"Perhaps the most potent passage I sometimes take people to when discussing the need for church membership is Hebrews 13:17 which reads: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls..." - Ref21
"Churches sometimes face legal exposure. Even a well-functioning, gospel-preaching, Scripture-affirming church can find itself facing a lawsuit." - 9 Marks
"Isn’t it ironic that a high commitment like church membership can bring about a sense of freedom? I’m not exactly sure how that works but I do have some clarity on what I think it’s not. It’s not because I feel I can do whatever I want, or that I am free to be uniquely 'me'"... 9 Marks
"...some church leaders—especially cult leaders of false churches—abuse their power and take advantage of others. That’s what ex-Mormons experienced. But a biblical understanding of church membership actually inhibits such authoritarian abuses from ever happening." - 9 Marks
"The decline in church membership appears to be primarily a result of more Americans expressing no religious preference....Most of the rest of the drop can be attributed to a decline in formal church membership among Americans who do have a religious preference.... Those in older generations who were likely to be church members are being replaced in the U.S. adult population by younger people less likely to join institutions." - TGC
"This kind of training seems to have started very early in church history, even during the apostolic age. So it is worth asking the questions: what did the apostolic church teach new believers? What were the fundamentals of the faith? What did early Christian catechism look like?" - Wyatt Graham
"Communes are just people who happen to live near one another, but a family is a web of organic relationships that develop within defined commitments and roles. If you want the church to be a family, commit to formal church membership." - 9 Marks
