My March, 2015, column for The Bellringer, my internship congregation’s monthly newsletter. Enjoy!
Membership
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27
Part of my role as pastoral intern here at St. Peter involves learning the administrative side of how the church functions. The recent annual meeting has given me an opportunity to consider some of the details of how the church functions as an organization. As part of that, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a “member” of the church.
The idea of being a “member” of a church has bothered me a little bit. When I think of membership, I think of phrases like the American Express slogan, “Membership has its privileges.” But being part of a church congregation isn’t like membership in a country club, or holding a certain credit card. Being a church member isn’t about special privileges. Of course there are many benefits to being in a church, but we’re always seeking to welcome non-members in to join us. The church isn’t some kind of exclusive club or society!
As I thought more about this idea of being a member of the church and about the way the Bible describes Christians as members of Christ’s body (the Church), I realized we’re using a more archaic definition of “member” than other organizations use. We’re talking about membership in the sense that hands and feet are members of the human body, not like members of a social club.
We’re members of the church because we’re working together to further God’s kingdom. We offer ourselves, our time, and our possessions not as “membership dues,” but in order to share our resources as we work together in the common mission to which Christ calls us. If there’s a “club,” then we’re all in it together, because Christ has paid our dues! The “requirements” for membership in the church constitution involve participating together, not paying dues and fulfilling obligations, but joining together to become Christ’s body and carry out God’s work.
May your membership in the Body of Christ be a blessing to you, but just as importantly, may the world be blessed through you living out your membership in Christ!
Daniel Flucke, Pastoral Intern