Meyu Changkiri
Every age has its crises. In ours, corruption, immorality, and conflict plague our societies. From dishonesty in politics to breakdowns in family life, from division in communities to violence in public spaces, the moral fabric of society is under strain. Analysts point to poor governance, poverty, lack of education, or social inequality. Yet behind these visible causes lies a deeper, quieter problem - a silent crisis within the church itself.
It must be emphasized from the outset that the reflections and scenarios shared here are not about one local church alone. They describe patterns seen across many congregations, especially in towns, cities, and diaspora settings. The issue of neglected membership and casual accountability is not confined to a single place but represents a widespread and pressing challenge for the body of Christ in our time.
This crisis is not a shortage of programs, buildings, or resources. It is the neglect of church membership, the casual attitude with which many Christians treat covenant accountability. Increasingly, believers carry membership as if it were a name on a roll rather than a covenant of holiness and responsibility. They float between churches, enjoy privileges without sharing burdens, and claim rights without submitting to discipline. In doing so, they weaken discipleship, dilute the church’s witness, and silently fuel the very corruption and immorality they are called to resist.
Membership and the Witness of the Church
Jesus described His disciples as the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13–16). Salt prevents decay; light exposes darkness. Yet when Christians neglect covenant accountability, their salt loses its flavor and their light grows dim. This is the silent crisis of the church: a collapse of witness caused not by outside persecution but by inward neglect. Without faithful membership, Christians drift into isolation, and the church’s moral authority fades.
The prophet Ezekiel accused Israel of profaning God’s name among the nations by their disobedience (Ezekiel 36:20–23). Similarly, when church members take their covenant lightly, they dishonor Christ and cause His name to be mocked in society.
The early church in Acts 2 provides a contrasting example. Believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers (Acts 2:42). Their togetherness was not casual; it was covenantal. They knew one another, shared burdens, and held each other accountable. The result was a community so compelling that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). A strong church membership anchored in discipleship and accountability became a powerful witness to the watching world.
Corruption and Neglected Membership
Corruption thrives where accountability is absent. In society, this means weak institutions. In the church, it means neglected membership - the silent crisis that eats away at holiness from within.
1. Lack of Accountability. Believers whose membership is “elsewhere” but who live unaccountably in another congregation have no framework for correction. Without pastoral oversight or congregational discipline, dishonest practices grow unchecked.
2. Selective Christianity. Many approach membership only when they need something - a marriage recommendation, a certificate, or a pastoral signature. At other times, they remain absent. This consumerist approach reduces membership to a transaction, not a covenant.
3. Weak Moral Standards. Without covenant accountability, believers more easily justify bribery, dishonesty, and shortcuts. In workplaces and public life, they act no differently from unbelievers, blending into the very corruption the church is called to resist.
The silent crisis of the church makes it impossible for the body of Christ to stand against corruption when its own members are unaccountable.
The Diaspora Challenge and Carefree Membership
This silent crisis is felt most acutely in towns and cities where diaspora communities settle. Many Christians migrate from their native villages and towns in search of higher education, employment, or new opportunities. Yet, rather than establishing covenant membership in the place where they now live, they continue to hold membership in their “home church” back in their native place.
This creates a dangerous gap. Families sometimes claim they are attending one church or another, but in reality, they attend none consistently. Their names remain on a membership roll miles away, while their spiritual and moral life is left to themselves. With no pastoral oversight, no covenant accountability, and no meaningful fellowship, they drift into a careless, consumerist Christianity. This rootless existence feeds the silent crisis of the church, leaving believers spiritually vulnerable and congregations weakened.
The Absence of Discipline in a Rootless Church
When membership is neglected, accountability vanishes. If something unpleasant happens - if an unattached believer falls into adultery, crime, or corruption - which church will take disciplinary action? Too often the answer is none. Everyone turns a blind eye, pretending not to see or know.
This is not just about individuals in moral failure; it is also about leaders. When so-called leaders openly involve themselves in corruption, which church has had the courage to discipline them? Instead of discipline, silence prevails. This silence is not neutral - it is complicity. By refusing to hold members and leaders accountable, the church allows sin to flourish unchecked, undermining its own credibility before the world.
The silent crisis of the church is not only about casual members drifting between congregations. It is also about churches failing to exercise the God-given responsibility of discipline. Without discipline, holiness becomes optional, accountability collapses, and the prophetic voice of the church is muted.
Immorality and the Casual Christian
Immorality flourishes when holiness is neglected. The church is called to be “a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), yet the silent crisis of the church has allowed casual Christianity to thrive.
Christians who worship in one place but claim membership elsewhere live in spiritual limbo. They receive teaching and fellowship but avoid accountability. In this space, immorality can thrive because no church assumes responsibility. Hidden sins - whether dishonesty, gossip, sexual immorality, or addiction - remain unchallenged.
Churches cannot discipline those who are not their members, nor those who are members on paper but absent in practice. This creates a culture where sin is tolerated, believers live as they please, and the world mocks the church for hypocrisy. Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for tolerating immorality in its midst (1 Corinthians 5). To neglect membership today is to repeat Corinth’s mistake: immorality flourishes, and the gospel is discredited.
