Does Membership Have Its Privileges? Jeff Pruett © August 4, 2014 This story may seem strange to some folk. This happened nearly 15 years ago and I remember the events farily well. I was working late one evening at the church office. It was about 8:30 when the phone rang. As I was passing the secretarys desk, I leaned over to pick up the receiver and an interesting phone conversation began. Hello, I said. The man on the other end of the line, Is by chance the pastor there? You caught me; I was working late and I answered your call, I responded. He asked my name and he told me his. He went on to tell me he was a member of the First United Methodist Church of a nearby city. And then he asked, I would like to be a member of your church; will you transfer my membership to Diamondhead United Methodist Church for me? At that time, we had nearly six vistor families a week, and I didnt remember all the names, but I didnt have the slightest recollection of this mans name. So I asked, Have we met? He told me we had not. I then asked, Have you ever attended worship or any other ministry or mission activity? Again, he told me no. This man and I had never met. He had not been on campus for any activity. My next question: Dont you think it would be a good idea to participate in something before you join it? And he told me, No, not really because it isnt going to matter really. It doesnt matter? I asked. He was pretty quick with his answers, No, it doesnt matter, because I dont plan on attending anyway. You see, I play golf on Sunday mornings and dont have time for church. I then said, Well sir, we have expectations of members to participate in worship, Bible study and in some place of service or witness. So let me ask: If you dont plan on attending, why do you want to be a member on the books of Diamondhead United Methodist Church? He gave me an interesting answer: You all have the best looking church building around and I like to be a member of the best. In a way he was offering a compliment. In another way, he was reminding me of the importance of understanding church membership. I said to him, Sir, I think it will be best for you to stay a member of First Church. That made him mad. He said, You will not transfer my membership then? No sir. We seek to live out our membership vows when we say we will be faithful with our prayers, presence, gifts and service (now witness has been added), was my response. We concluded the phone call and I have thought a lot about that conversation over the years. If we listen within the public sphere, there are a lot of places and people that communicate that the world revolves around self. Theres a good deal of narcissism in the public arena, as if we each are the center of our own universe. And really it feels good to think we are the center of attention. In some form or fashion many people like to live the spotlight. Even within Church circles, we often use marketing techniques to make someone think he or she is the center of attention. Ive done it. Probably, I will do it again wwithout being fully aware of my own narcissistic tendencies. I contend though, we do people an injustice when we use slick marketing slogans that focus attention on self rather than Christ. The center of attention should be on no other than Jesus Christ. Hes the focus of our attention, praise, worship and adoration. Only when we come to Christ who is at the center will we see our own need for Christs atoning, saving, and transforming grace and power. Back to the man who wanted me to move his membership without the slightest commitment: I believe that church membership isnt a privilege, but a place of service and witness. He wanted to be part of the happening church, in his opinion. He wanted to look good, to be able to say he was a member of that church. He had no intention of serving or worshipping with sisters and brothers. He said so. Our goal, I beleive isnt to see how many we can get on the roll book, but rather who can be placed on the Lambs Book of Life. Church membership isnt the goal. When we become members of a particular congregation, we assume the role of servant and not a place of prestige. We have too many roll book only members today anyway. Our society is full of focusing attention on individuals. Even as I write this article, I use my IPad. Its not just a note pad, but its my Ipad. And theres an interesting feature on it too. Not only does it have a camera to take pictures of subjects in front of me, but with a click of a button, I can take a picture of me. (I often think about that camera looking back at me. Oh me.) This isnt easy in our society today to hear: But it isnt about me. Or you really. Its about Christ. To say its about Christ, I am attempting to communicate that the focus of our praise and service is on Christ and therefore, away from us. Some will say that its about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Thats true. And I have even said, Jesus died on the cross for each of us. And yet again, thats a true statement. Even within our own church culture, at times, we at least tacitly communicate, if not explicitly state, that its about us individually. It would do me well and may you too, to examine what we are doing. Are we focusing on Jesus Christ or the individuals in the pews or chairs? I believe we need to recapture the centrality of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, God incarnate. With the centrality of Christ, we get things in the proper order. I tell a story that I heard Bishop Kenneth Goodson use. He told about an elderly, mid-western woman that longed to see the great cathedrals of Europe. She couldnt afford the trip, but her children paid for her to go. She was with a group going through a cathedral, and the leader of the group was giving the canned speech. On and on and on. Rather boring, monotoned, she listened patiently for a while. Places were roped off. And the speech continued on and on and on. She tired of the dis-interested speaker. Before she realized it, she blurted out, Has anyone been saved here lately? And as I recall the story, the speaker said, without missing a beat, No. He continued with his canned speech. We talk about vitality a great deal. We attempt to measure where we are. I want to ask: What is our guide or comparison model? I can always find someone to compare with myself, that allows me to be seen in a good light. But, when I compare myself to the light of Christ, the call to holy living, following him, oh me; I come up so short. Membership doesnt have its privileges. There are expectations and responsibilities. We need fewer roll book members and more who are willing to be servants of the King of kings and The Lord of lords, who live faithfully following the Christ, asking, Where can I serve your Lord? ------------------- I think theres more to say here. I will try to write more about this in the days ahead. If I were to attempt to complete this, you might tire of the writing. However, I would like your feedback, as to what this says to you. Some subjects I am working on: Contrasting volunteer versus servant Leadership versus Followship (a word I am developing) Living Faithfully our call to follow Christ What our Building say about who we are as Christians In Some Places it Takes a Rocket Scientist to Serve Christ
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 03:22:47 +0000
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