8-9 Minute Read | Some time ago, we studied Don Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (if you were not part of that study, I highly commend the book to you). Well, he wrote another book called Spiritual Disciplines within the Church. I knew I'd want to read it, so when I saw an opportunity to buy it, I picked it up. It's been sitting in a stack of books on my desk to read, and I've finally gotten around to reading it. This is another book that I will commend very highly, but for a more narrow audience. This book is excellent for anyone struggling with questions like: Why go to church? What do we do when we get there? What does it mean to be a church member? While there are a number of answers to each of these questions, I want to home in on a particular theme by borrowing a term from Whitney's book. The theme is "commitment" and the term is "spiritual hitchhiker." First, let me share what Whitney said regarding this term:
Think about the "spiritual hitchhiker"... [he] has definitely decided where he wants to attend church, but now he wants all the benefits and privileges of that church's ministry without taking any responsibility for it. His attitude is all take and no give. He wants no accountability, just a free ride.
[He] wants to enjoy its advantages without any obligation on his part. He wants convenience without commitment, to be served rather than to serve... When you join a church, you're saying you believe in taking your individual part and that you don't want to be a spiritual hitchhiker.1
He came across this term from a magazine that Moody Bible Institute puts out, and he used it in conjunction with Ephesians 4:16, which talks about how each individual member of a local church holds the whole body together when "each part is working properly" (ESV). Through this mutual commitment, the individual parts of the body make the whole collection grow and then build the whole collection up.
Well, what happens when the collective whole is missing important parts? Put simply, the body struggles to grow as it should. It struggles to be built up as it should. In comes the term "spiritual hitchhiker." He uses the term to describe a person who attends a church without joining. They receive the benefits of "being a part of the church" without being held accountable to any official commitments. However, I believe this term can be expanded to include a broader range of people. I believe church members... that's right... you and I... can be guilty of spiritual hitchhiking!
Contrasting "Hitchhiking" with "Membership"
One of my emphases in the church this past year has been "meaningful membership." This term might seem redundant, because membership, by definition, means something. The question is: "What does it mean?" Or, to be more pointed: "How does the Bible define it?" My push for meaningful membership is really a push for a more committed dedication to a biblical understanding and practice of church membership. The Bible has much to say about membership (even if it never uses that precise term), but one way to summarize it is with the word "commitment." Church members are Christians who are committed to God and committed to practicing the "one another"s of the New Testament. They are committed to believing and obeying the Bible together.
The spiritual hitchhiker is not committed. Maybe the hitchhiker is willing to chip in some money, and he is certainly willing to hop in the car when he needs it or when it's convenient (various church functions, activities, business meetings, church votes, etc.), but he has no real relational investment. His commitment is superficial. The car is simply a means to serve himself and to take him where he wants to go. It might be fair to say that his commitment is to himself.
If we're honest, this temptation exists within all of us, doesn't it? I can feel it: the prospect of receiving benefits and exercising various privileges without responsibility or accountability?! My flesh screams: "SIGN ME UP!" And if left to my own devices, I will ride that train as long as I'm allowed. This is precisely why Jesus died for me! On my own, I do not seek God! I do not desire to obey His Word! But Jesus died for me to give me a new heart with a new love for God and people, new holy affections, and new desires to learn His Word and obey it! Jesus wants me to enjoy the benefits and privileges of being a child of God in a local church, but He does not want me to do so without the responsibility and accountability that comes with it.
What does all of this mean for us? Well, there are two specific spheres of application for us to consider: application as a church and personal application. I'll look briefly at each.
Application as a Church
1. Define "spiritual hitchhiker."
The term "spiritual hitchhiker" is easier to define when a church has a clearer understanding and articulation of what membership is. If responsibilities and expectations aren't present or clear, then the spiritual hitchhiker is not hitchhiking as much as he is just taking and enjoying what he's being freely given. Essentially, we have advertised ourselves as a free car service, and the hitchhiker is simply accepting the offer. In this case, the hitchhiker is no longer a hitchhiker, but a customer. This is a customer who has a say in the "business model" that is reaching him at no cost. That kind of customer will continue to stack the deck with high benefit, low cost cards, further obscuring what membership actually means.
One solution to this problem is stating clearly what membership in a church means. It will only be clear what a hitchhiker is when it is clear what membership is. Traditionally, churches have communicated membership responsibilities in a "church covenant." This covenant states, as clearly and directly as possible, what the members of a body are committing to do as members. (I've included a copy of our church covenant as a footnote below2)
2. Identify and help spiritual hitchhikers.
Once it is clear what a spiritual hitchhiker is, we should seek to help those who appear to be stuck in that situation. However, we must do so with wisdom. Consider the teaching of Jesus:
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. -Matt. 7:3-5
The first spiritual hitchhiker we must be aware of is Self! As Robert Robinson wrote back in the 1700's, we are "prone to wander... prone to leave the God I love." We must be diligent to examine ourselves with sober judgment (Rom. 12:3), so that we might better help one another.
Once we've examined ourselves, we must help others! Again, having a clear church covenant is vital. If we try to help correct others without a clear church covenant, at least 2 things will happen: 1) We will end up using our own conscience (even if it's biblically informed) as the ruler by which we measure all others; or 2) We will be met with hostility by the one who has not asked for accountability. Imagine giving a ride to a hitchhiker, and then, as you near the destination, you say, "Okay, we're just about there. It was nice getting to chat and ride together. By the way, I noticed you haven't given me any money, and that's kind of the socially appropriate thing to do. Please put it here in the cupholder before we reach our destination." This hitchhiker never signed up to pay for a ride. The mutual understanding was that the ride was free. Therefore, any suggestion that he should pay for the ride will be met with hostility.
One final note, here... By having a church covenant and never using it to correct those who violate it, what we are communicating is that we actually don't have a church covenant. A church covenant must be used if it is to be useful. This falls to each individual member of the body. When you see someone living in violation of the church covenant, it is your responsibility to help guide that person back (James 5:19-20; Gal. 6:1-5). This is part of our corporate sanctification together. By not addressing those who are living in rebellion to our commitments (so long as they're biblical), we are condoning sin within the church. We become complicit by our silence, much like the Corinthians were in 1 Corinthians 5. This is why Jesus instructed us in Matthew 18:15-20 about how to handle conflict within the church. By not addressing and handling conflict in the church, we are actually living in disobedience to our Lord.
Personal Application
Here are some questions to ask yourself and reflect upon:
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- Are you a member in name but not in practice?
- Are you familiar with the church covenant?
- Do you desire for others to help you grow in holiness?
- Do you desire to help others grow in holiness?
- What are some reasons we (collectively... historically) have not practiced meaningful membership? What are some reasons this sounds hard to do (personally)?
- What questions do I have that I need to work through as I think about what membership means (or should mean) for our church?
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I do not always know what questions might arise from different topics I address, but I want to actually have discussions about these things. If you reply to this message, it comes directly to me. No one else in the group will see it. Please send me your questions or thoughts along the way (even if it's as simple as an affirmation). It's helpful for me to know where everyone appears to be at along the way so that we can chart a path forward together. If you disagree, let's talk about why. As I get questions, I can send out some Q&A responses throughout the month with questions that have been asked (no names) and answers.
May we live out our "new creation" identity in the context of our local church (2 Cor. 5:17). We have been set free from sin by Jesus Christ, that we might be a holy people. This is the gospel. May we love it deeply, live it out, and give it away to any who will listen.
1 Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines within the Church, p. 53.
2 Our current church covenant, per our by-laws:
"Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale of, and use of, intoxicating drinks as a beverage; to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word."