Giving Oneself

One of the books I am currently reading is "The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline" by Jonathan Leeman. It is formatted in an unusual way and is as a consequence somewhat difficult to read but the content is outstanding. One of the points he makes throughout the book, as he discusses the Christian's relationship to the church, is that as members of a local church we are not called to give of ourselves but rather we are called to give ourselves to one another. He says this:

"...uniting to a local church is not just a matter of "joining" something like a civic society, a country club, of a chess team. It's not about contracting as a self-sovereign with some organization, paying dues and receiving the due benefits in turn. No, such ideas completely miss the connectedness implied in the biblical metaphors for the church such as family, citizenship, temple, vine, or body...joining a church is not about giving of yourself as you might do with another organization; it's about giving yourself, which is an act of submission. It is about identifying your name with all those who belong to the church. It's about being united in heart, mind, and mission. It is, in sum, to submit your discipleship to Christ to a geographically bound, numerically concrete group. It is to submit, it is to be ruled, and it is to rule."

I believe that to our modern ears this sounds somewhat strange, maybe even difficult to digest but I believe that his understanding of the church is soundly biblical. If he is correct in his assessment, and I believe that he is, then I think we would do well to contemplate what this actually means for us as members of Christ's church; here are just a few thoughts.

1. Every decision we make not only impacts us and our children but it will impact our church as well. I would guess that most people don't take their church membership into account when they make life decisions.

2. The consequences of our sin will reverberate throughout the church of which we are a part.

3. We must not look out for our own interests but rather we must humbly, graciously and lovingly put aside our own desires and wants for the good of Christ's body.

4. Membership is important.

5. Church discipline is an act of love.

These are just a few thoughts and I am sure that there are many other ways in which we could apply these principles.

I would encourage you to read the book because I believe that you will be humbled and challenged by it.