The Path of Membership in the Early Church -- By: Scott McCullar

Journal: Faith and Mission
Volume: FM 19:3 (Summer 2002)
Article: The Path of Membership in the Early Church
Author: Scott McCullar


The Path of Membership in the Early Church

Scott McCullar

M.Div. Student
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina 27587

How did membership into the church operate during the patristic period? Was it similar to how people join the Baptist church today in regard to walking down an aisle, publicly professing Christ, and quickly being baptized and integrated into church life? The truth is, entering into the fellowship of the early church was holistically different and foreign to the methods currently employed. To see exactly how these two models are so different, one must examine the emergence of the catechumenate as well as the path which the catechumen would have to take to enter fully and completely into church membership.

To begin, one must examine the possible origin of the early church catechumenate in order to recognize the difference from today’s model of local church orientation and initiation. The Didache, an early church manual, includes a section on the way of life and the way of death. The way of life concerns the behavior a Christian is supposed to have toward God and his neighbor.1 The author examines how to live the way of life in detail.2 The way of death is simply described as evil. The author provides a list of prevalent evils along with a strong admonition to flee from them.3

Interestingly enough, the same “two ways” are also found in the Epistle of Barnabas. The author of this early work writes that there are two ways of teaching—a way of life and a way of death. He then goes on to list all the concepts included in the way of life. He then warns the reader that the way of death is also the path to damnation.4 In Made, Not Born, Robert M. Grant notes that the ideas of the way of life and the way of death could have originated in Jewish sources. He argues particularly that a Jewish catechism is the most probable source. Grant notes how practical these teachings are, but also remarks that one cannot find the whole scope of Christian teaching in the two ways. These “ways” are simply practical steps that the believers are commanded to follow. The theological understandings must have been presented separately. Thus, in Grant’s mind, these theological concepts flow from a very simple Jewish catechism, certainly available to the members of the early church.5

In order to recognize the true differences between the modern rit...

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