That’s what California megachurch pastor Rick Warren is calling it. He and plenty of other pastors in America have noticed the trend among young Christians to participate in worship and small group church life but not actually to join the congregation.
There’s talk that some congregations have given up the struggle and don’t really have “members” any more. I suppose the pastor and family hold title to the property and take care of government obligations. Some congregations have given up on assigning members boxes of offering envelopes and just record information on the checks that come in.
The current Christianity Today carries a report on a recent pastor conference held at Warren’s Saddleback Church. Warren shot down the notion that membership isn’t important as long as people attend the church. “The difference between an attender and a member is the difference between living together and getting married. A lot of people want to date the church, but they don’t want to get married. That is spiritual adultery.”
“Radical membership is an act of commitment, not conformity. It’s about belonging to God’s family and being a contributor and not just a consumer. If you’re going to build a healthy, mature church you are going to have to understand the meaning of radical membership.”
I think Warren is dead on. A visitor, even a regular visitor, can’t ever feel much ownership for the ministries. I am reminded of a story in which some wonderful lay volunteers from a stateside congregation traveled to a South American country to help a mission church build its first building. Everybody felt very good about the project. Two years later a letter arrived at the U.S. church. It said, “Your roof leaks.” Where there is no commitment, there is no ownership.
I’m sure this is all related to people’s increasing reluctance to commit to marriage these days. Please, America! Don’t give up on congregations. You have nothing to replace them with.
Do you agree with Rick Warren?
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Straight talk. Real hope.
2/20/2010 - Posted by S
Every one that goes to church is not saved. Every body who belongs to a church body is not saved or either committed to the church. I hear in my own relative family, 'oh do we have to go again', saying it begrudgingly. The Lord wants our hearts and souls more and man wants our pocketbooks. There are so many people who are members of a church that don't even go to church and I know some personally. Believe what you want. That's what one of the freedoms we have here, freedom of beliefs.
2/18/2010 - Posted by M
I personally am not on the Pastor Rick Warren bandwagon as are many Evangelical Christians today but I do think that his marriage analogy where church membership is concerned is a good one. I also appreciate where it is that S is coming from but, even so, his reasoning about the need for church membership, or not, really does seem to parallel the argument that those who choose not to marry but to live together use when attempting to justify their adulterous relationships, and in this instance to try to somehow spiritualize church membership away in defense of one’s stand regarding it just doesn’t ring true to me. And on a somewhat different front another dilemma that is presently challenging our country comes to mind, and that is the dilemma of illegal aliens who are living here taking advantage of the amenities that attend being citizens of our free and autonomous nation, but this without the benefit of becoming American citizens themselves. So that said I will say that I hope that Pastor Warren will forgive me, as well as that you who are reading this will indulge me, for rewording a portion of his commentary to read as follows: “Radical citizenship is an act of commitment, not conformity. It’s about belonging to our nation’s family and being a contributor and not just a consumer. If you’re going to build a healthy, mature nation you are going to have to understand the meaning of radical citizenship.”
2/17/2010 - Posted by H
I'm ride the fence on this one. I am a lifetime member of a WELS Lutheran church, but S makes some good points...
2/16/2010 - Posted by S
I disagree with Pastor Warren and Pastor Jeske. The church as described in the Bible is the entire body of Christ. Denominationalism and loyalty to one particular group only, has hurt the Christian church not helped it. We,personally are not Lutherans, but we support Time of Grace because Pastor Jeske is getting the Word out to all. Having said that, I agree that we need to support the church where we are being fed-- with our prayers, our financial resources, our time, etc. That doesn't require official membership--just commitment. I would say that the marriage analogy would better apply to someone who cannot commit to Christ--with one foot in the world and the other in the church building--member or not!
2/16/2010 - Posted by S
No, I don't agree. I do agree it's beneficial to be a member of a congregation. And, yes, the spiritual guidance, fellowship and the sense of commitment it offers is certainly a good thing. However, it's important to remember a church congregation is an earthly organization of believers in Christ. To say one is committing spiritual adultery by not belonging is far-stretched. One can be a very strong member of the body of believers without being a member of a congregation. "By grace ye are saved..." Not by being a member of a congregation.
