Pilgrimage Ponderings
Will You Be Here Awhile?
This is a question my husband has received a lot lately from persons interested in joining the church. It has started us thinking together about church membership.
It seems that some folks choose their church home because they like the pastor. And I think that suits plenty of church members just fine. Isn't it the preacher's job, anyway, to bring new members into the church? Isn't that what we're paying him for?
Aside from the reality that many people who join the church because they like the preacher end up disappearing when that preacher moves, I think we need to think more deeply about whose responsibility it is to receive folks into our particular community of faith. If we believe that God wants to save souls and to use the church to do it, than we all have a responsibility to welcome those who come to our congregation seeking God. And welcoming means more than just saying, "Good morning. We're glad you're here and hope you'll come back." Welcoming means remembering the passage from Hebrews that reminds us that we often "entertain angels unawares."
I think it comes down to these questions: Do I believe that God wants to use me to help other people discover their relationship with Jesus Christ? And do I believe that the church is an entryway rather than a gateway to that relationship? In other words, is my warm and friendly congregation for me and my friends alone? Or do we have a greater responsibility to the stranger in our midst?
After all, if the question is put to church members, "Will you be here awhile?" That answer is usually, "Yes, probably longer than the pastor."
Roger Dodds: well done Kathy. Have you read the poetry of Mary Oliver. I think you would enjoy her. Roger (09/21/07)