Box-Store Membership

…but through love serve one another.

Galatians 5:13b

I would like to ask you a question. What is the difference between being a member of Costco or Sam’s club and being a member of your local church? When we are members of the former, we go once a week, or maybe more if we need something special. We bring our list and spend usually the same amount of time each week getting what we need and want. We may speak briefly to those that greet us, check us out, and go over our receipt when we leave. We are careful not to talk too much because we have busy schedules and need to get in and out. We leave and don’t give the place a second thought till we come back next week. We may even tell other people how much better “our” warehouse store is than theirs. The sad reality is that many professing Christians could put the name of their church in what I just described and that would be their church experience each week. We are consumers at the local warehouse store and the sad reality is we often treat our church as if we are customers looking to be served, encouraged and sent about our way.

What a shame if we treat church like our local warehouse store. We come in on Sunday morning at 10:30, sit down, smile, and properly greet the person next to us. We sing, then during the greeting time we may speak to the person in front of or behind us. We sing again, then spend 45 minutes listening to the sermon. After the closing prayer, we get up and leave, saying goodbye to the preacher or one or two other people. We get in our vehicles, drive off, and never give the church or our fellow believers a second thought until it’s time for church next week. God never intended His people to treat the local body like a warehouse store—as if we were just consumers.

When Paul was writing to the Galatians, he was encouraging them to love one another and serve one another. One way we can learn to love one another in our church is to get to know our fellow Christians. There are 59 "one another’s" in the New Testament. Almost all of them are references to believers within the local church. To serve one another we must be around each other, we must know what others need so we can serve one another. When we treat Christ's church like a store, we miss the opportunity to receive the blessing and joy that come from service.       

Eric Watkins with Ligonier ministries writes:

Serving the church is not always easy because the church is not always beautiful in our eyes. Sometimes she can appear rather unlovely and unlovable. The imperfection of the church’s members is real and can discourage our service. It is for this reason that I would implore you to look at the church the way Christ sees her—with a beauty and glory that reflects His own. The church is beautiful because of who she is in Christ. Loving Christ means loving what He loves, and there is great spiritual joy and refreshment in laying down our lives for others. Serving Christ means using our gospel freedom to serve that which Christ loved enough to purchase with His blood. That is why the church is beautiful and why serving her is a glorious privilege.

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Mark