Steps on the Pathway to Spiritual Transformation
Step 5: Building a Bridge Between Church Membership and Discipleship
(See Reclaiming Evangelism by Jan Linn)
12/4/03

            What does it mean to be a member in the congregation you serve? Usually, membership equals association. When I join a church, it signifies that I choose to associate with a certain group of people and with Jesus Christ. Oh, yes, and I can vote at the annual church meeting! The expectation is thus set at the beginning: you don't need to do much to be a member here.
 
           This is a low threshold of membership that neither asks nor is descriptive of much. Will Willimon puts it well:
"As one lay person put it: 'If we have 60 seconds on national television, what would we say? 'Hi, we're the Methodists. Please be nice?''" (Christianity Today, 8/11/97) What is true of the Methodists is certainly true of the Lutherans, U.C.C. and Disciples, etc.
 
           So, why change the meaning of membership? We do so to form a better match between Jesus' description of following him and our practice of following him in the church.  This seems obvious to me. Remember, Jesus asks for our very selves. However, let me offer another reason.
 
           Religions mediate the issues of meaning and purpose in life through relationships. Men and women are attracted to a purpose through an individual or a community that is fully engaged in living for an ultimate meaning or cause. How does one discern whether a particular system of meaning is of ultimate value? The value is discerned, not merely in its belief system, but by the actions of its members. Plausibility is not so much reasoned as demonstrated. "In other words, there is a nonverbal element which accompanies the idea or concept to make it meaningful in the lives of perplexed persons....Words are cheap; we want explanations that are validated by the commitment of other persons....(the) explanation not only gains credibility but makes a corresponding demand upon the questioner: What will you stake on it?" (Dean M. Kelley, Why Conservative Churches are Growing)
 
           "Most people have the notion that a religious organization can be serious only if it is authoritarian.... There is no reason the members of a non-fundamentalist congregation could not sit down and ask themselves (as the Anabaptists did) what, if anything, they are prepared to be serious about, and then do it." (Dean M. Kelley, in Hoge and Roozen, Understanding Church Growth and Decline)
 
           So, how does one go about leading a church to a new meaning of membership? Very carefully! I would suggest the leader become convinced that churches that ask little from members do them a great disservice. Instead, a congregation serves its members by leading them towards a greater purpose to which they willingly give their commitment because they sense they will find meaning beyond themselves.
 
           What is the purpose? It is the vision fitted to the congregation and the multiple different ways individuals can contribute to it. The commitment comes when the vision comes from God. The commitment comes when the vision is large enough and is believed in passionately by the leaders. The commitment comes when the leaders demonstrate sacrifice in moving towards the vision. The commitment comes when the congregation owns the dream.
 
           So, are you willing to serve the congregation or content to maintain it?
 
           - Cliff Jones - Country Club Christian Church, Kansas City, MO