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Okay, so why join a church, like 
officially join a church? It's one thing to attend and 
visit and be faithful, but why join a church? Well, I think 
the first answer to that question, not the only answer, but the 
first answer to that question is because God commands it. And 
so that's an excellent reason. And as Christians, we are to 
joyfully receive the commands of God and obey with a joy-filled 
compliance, because it's our delight to please the One who 
has created us, who upholds us, and who has redeemed us through 
the precious work of His only begotten Son. And you know, one 
of the passages I think that should always come up in a discussion 
like this is in Hebrews chapter 10, where we see the Apostle 
Paul writing explicitly that we are not to forsake the assembling 
of ourselves together. And in the context, it's in the 
context of the blessed high priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. who 
has gone before us with the perfection of His salvation, who appears 
before the Lord God Almighty as our eternal intercessor. And 
so the blessing of going into church is in that first step 
of obedience to God, because He calls His people to gather 
together, because it's therein that He communes, it's therein 
that the Lord Jesus Christ walks amongst His lampstands, as we 
read in the book of Revelation. And so getting back to the quick 
and simple answer, because the Bible commands it, and as Christians 
we joyfully comply. not to be contrary, but a lot 
of people don't believe that the Bible commands church membership 
at the local level. But I would suggest that the 
Scripture, specifically the book of Acts, indicates that the church 
could be joined. It indicates that the church 
was unified. I think the duties of pastoral 
ministry necessitate church membership. A pastor at one local church 
isn't the pastor at every local church. He's not the FBI with 
universal jurisdiction or the CIA. And then the responsibilities 
of persons to their pastors. You know, Person A in Church 
A is not to carry out the Hebrews 13 admonitions to Pastor B in 
Church B, and then the discipline. Discipline assumes local church 
membership. When Jesus says, tell it to the 
church, He doesn't mean every single church out there. He doesn't mean the universal 
church. He means the local church to 
which that particular person is accountable. So, the Great 
Commission, make the disciples, baptize the disciples, teach 
the disciples. The teaching of the disciples 
takes place in the gathered church. So, yes, people should join churches. Church is also not just a preaching 
station. People look at church only insofar 
as the preaching. Well, it's not that. There's, 
I mean, it is that, but in addition to that, there's the corporate 
means of grace. There's the celebration of baptism. There's the supper. There's the 
accountability one to another. There is the discipline of the 
church. So, all these things take place in specific contexts, 
in specific memberships, and I would just say it's a good 
and commendable thing to be a part of a local church. Yeah, you 
know, we're not maverick Christians who just go about our life of 
Christianity as individuals. Don't forsake the assembling 
of yourselves together, as is the manner of some. And part 
of the rest of that verse speaks about exhorting one another, 
and so much the more as you see the day approaching, and as Jim 
mentioned, we have this others' obligation within the Christian 
life, and that obtains, that takes place within the context 
of church. One of the benefits and the privileges 
of being a member in a church is a veiling of the community 
of believers. You know, we read in the New 
Testament as well, in Colossians and Ephesians, that one of those 
acts or elements of worship is singing to one another in psalms 
and hymns and spiritual songs. Our first direction and obligation 
is, of course, vertical. It's Godward. We're worshiping 
the triune God, but there's also that horizontal aspect. to gathering 
together in church for worship, and that's to encourage one another, 
to edify one another, to sing God's Word to one another, to 
sing blessed theology to one another, and encourage each other 
in that act of worship. I mean, yeah. I think a lot of people are just 
gun-shy or even hurt or burned in the past or abused. I think 
that's maybe some of the reluctance around it, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. 
It's the analogy of, it's a flock, they're gonna be shepherded. 
Like many other things though, the argument can never be because 
something is abused, therefore there's no proper use. People 
abuse alcohol, people abuse gun ownership, but that does not 
argue against the proper use of the thing. So I would say 
people that have been burned or they have had a bad experience, 
find a church where you can throw in your lot. Yeah, yeah definitely. Right there.