Moratorium on Church Membership?

Who have ever heard of a pastor of a church wanting to call for a moratorium on adding any new church members? None that I’m aware of. But this is exactly what this pastor desires to do in his heart. Why you ask? Simply because it has been affirmed and reaffirmed over and over again that the typical, modern-day professing Christian doesn’t have a clue what it means to member of a church. Church Membership has all but lost all of its significance today in our culture. Far from being a community of deeply devoted Christ-followers who covenant together to share all of life together for the glory of God and to carry out the great commission, we change churches like we change our shoes. We’ll try this one for a while, and if it doesn’t fit, we’ll kick it off and get another, without one ounce of regret or second-thought. But what can we expect from the ultimate consumer-driven culture in which coveting is a value and where our personal happiness reigns supreme? In many ways, it takes more effort and devotion to be a member of the local “animal” lodge than it does the church of the Jesus Christ. If this small, insignificant, saved-by-grace pastor is broken-hearted over the current condition of Christ’s bride today, I can’t even imagine how broken-hearted He is.