"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
"Saddleback Church, the California-based megachurch headed by Pastor Rick Warren, announced that they ordained their first three female pastors, despite being affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which prohibits female ordination." - C.Post
"It was Augustine who described the church as 'a hospital for sinners.' He said it would be very strange if people were to criticize hospitals because the patients were sick." - Colin Smith
"The church as a gas station—where you fill up your spiritual gas tank when you’re running low... The church as a movie theater—a place that offers entertainment... The church as a drug store—where you can fill the prescription that will deal with your pain... The church as a big box retailer—the place that offers the best products in a clean and safe environment for you and your family" - Colin Smith
"We live in a highly individualistic culture. Of all the cultures that have ever existed in the history of the world, this is the most individualistic. Our natural pragmatism asks, 'What’s the most efficient way to get things done?' and the local church doesn’t look the most likely vehicle for changing the world." - Colin Smith
"Are parents authorized by Jesus Christ to baptize their children at home? Can a Bible study privately partake of the Lord’s Supper? From our special online event Made in the Image of God, Burk Parsons and Stephen Nichols consider who may legitimately administer the sacraments." - Ligonier
"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
