th. The Intro will tell you more about the Vision, Mission, and Values of our Grace Life Church. You can register here, or in the app. My prayer as we move into the next few months is that we will be a church transformed by the Gospel of Jesus, committed more intentionally to the people of our church and to the advancement of the Gospel, and that we will not forsake the assembly of the believers (Hebrews 10:25). By His Grace, Pastor Matt