Hebrews 10:24–25 reminds believers to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together.” When membership is treated lightly, this biblical command is ignored, and the result is moral compromise.
Conflicts Rooted in Neglect of Membership
Conflicts in society often mirror conflicts within the church. When membership is neglected, forgiveness and unity are replaced with criticism and division.
Floating Christians - unattached and unaccountable - often stir unrest without bearing responsibility. They resist leadership and criticize policies, yet they lack the covenant right to govern the church’s life. People like this are also the quickest to point their fingers at the church when things go wrong. They breed gossip and disunity among members because they have no real concern for the healthy growth of the church. Their words may be loud, but their commitment is shallow.
This, too, is part of the silent crisis of the church. Instead of being peacemakers, unattached believers carry unresolved conflicts into workplaces, families, and communities.
Jesus prayed that His disciples would be one “so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Neglected membership undermines this unity and contributes directly to the culture of conflict.
The Burden on Pastors and Churches
Pastors feel the silent crisis of the church more heavily than anyone. Membership on paper but not in practice leaves leaders burdened with ghost members, strained finances, unresolved discipline, and painful pastoral dilemmas.
1. Membership on Paper. Rolls are crowded with names of “ghost members” who neither attend nor contribute. Their absence inflates statistics and confuses decisions.
2. Pastoral Dilemmas at Funerals. People expect full honors for loved ones whose membership was unsettled, creating emotional strain for pastors.
3. Marriage Recommendations and Certificates. Absent members reappear only when they need privileges, reducing membership to convenience and placing pastors in conflict.
4. Financial and Spiritual Strain. Neglected stewardship weakens ministries, leaving faithful members discouraged and pastors stretched thin.
5. Obstacles to Discipline. Without covenant membership, discipline collapses, and sin goes unchecked.
This silent crisis exhausts shepherds and weakens the body of Christ. Instead of each member carrying responsibility (1 Corinthians 12:12–27), a few faithful ones carry the weight for many.
Historical Witness
History confirms that when church membership is neglected, the witness of the church declines. In medieval Europe, membership became cultural rather than covenantal. Baptism at birth placed individuals into the church, but without personal faith and accountability, corruption flourished inside its very walls. This spiritual decline led to the Protestant Reformation, where reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin insisted that the church must consist of regenerate believers bound together in covenant.
Baptists, in particular, emphasized believer’s baptism and covenant membership, not as empty rituals but as safeguards against nominal Christianity. Wherever membership was treated as names on a roll, the church declined. Wherever membership was guarded as a covenant of holiness and accountability, the church remained strong, mission-driven, and faithful to its calling.
This historical witness warns today’s church: if we allow membership to become casual, we repeat the very mistakes that weakened the church in past centuries.
A Prophetic Warning to the Church
The prophets consistently warned that when God’s people failed to live out their covenant, society collapsed. Isaiah rebuked Israel for offering worship while practicing injustice (Isaiah 1:10–17). Amos condemned offerings without righteousness (Amos 5:21–24). The letters to the churches in Revelation echo the same warning: repent, strengthen what remains, or the lampstand will be removed.
The same warning applies today. When church members neglect their covenant responsibilities, corruption, immorality, and conflict increase. The silent crisis of the church robs it of its prophetic voice. Unless addressed, this inward neglect will continue to hollow out the church’s witness.
A Call to Renewal
If revival is to come, it must begin with the church awakening to its silent crisis. Renewal must take place at every level:
1. For Individuals. Christians must embrace membership as a covenant of discipleship, not a convenience. To attend without membership is to enjoy blessings without responsibility. True discipleship requires commitment, accountability, and faithfulness.
2. For Churches. Congregations must teach the seriousness of membership. Rolls should reflect active discipleship, not nominal association. Transfers must be handled carefully to prevent believers from drifting into spiritual limbo. Discipline must be restored as an act of love.
3. For Pastors. Leaders must teach boldly that membership is covenant, not paperwork. They must model courage and compassion, balancing grace with truth. Discipline should not be feared, for a disciplined church is a holy and strong church.
The world does not need more churches in name. It needs covenant communities of salt and light.
Conclusion
Corruption, immorality, and conflict are not only problems of society; they are symptoms of a deeper wound within the church. The neglect of membership - the silent crisis of the church - has left believers unaccountable, discipleship weakened, and witness compromised. When Christians live as unattached individuals rather than covenant partners, they lose their saltiness and dim their light, leaving society without a compelling alternative to decay and darkness.
It must be made clear again that these reflections are not directed at one local congregation alone. They describe a reality that can be observed across towns, cities, and diaspora communities alike. The silent crisis of the church is a global challenge, weakening the witness of Christ’s body wherever membership is treated casually.
If renewal is to come, it must begin here: the church must awaken to its silent crisis. Believers must rediscover membership as a covenant of accountability and holiness. Churches must guard their rolls with integrity and restore discipline with grace. Pastors must lead with courage, reminding God’s people that membership is not convenience but covenant. Only then will the church reclaim its voice, confront corruption with integrity, and embody the holiness of Christ before a watching world.
The silent crisis can no longer remain silent. The time for renewal is now.
