I was listening to John MacArthur years ago as he talked about his schedule of preaching three times a week - Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. Of course, he loves to preach, but he said that he would be at church every time the doors were open even if he didn’t have any official responsibilities. Why? “I just want to be with God’s people.”
That’s stuck with me over the years and replayed in my mind as my family and I drive to and from church or to and from an occasion for fellowship. My wife and I often will comment to one another after an evening with church family how much we love these people with whom we’ve covenanted.
We are bound by love and a firm covenant to a particular group of believers in the body of Christ at PBF. That covenant is a precious thing that carries both blessings and responsibilities. Among the blessings of meaningful church membership is a growing affection for God’s people. This affection would seem inexplicable given all our common imperfections and petty annoyances, but the Holy Spirit knows what He’s doing and He does it all the time. He uses other imperfect, annoying people to stir us up to love and good works. As they keep the covenant promises they made to us, He uses them to form us into the image of Christ. And it’s wonderful.
There are also responsibilities that are part of our church covenant. This is one reason we recite the church covenant at each members meeting. We have actually promised to do specific things in one another’s lives. Those items are outlined in the covenant. Among them are these: We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech…
It seems that keeping this covenant necessitates spending time among the other members. How else will we watch over one another, know how to pray for one another, aid one another, and cultivate sympathy for one another? It also seems that keeping this covenant necessitates knowing who is in the covenant and who is not. How can we take these promises seriously if we do not know to which individuals we’ve made them?
This Sunday we have the opportunity both to enjoy the blessings and to exercise some of the responsibilities of church membership. It’s our quarterly potluck and members’ meeting. For some people in the world, there are few words in the English language that communicate “snooze-fest” like words “potluck” or “meeting.” I would contend that those people don’t understand the nature of the New Testament church. We are built to grow through fellowship and by fulfilling our responsibilities to one another (Eph 4:7-16). Participation in these things with a biblical mindset actually causes our affections for one another to grow.
This is more than a sales pitch to increase our numbers at the quarterly meeting. This is about growing to love the people of God. The elders desire for those of us who may be on the periphery, either physically or in our hearts, to push in and view this kind of fellowship and interaction as a vital part of meaningful service in the body of Christ.
Our quarterly members meetings are crucial if only to know who is in the covenant and who is not. When we remove people from membership or add people to membership, we are all saying, “these are the people to whom I have made the promises contained in the covenant I signed when I joined, the promises which I have just recited again in this meeting.” We are responsible for one another. It’s essential to know who we’re accountable for.
But this quarterly meeting will include information about several exciting things coming up beginning in the Fall. The elders will be sharing our vision for where we’d like PBF to go in the coming year. Please view participation this Sunday afternoon, not as an optional add-on to your Sunday morning, but as preparation to strive side-by-side with one mind in full accord with those whom you have made a covenant (Phil 1:27).
May the Lord press upon our hearts both the blessings and responsibilities of church membership so that we too say, “I just want to be with God’s people.”
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