Our church for example, does not require a "membership".  You do not have to go and "register" to be part of the church.  I know there are some churches that requires a membership before you can partake in Communion for example.  Unfortunately there are hundreds of "church members" that calls themselves Christians that partake in Communion and who do not really understand what it's truly about.  I know.  I used to be one of them!  What I've learnt in the past is that a membership can be a smokescreen for our faith, or lack thereof.  "You cannot do this, but just sign here, then you're welcome to all the church blessings" I'm sorry if I'm stepping on toes, but I do not believe in the physical act of "registering to become a member of the church".  To me it borders on being religious (I'm going to confuse some by this statement ) If you are a believer in Christ, you are already part of His Church, The Body of Christ.  You are already a member of the Church of Christ.  As children of God, we do not belong to some organisation or company that requires a registration to keep track of its members.  We belong to God.  One body.  Individual members.

Romans 12:5 - so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Regarding Communion (in our church, again as an example, you only need to be a true believer in Christ to partake in Communion):
1 Corinthians 10:16 - The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

1 Corinthians 12:12 - [ Unity and Diversity in One Body ] For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27 - Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Colossians 1:24 - I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church

So in conclusion.  Looking at these scriptures, I would say that a definite membership is not required.  The only requirement is to trust and believe in Jesus Christ.  That is what makes us brothers and sisters with God being our Father.  Our responsibilities lie firstly towards God, secondly towards our family and then towards each other.  Supporting, praying for, edifying, teaching, rebuking (discipline) and loving each other.

Okay, another reason I love this guy.  

SoL@R :  Yep, yep.  Your first paragraph pretty much explains my husband's view in a nutshell.  Now that I can see it written down and read it, I can actually almost hear those very words coming from his mouth.  Don't worry about your explanation... It made perfect sense to me.  I think for my husband though, the idea of a church membership just really, really irks him because of that 'religious' nature. It seems to be a very, very important concept to him.... almost to the point of him being turned away from a church because they have church memberships.  It just seems to upset him so very, very much.

I already knew and understood what you said about communion, but I never really thought of it being used as evidence for or against church membership.  When my husband approached our pastor to question his beliefs last Sunday, the pastor used specific examples to cite why he thought church membership was implied to be necessary.  He talked about people being removed from the church and thus there being some sort of 'in and out'..... talked about local gatherings of a church, church government laid out by example in the bible, and a few other things.

Jason then brought up the idea of our church membership being the 'body of Christ', and the pastor didn't seem too happy about that.  He agreed, yes, that we are all a part of the Body of Christ, but he said that idea was 'too universal'....  That the universal idea is what keeps believers from attending church, because they can simply say "I have a church membership.  I am a part of the body of Christ."  Those may not be his exact words... I'm just paraphrasing what I remember his answer to be.

Thanks for the thoughtful insight!

Singelli :  Glad I could contribute