This Sunday at REUNION we will be celebrating several milestones. A baby will be dedicated, a young man will be Ordained into the ministry, several people will be baptized in water, and we will receive members into the church.
That last one — membership — always seems to get the most resistance. People who are on board with dedication, ordination and baptism seem to step on the brakes when the talk turns to church membership. Part of that is just a function of the age in which we live; in the transient 21st century careers, locations and even relationships are thought of as less permanent and long-term commitment strikes fear and terror into the hearts of many.
When the subject of church membership is introduced, I hear a few standard responses:
• “I don’t see what’s the big deal?”
• “I am already a member of another church, where I used to attend.”
• “Can’t I just attend and participate without all that official membership stuff?”
Let’s deal with those, one at a time.
“I don’t see what’s the big deal?” I do. Membership has meaning. I am well aware that joining a church has multiple layers of meaning… you are aligning yourself with a denominational entity, and all the baggage that entails… you are implying a deeper level of commitment to and responsibility for the local church as an organization… but (more than any of that) you are expressing your love and trust for a group of people.
“The Church” is so much more than just an institution. The church is that friend you had lunch with last week, with whom you shared your hopes and fears. The church is the family that worships beside you each week. The church is the people who attended your wedding, hosted your baby shower, stood by your bedside when you were hospitalized, and brought over a casserole when you were grieving the loss of a loved one. You have not experienced some of those yet? You will. And the church will be the extended spiritual family who will laugh with you, cry with with and have your back when you need support. Joining such a group is really big deal.
When you stand before that congregation and make a commitment to membership, you are saying to those assembled, “I stand with you. I believe in you. I care for you. I am thankful we can walk through life together. I need you, and you need me.” You can look at church membership at the institutional level if you want to, but for me, joining a church is a highly relational, personal act affirming your love and trust, and what you are really joining is ME.
“I am already a member of another church, where I used to attend.” Well that’s great! That means you have already moved past the reluctance to commit to membership, and now we are just discussing transition. It is a good thing you joined the church you used to attend; the question for you now is why hesitate to make the same commitment to the church you now attend? Your current church is, after all, where God has placed you now. Whether you have relocated, changed churches for relational reasons or whatever, you are where you are, and it is by God’s design. Don’t cling to past and try to drive forward with your eyes fixed in the rearview mirror; get on board with God’s new direction for your life and join yourself to the people, the church, in which God has transplanted you.
“Can’t I just attend and participate without all that official membership stuff?” Sure. You can. But that’s the wrong question. The better question is, “Should I just attend and participate without all that official membership stuff?” No. (What? You thought I’d say “YES.”?) I believe membership matters, because commitment matters.
I have been married to my lovely wife for 42 years. On a sweltering hot Alabama day in 1971 I stood at the front of a little church and made some commitments. I promised to love her for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Over the past 42 years we have experienced some wonderful times and also more than our share of worse, poorer and sickness. Without those vows, the commitments made many years ago, we might have been tempted to throw up our hands, walk away and forget it. There is power in mutual commitment. Sure, you can attend and participate in church without the commitment, but why would anyone choose to do that?
During a recent Pastor’s meeting at REUNION we discussed accountability, and how often we hear about people being accountable to one another. We prefer to be accountable for one another. The best analogy I have seen came from Michael Cheshire, author of How to Knock Over a 7-Eleven and Other Ministry Training.
“I honestly think I would have written off “accountability” altogether if it hadn’t been for the several years I spent as a professional firefighter. During my first year of training, they used the word accountable often but in a radically different way than the Christianese I’d heard. They too added a little word at the end, but it wasn’t “accountable to” but rather “accountable for.” We were accountable for each other. It was a complete paradigm shift for me.
You see, when we are in a burning building, firefighters are paired up. We are responsible to get our partner through the emergency and return them back intact. It doesn’t matter if your partner made a mistake or a bad judgment call that got him in trouble. You’re accountable for him. Period. Get him out of danger. Don’t even think about leaving him behind! No excuses, no giving up, no blame, and no certainly no whining. Sure, chew him out later if he made a stupid move, but right now … “We are getting you out of here, my friend!”
When you are accountable for another, you can’t ask them to leave a group. You don’t get to call a timeout in the middle of an emergency. You have to help them even if it hurts you. And if it comes to it, you trade your life for theirs.
People can walk away from our team or our church because that’s their choice. However, if they choose to stay and “do life” with us, to engage in ministry and community with us, then we are all accountable for each other. We are accountable to get through our lives and callings until we all get to go home.
No excuses, no giving up, no blame, and no certainly no whining. That’s no way to behave in a fire.”
So I am calling you to a deeper level of commitment. I am calling you to church membership. I am calling you not to join an organization, or an institution, but a family.