Church Membership
Everybody in the blogosphere has talked about it, so why not me? I was reading Shane Raynor's latest post over on Wesley Blog about membership where he has pretty much come to the conclusion that we should do away with it. Now this seemed kind of extreme to me when I first thought about it, but I do think he has a point. And I do believe we have some problems with our membership philosophies.
Adam Hamilton, in his book Leading Beyond the Walls, describes two kinds of churches. There are those mainline churches who do their best to get the "numbers" up because it shows the higher ups that they are growing. As a matter of fact I've heard of a high pressure minister that came before me and tried to guilt people into joining. Another pastor that used to be down the road, but has since moved, still holds a grudge against this guy for trying to steal members away from his church.
And to be honest, we Methodist ministers are likely to think long and hard about the number of people who've joined or been baptized or are attending. This is because we've been told that this is how we are evaluated.
The other kind of church is one who, as Hamilton puts it, "see membership as a way of differentiating between the 'real Christians' and everyone else." (page 54) I've never been in one of these, but Hamilton claims that they make you go through extensive membership classes and distinguish between the members and non-members in every conceivable way.
So are we to become churches with no membership whatsoever, or ones who make you go through the ringer to get in? Or is there an inbetween. Well, as anyone who knows me can attest to, I believe the truth can almost always be found in the middle somewhere. I have a definite problem with the 1032 Judicial Council decision which allowed a pastor to keep a homosexual from joining his church. This is not because I believe homosexuality is not sinful, but that I believe that many adulterers, drunkards, and other unrepentantly sinful people join our churches everyday.
On the other hand, I believe that if we're going to join the church, it should mean something. We simply do not teach accountability and responsibility enough in our churches anymore. Or at least that's how I see it.
So what do we do? I believe first of all that our worship has to be open to everyone. Who are we to keep someone out of "GOD'S" House. Many think of the church as their own personal place of worship. But let's be very clear about whose it really is. Second, I believe that if someone wants to join, they should be able to. But if they want to become a member they need to know exactly what that entails. It means that they will belong to a family and will have to support that family and the ministries of their new home in a variety of ways. Along with this membership comes the love and fellowship of the other members who will be faithful to care for them. But this also means that as a member of this family, they will be responsible for doing the same.
People must understand that they, along with every other member, are sinners saved by God's grace. This also means that there is a need for their repentance. All these things, along with the history of the church and denomination can be taught in a couple classes. After which the person can join. They will come before the church and acknowledge their support for the church, and their names can be put on a pretty little certificate that they can place somewhere in their scrapbook.
And here it comes...Are you ready for this? Keep no more records of it. Yes, I said it. Do away with the roll. Man, I hope my bishop doesn't read this(ha ha). I don't believe there was a roll in the first church in Acts. And I don't think we need one now. I mean don't you think God already knows? And we can keep up with church growth by attendance (which is a much better record anyway).
But seeing as how I am a small speck in a mighty Church, I doubt my ideas will ever be taken seriously by the powers that be. So in the meantime I will keep doing what I'm told.
posted by Greg Hazelrig @ 2:31 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
dannyg, I have a problem with what you term "benefits" of membership. I just read yesterday about Adam Hamilton's Church of the Resurrection. And let me first add that I'm not a Hamiliton junkie or anything, but just read something that I've been thinking, but just haven't really put into words. And that is that when someone joins their church they are not getting benefits. They are told that they are taking on responsibilities.
I believe that all who come to the church are part of the "church family". I have gone 3 hrs to sit with the family of a lady having surgery. She was not a member, but a friend of one who'd come a few times. Now the family comes regularly. Yet they have not joined. She is just as important to me as the person who's been there a hundered years. Both are equal parts of the family.
The reason I brought up Hamilton earlier is because I agree with him that membership should be about responsibility to the church and not for what people can receive. Everybody should receive from the pastor and the church.
The only thing that non-members cannot do at my churches is be on certain committees. If membership were done away with, the nominations (lay leadership) committee would have to be very intentional to choose faithful attenders to be on the committees. As it is now, often times I have committee members that I never see other than at the meeting. But that's another story for another post.
Oh no, we can't have that now. Ha ha.
I wish my parishioners would say the same. :)
But seriously, thanks. And thanks for your comments too. I always appreciate your opinions.
The membership issue has driven me crazy since I became a pastor. On one hand, the conference does evaluate pastors and churches by the number of members on the roll, which I do not agree with. Numbers on a roll do not reflect the true spiritual nature of a congregation. On the other hand, I believe that it is healthy for people to make a committment to join a particular body of Christ, to identify with that church group -- in essence, joining the family and pledging to not only attend but to serve and support others through their presence, offerings, and spiritual gifts. I think this is an important step in the life of an individual and in the life of a church. When we had a teen join our congregation of 15 people last year, his declaration that he wanted to join the church caused older members to cry with joy. Someone had chosen to join their family. It affirmed them and it affirmed what God was doing in their midst. I generally mention it to those who have been attending, but do not pressure them to do anything they are not led to do, even though it has hurt my standing in the conference to some degree.
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