Joining the Church

It seems to me that there are two ways in which one can interpret "join the church."

The first way is if one views the church as an organization, in which case it is the same as joining a club or a society: To go from being on the outside to being on the inside.

The second way is if one views the church as an active organism accomplishing a work, in which it is the same as joining a charity board or a chain-gang: To go from being inactive to being active.

It also seems to me that the second interpretation is the only Biblical one.