George Baumgarten, Michael Doherty and I hosted a brunch at the Parsonage after worship last week. It was for individuals who expressed interest in joining Second Congregational Church. We talked about how each of us had come to be at SCC, where we had come from, our religious backgrounds and our experiences with this congregation. As Moderator and Chair of the Deacons, George and Michael shared insights on the practices and processes that guide our communal life. I brought the heritage and history on the United Church of Christ (our specific faith tradition) and Second Congregational, in particular, along with a bit on the foundations for each. It was a really nice gathering, with good food and good conversation that gave us a chance to just be together and, hopefully, to know each other a little better as a result.
Shortly before we ended, with gentleness and a genuine interest in the answer, came the following question: “So, why would someone decide to become a member of the church rather than simply attend and find ways to be active?”
That is at the core of the matter, isn’t it? Why join? What does membership in this church mean?
There is, of course, the answer from the by-laws: members can serve as officers and vote on matters of concern to the church. And there is the relational response: membership is an expression of commitment to the congregation and the work of the church; the public acceptance of the rights and responsibilities that come with an affirmation of one’s faith in the context of a chosen community.
But church membership is more than the practical considerations that come with joining most groups. As in baptism, the decision to embrace full church membership it is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible truth. It is an expression of your belief that God is actively engaged in your life and in life of this congregation and that, by grace, your individual and communal journeys are made richer by walking together.
Whether by affirmation or by transferring one’s connection from somewhere else, joining a church is a leap of faith. Who knows the future of any human institution? We certainly have a say – a right, a responsibility and a vote – in setting the direction we hope will move us into a future we desire. Individually and with the support of like-minded members we can certainly put forward the approach we think will work best. Our congregational polity ensures democratic rule. But, for us, there is another dimension: the Spirit of the Living God that guides our hearts and our minds.
We are the Body of Christ, of which Jesus is the sole head. We, by faith, are offered and invited to do his work in the world – with and for others and one another, starting right where we are. We are called to seek the greater good; to live as Christ would have us live and love as he would have us love. That is our privilege. And it is generally a whole lot harder than it sounds.
Together, we get to practice; to enjoy the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s help and to find that “still more excellent way.”
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. Strive for the greater gifts and I will show you a still more excellent way
From Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 12:12, 31