A Shepherd Needs to Know Which Are His Sheep
1 Cor. 12:18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
Have you noticed that the notion of church membership has fallen on hard times? For whatever reason, many folks do not see the need or importance of joining themselves to a local flock. And churches are often guilty of watering down the concept as well. Some churches are easier to join than, say, Sam’s Wholesale, or a tennis club. This reveals serious misunderstandings about the usefulness of keeping a clean church membership roll.
From a pastoral standpoint, a clean membership roll is essential. How can a shepherd care for a flock, if he is uncertain which sheep are in his flock? A pastor cannot possible care for the entire world of Christians, or even an entire region or city. He must be accountable to God for the sheep that God has placed him over. But how can he know which sheep those are, unless some method is used for determining this?
Some object and say, I can be a Christian without being a member of a church. Fair enough. A sheep can wander alone in God’s pasture if that is what he likes. But this is not the way God intends for it to be. A man can marry a woman and live down the street from her, but that is not the way God intends for it to be.
The Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) has commanded that, instead of being a loner, we unite with the sheep around us. This uniting goes beyond simply being in the Lord’s field (being a Christian). It is a gathering together of believers, under the Lord’s direction, for the purpose of community worship, fellowship, and service. As an undershepherd, I want to know which sheep have united to our local flock, so that I can focus the greater part of my energies on those sheep.
Bottom line: take your own church membership very seriously. Willingly place yourself in submission to the authority of a biblical local church, and enjoy the great benefits that come from obedience.