What to Do About Nothing
A Perennial Problem
So we’re going through the annual audit of the membership rolls at my church and the perennial discussion comes up of which inactive members should be removed and who should be left on.
It’s a regular type of thing. A story that’s heard in many locales is one of “Bob,” who was confirmed in 1963, left for college in 1968, and hasn’t darkened the door of a church since (it’s 2009 now). But, no one wants risk the wrath of his mother (who’s a faithful, pillar of the church who also gives generously of her money to the church’s work). So, “Bob” is left on… year after year after year. His commitment to the church is literally nothing… no time, no service, no support of the church’s budget.
The question for me is, “What exactly is church membership supposed to mean?”
I had a pretty dramatic conversion experience 20-some years ago, and I’ve never been the same since (in a good way, I hope). I can’t imagine pledging my commitment to a church and not doing my best to live up to those vows. I certainly don’t get it right all the time; I know that there are saints of God who are far better at living the life than I. But that’s not the point. God didn’t call us to be perfect; He called us to be faithful. Christ’s atoning death on the Cross purchased sufficient grace for us all. The only expectation of us is that we will be faithful, and allow the work of salvation to sanctify us as God sees fit.
Obviously, there are others – many, by my estimation – who don’t see it this way. Church is a social institution, and you can choose your level of involvement according to your desires, not God’s.
Needless to say, this doesn’t at all come close to honoring the content of the vows of membership that one takes upon joining the congregation.
I often feel like asking someone with the “social” point of view, “Do you honor your marriage vows this way? Are you faithful to your spouse when you feel like it? Does it mean anything to you that you made a promise not only to God, but to the people of the faith community to be faithful?”
What to Do About It
Before deciding what to do about the problem, we need to remember a couple of things:
- “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” In other words, the people who aren’t honoring their vows likely won’t ever change their ways, barring some sort of divine intervention that smacks them hard enough to get through to them.
- Decide if it’s really worth having “Mama’s Money,” or is being faithful to Kingdom priorities the more important thing. Are the deadbeats going to holler a lot, but not do anything about it? If so… it’s only noise… and that’s that.
My personal inclination is that one should be faithful to the way of church governance you have pledged your allegiance to. For church members, this means that if you’re not willing to live within the code, don’t demand the status of Member. For church leadership, be fair with everyone – the faithful and the unfaithful. If someone has no intention of living up to their vows, don’t keep them on the books. This doesn’t mean you don’t love them any more, it just means that you aren’t perpetuating a falsehood.
Grace in All Things
Finally: Always leave the door open for reconciliation. Jesus was a man of peace, and every one of us is expected to be an agent of that peace. If someone wishes to rejoin the fold, and they are sincere, then let them in.
