As our new membership class starts this Sunday night (go here to sign up), consider these words again: I highly recommend this great message from Matt Carter on the biblical basis for church membership. He points out membership’s importance from 1 Corinthians 5. An unrepentant, sexually immoral man has wrecked that Corinthian church. Paul commands that body of believers to “deliver this man to Satan.” Carter rightly points out what this means for professing believers not an active part of a local church; they are in a vulnerable place, outside of the protection of God’s people, in the realm of our Enemy, where disciplined church members are cast for the “destruction of the flesh.” That reality should fill us with fear. A Christian who is not a member of a church is in a scary place.

Think with me, though, why many people resist membership. It’s frightening to think people might know your sins. The possibility of someone hurting us fills us with dread. Authority in our lives makes us nervous. It’s all scary. However, which do you fear more? Sure, not all churches are healthy. True, abuse happens. Yet the church is Christ’s wife. He loves her dearly. He is committed to bless the world through her. She is the place of His care and protection. Given the choice between Christ’s realm and Satan’s, pick Christ’s every time. Choose your nightmare. One may not be as scary as it sounds.