Automatic Termination of Church Membership?

Should membership in a local church grant you “forever status” in that congregation until you choose to “move your membership” or withdraw?

In recent conversation with the several attorneys, it was strongly recommended to me that an automatic termination of membership for nonattendance be included in a church’s bylaws. This provision would automatically, and without any further action from anyone, remove from the church membership rolls any person who had not been in regular attendance during a designated time. Further, it was recommended to NOT move members in an “inactive” or “non-resident” membership status. This is a problem because it is a vague status. For instance,

• May those “inactive” or “non-resident” members vote?
• If not, may they attend “member only” meetings?
• If so, may they have a say on the issue at hand?
• When they are present in a meeting in which a vote is taken, are they counted for the purposes of determining whether a quorum is present?

Most pastors (and members, too) have experienced that when there is internal church dissension, members who have not attended for months often appear and expect to have a say and/or vote in the matter. It is obvious to most of us that someone who has not attended any service in several months is upset at something and are likely returning to defend an agenda or make a point about a personal preference. Providing for an automatic termination clears up any confusion as to who is eligible to vote, attend member meetings, count for quorum purposes, or have a say in a member’s meeting. Obviously, you would exclude from this termination provision such persons as college students, military personnel, shut-ins, missionaries, evangelists or others who are legitimately unable to attend regular activities of the church.

The automatic termination of members who flaunt their sexual immorality spares the church the shame of having to "speak of those things which are done of them in secret" for discipline purposes. By establishing an automatic termination for "going to law against a brother" provides the church with protection against having to retain a person as a member who is willing to harm the church by taking it to court. If this provision is automatic, it will avoid the charge of retaliation.

How do you feel about churches putting provisions in place for automatic termination of church membership?

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