4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;7or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;8he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
The Bible offers to us a portrait of how we are to live in order to bring honor to God and to function in His body, His church, which has some great implications for the local church body of which you are a member. We grow in Christ and discover what He has in store for us as we not only follow Jesus in salvation, but then as we seek to walk in His ways. He shows us His ways as we study and apply the Scriptures and as we engage in that valuable communication with Him in prayer. He is calling us to discover our role, to exercise our gifts, and to reflect His nature.
What does a good church member look like? The Bible can give us a strong sense of how we are to live in Christ and how to allow Christ to live through us so that His nature might be seen in us. In 2nd Peter chapter 1, we are reminded of the resources we have to live the Christian life:
2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,4by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
At the recent Alabama Baptist State Convention, the Alabama Baptist asked church and ministry leaders in attendance what they considered to be top characteristics of a good church member. A brief survey, which included a list of 20 characteristics of a good church member, was handed out to willing participants visiting The Alabama Baptist booth at the convention. Participants were asked to rank their top five choices on the survey, with “1” being the most important characteristic of a good church member.
The publication reports that while there were some variations in the rankings, one characteristic stood out as No. 1 among the others — “Is saved and sure of one’s salvation.”
Thirty-one of the survey’s 52 participants chose it as the most important characteristic from the list.
“Seeks and follows the Holy Spirit,” “Spends time in prayer,” “Lives a godly life” and “Is growing spiritually” rounded out the top five characteristics most picked by survey participants.
Phil Boyles, pastor of Sage Avenue Baptist Church, Mobile, concurred with the characteristic rankied number 1 because he sees that, “understanding the new life that we have been given through Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation is crucial to obediently following His commands. Until we are obedient to the call of Christ to make Him Lord and Savior, we can never become a part of the ‘body’ of Christ.”
David Bankson, pastor of Slackland Baptist Church, in Leesburg, did, too. He said, “I chose that statement as No. 1 because it is the foundation of Christianity and what establishes a true church member." When evaluating all other characteristics listed on the survey, Bankson noted he felt this characteristic was most important because coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus establishes a personal relationship with Him. “Without that personal relationship the other 19 characteristics are invalid,” he said.
Boyles chose, “Seeks and follows the Holy Spirit” as No. 2 because he says the “Holy Spirit’s presence in our life is the seal of our salvation. When we are truly committed to Christ and His Church, we enthusiastically seek the leadership of the Spirit to truly ‘be’ the Church. The Spirit binds us together.”
Bankson chose the characteristic “Spends time in prayer” as No. 2. He relates, “Prayer is our means of communication with our heavenly Father. In the Gospels, we read about Jesus praying often and He taught us the model prayer in Matthew 6:9–13,” he said, adding prayer is powerful because it brings comfort, peace and healing.
At the recent Alabama Baptist State Convention, the Alabama Baptist asked church and ministry leaders in attendance what they considered to be top characteristics of a good church member. A brief survey, which included a list of 20 characteristics of a good church member, was handed out to willing participants visiting The Alabama Baptist booth at the convention. Participants were asked to rank their top five choices on the survey, with “1” being the most important characteristic of a good church member.
The publication reports that while there were some variations in the rankings, one characteristic stood out as No. 1 among the others — “Is saved and sure of one’s salvation.”
Thirty-one of the survey’s 52 participants chose it as the most important characteristic from the list.
“Seeks and follows the Holy Spirit,” “Spends time in prayer,” “Lives a godly life” and “Is growing spiritually” rounded out the top five characteristics most picked by survey participants.
Phil Boyles, pastor of Sage Avenue Baptist Church, Mobile, concurred with the characteristic rankied number 1 because he sees that, “understanding the new life that we have been given through Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation is crucial to obediently following His commands. Until we are obedient to the call of Christ to make Him Lord and Savior, we can never become a part of the ‘body’ of Christ.”
David Bankson, pastor of Slackland Baptist Church, in Leesburg, did, too. He said, “I chose that statement as No. 1 because it is the foundation of Christianity and what establishes a true church member." When evaluating all other characteristics listed on the survey, Bankson noted he felt this characteristic was most important because coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus establishes a personal relationship with Him. “Without that personal relationship the other 19 characteristics are invalid,” he said.
Boyles chose, “Seeks and follows the Holy Spirit” as No. 2 because he says the “Holy Spirit’s presence in our life is the seal of our salvation. When we are truly committed to Christ and His Church, we enthusiastically seek the leadership of the Spirit to truly ‘be’ the Church. The Spirit binds us together.”
Bankson chose the characteristic “Spends time in prayer” as No. 2. He relates, “Prayer is our means of communication with our heavenly Father. In the Gospels, we read about Jesus praying often and He taught us the model prayer in Matthew 6:9–13,” he said, adding prayer is powerful because it brings comfort, peace and healing.
Some of the other characteristics on the list were: "Attends worship regularly" and "Practices evangelism", which were actually tied for 5th with "Is growing spiritually," which was placed fifth because it received higher rankings among the survey participants.
Some of the other items on the survey that placed outside the top 5 but that actually received one or more first-place votes were, "Tithes," "Works for unity in the church," "Practices regular devotional time," "Gives with a cheerful heart," and, "Is a soul winner."
The truth is that the Word of God enables us to build a portrait of what a good church member looks like. And, membership in the body of Christ is conditional at least on the first part of what respondents rated as the #1 characteristic - "Is saved and sure of one's salvation." Even if someone is experiencing doubts about their salvation, some of these other components can kick in and help us to grow in confidence in his or her relationship with Christ.
I think so many of these characteristics flow out of our allowing Christ to be our Savior and essentially our life. A growing Christian who is properly integrated into the local church can have a great impact on that congregation. The Bible calls us to spiritual growth - not only to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but also to be developing in that relationship. So many of these qualities can help us to do that: "Practices regular private devotional time" is certainly an area that I would have ranked highly, because it includes our communication with Christ through the study of the Word of God, through which He speaks to us, and through prayer, in which we are able to develop 2-way communication with Him.
A portrait of a highly functional church member is predicated on getting the vertical relationship right, and the horizontal - how we relate to others - then proceeds from that. So the person who gives, who works for unity, who evangelizes, can thrive in those areas as he and she grows in communion and connection with the Lord. The outward demonstration of the inward work of the Spirit in our lives can result in that 4th-ranked characteristic: "lives a godly life". This informal survey can encourage us to consider these characteristics and be sure that we are allowing the Spirit to produce His desire fruit in and through us.
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