Again from Part 2 of Pulpit Magazine's article on church membership with regards to pastors' responsibilities:
Elders can shepherd the people and give an account to God for their spiritual well-being only if they know who they are; they can provide oversight only if they know those for whom they are responsible; and they can fulfill their duty to shepherd the flock only if they know who is part of the flock and who is not.
Jesus said, "Shepherd My sheep." (John 21:16). He did not say, "Shepherd those who you have decided for yourselves are your sheep." Jesus assumed that His sheep were discernible to His shepherds. The pastors at Grace Community church have admitted that they don't know who to shepherd. So instead of shepherding all Christians who assemble, they shepherd only those who both assemble and who come forward to submit themselves to the man-made "formal" membership created by the pastors.
It should be noted here that I am not singling out Grace Community Church and their elders. Their exact teaching is very widespread throughout evangelical churches. It just so happens that they posted an article right after I started this series that contains a great deal of points that I will be writing about. I plan to give many more examples from other sources in future posts.
Part 13 . . . . . . . . Part 15
I basically agree on this idea - I am not a big fan of church membership - too corporate an idea for me. Plus I also think the pastor should be helpful to all the come and be part of their lives if asked - who needs membership.
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