Life is a Journey
Thoughts on LifeArchive for July, 2007
“Inactive church member” an oyxmoron?
(This is a excerpt from an article I wrote for our church newsletter. Thought I would post it here and open it up for comments.)
My pondering on the Church lately has led me down this path: What do you think of when you think of church membership? I am convinced that we American Christians have often been confused about this business of membership. Many Baptists seem to have the idea that church membership is about walking an aisle to talk to a pastor, accepting Christ and being baptized if we haven’t already taken these steps, and then being added to the membership roll. We talk about when we joined the church. If we came from another church, we talk about moving our membership (often referred to in a somewhat cryptic manner as our letter) from another church. It seems to me that in this thought process we might lose some of the important essence of what church membership is all about. I suppose part of what leads me to that conclusion is the fact that often one’s “membership” in a church has very little to do with one’s involvement with said church. We join, are added to the roll and begin to attend (usually). Statistics, at least in Baptist churches, suggest that somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50% of church members are inactive. So, something less than half of Baptists consider that church down the street “their” church, but they aren’t really going anywhere with this church they are “members” of.
By no means do I expect to thoroughly deal with this topic of what membership is all about in this article, but consider this. Could it be that we have often reduced membership to joining a group, having my name added to the roll and thereby considering that “my church”? It seems to me that a more Biblical understanding of what being a member of a local church would have to be in some manner connected to involvement and participation. The reality is that a church is a living, active organism. It is a family, a body, a bride. For individual parts of this living entity to be inactive has a significant impact on the whole. From a practical standpoint, am I really a member of a church, a Sunday School Class or a Small Group if I haven’t interacted with this group for months or even years? At the risk of getting myself in hot water, except in a few select circumstances it would seem to me that inactive church member verges on being an oxymoron. So, while I’m standing here in the hot water, from a practical standpoint it would seem the membership of FBC has more to do with interaction, participation, connection, buy-in and participation in the purpose and direction of the church…, well you get the idea. I suppose that’s why I think the number of members is a somewhat irrelevant statistic.
So, is there really any point to my rant, or am I just venting? Well, time will tell. But I will tell you that I think it is dangerous for followers of Jesus Christ to become comfortable with the status quo. So, tell me what you think…
Until next time – enjoy the ride.
A Transformed Church Building…
A couple of weeks ago Kim & I went to see a movie in a refurbished building here in town. In fact, it was the old building that used to be the home of the church I pastor. Just in case you don’t know this already, in July of 2005 we moved from the old downtown church building that had been home to this church family since 1929. It was a difficult decision, but after much prayer and research it was determined that it would be more costly to remain in the old building than to relocate and building something new. There were issues of accessibility, code compliances and space issues to name just a few of the determining factors. After a long journey of looking for land to build on, planning what the new building would be like and the actual construction process itself, our church has a new home on the west side of town.
Interesting thing though, people keep asking me what I think about what they’ve done to the old church. I have learned that not everyone means the same thing when they ask that question. Some people are asking what I think about the cosmetic changes, like the new stucco on the outside of the building. They are curious about whether I like the changes. Others aren’t talking cosmetics at all. They want to know what I think about an old church building being transformed into a place of business. The old building is now home to two movies screens, and soon a tanning salon and various other business ventures. I have quickly learned that some people have some rather strong opinions on this issue. Some feel it verges on being sacrilegious to take a “church” and do these other things in it.
So, what do I think? Well, I like the cosmetic changes. I was a skeptic during the process of covering the old brick, but the finished product looks great. I think they took an old building and improved its looks significantly. At the same time they did all of their improvements without losing the unique character of the old building.
What about using this old “church” for new things? Should we be concerned about that? Well, I wouldn’t want to see it used for anything immoral. The new owner plans for The Blackhawk Plaza to be a family friendly place, so that doesn’t seem to be a concern. You see, when it comes right down to it, the building is not the church. It is a place where the church meets. The church is a group of disciples of Jesus Christ who join together to seek the purposes of God together. Granted, there are inevitably some emotional connections to the building a church calls home. Important events take place there. People meet with God there; significant times of worship, emotional and often life changing decisions take place there. People are baptized, married, and memorial services take place there. So, it is normal and appropriate for us to connect great memories to such a place. But, is it wrong in any sense for something new to take place there after we move to a new home? No, it’s not. In fact, I would rather something take place there that adds value to our community than for the building to sit empty and be unused.
Actually I believe it is more wrong for those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ to allow inappropriate things to take place in and around our bodies. After all we learn in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. The building is not the temple, we are. Wouldn’t it be a tragedy to be more concerned with what happens to an old building than we are with what takes place in our body, where the Holy Spirit of God lives?
So, next time you drive by a church building, remember, we are the church, not that building. God doesn’t live in buildings made by men, but rather in the hearts of His children. So, honor God with your temple.
Life is a Journey – Enjoy the ride.
A couple of things have contributed to beginning this blog. Both of our daughters, Lindsey and Laurie, blog. You can keep current with many of their thoughts and the significant events of their lives through their blogs. Recently Lindsey sent me a link to the blog of a pastor where she lives. I enjoyed reading it and the wheels began to turn. Then last week I had lunch with a new pastor friend that has a blog. After lunch I checked out his blog and I was convinced.
I will be writing about many things here. Sometimes it will no doubt seem somewhat random. There will be thoughts about this journey that God has us on. Many times I will share my observations on the road of life. Often what I write about will be related in some manner to the church. Sometimes it will be the church I am privileged to pastor and sometimes the church in general. Sometimes I will write about family or motorcycles or just the stuff of life.
Life is a Journey. I’ve been on this journey long enough to realize a few things. I am convinced that God intends for us to enjoy this journey. I think some of the best things about the journey are the little things, the things that we didn’t plan for, the things that happen while we are on the way to something else. I think sometimes we get so caught up the busyness of trying to go too many places and do too many things that we lose the point of the journey. I fear that many people are busy going somewhere in this journey of life, but when they arrive they might be surprised or even disappointed at where the road they chose led them to. It seems to me that on this journey we really must choose carefully. We must choose our direction, our path, our values, what will be most important to us, how we will value the people we journey with, what we will do with the God that gives us the opportunity to take this journey and many other decisions that affect our journey.
So, I look forward to sharing some thoughts with you. Next time I’ll share some thoughts about a transformed church building. Until then, enjoy the journey.
Al
