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Since living in Columbia, I've been a member at several gyms. I joined Gold's gym when I first moved to Columbia because they had a bunch of great, free-at-no-additional-charge classes. They had great parking, an indoor track, an indoor pool, a smoothie bar, lunch time yoga, a hot tub and descent showers. Programs and things I thought made a good gym, and things I thought I had to have. But all those awesome things about Gold's Gym did not motivate me to go every day, or every week, and I really didn't take full advantage of all the flashy this and that they had to offer. So, once my membership ended, I looked for something new--somewhere that would provide more accountability than just simply all the bells and whistles. I went to the opposite extreme--Carolina CrossFit. If you want some in-your-face workout accountability, well, CrossFit is the place. But I found it also kind of cliquish. I never felt at home; it was hard to connect. Sure, I appreciated the group WODs; they challenged me physically, but other personal and relational connections were missing. So, I went back to gym shopping. Now, I am a member at Brickhouse which is a great mix of Gold's and CrossFit--great accountability, hospitality and opportunities.
But even though I have found my gym "home," and even though I have my little key ring card, that doesn't suddenly mean I am going to start looking like some of the studs who workout at Brickhouse. Simply having a membership does nothing for me physically. Fit-by-association is not a reality; I will not get stronger simply by showing up or having my membership card on my key ring. It doesn't matter if I am a member at Gold's, CrossFit or Brickhouse, if I don't put in the work--the sometimes hard, painful work even on days I don't feel like it--at the gym then chances are that I am never going to really get in shape.
Unfortunately I think too many people today treat finding a home church very much the same way I went about finding a gym. Testing, trying, staying awhile, moving on, getting disgruntled over something, leaving, coming, and going until finally a connection is made. And it is not uncommon for such a process to be repeated over and over in our very mobile lives. And too often when we finally feel at home and our church shopping is over, we settle in to a comfortableness, a sleeping stupor not meant to characterize the end of such a journey. Because really the end of "church shopping" is the beginning. The problem is that the goal of finding a church becomes an end-goal in and of itself. The goal was to find a church. Period. Done. Found. Accomplished. When really the actual goal of finding a church should be to find a place and people where we can grow and be nurtured as disciples--a place that not only welcomes, but challenges us to grow more and more into the image of God.
Even with just as few as 3 years in ministry, I have witnessed this church home-finding process on a rather frequent basis. I have seen people come and go from our church for various reasons. Recently one former member came back after finding a home at a much larger church than ours. He said to a group of us with a huge, satisfied smile on his face, "It is just so nice to not really have to do anything at church except show up." My heart ached not only because of his statement but I know that such a sentiment is all too widely shared among church people today. Membership at a church has become more important than the reason we gather in community.
It doesn't matter where you are a church member. It really doesn't matter if you have perfect church attendance--unless church is starting to change you, how you live, how you engage others, how you work, and so on and so on; unless church is starting to live in and through you beyond buildings, a church membership is like having a gym membership and never working out. Whether the church is big or small, God gathered us into community for the sake of growing in discipleship so that we can make and nurture more disciples, transforming our world for the glory of God. That does not and cannot happen by just showing up. What did God say to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3:15? "I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit." Just being a member seems to me to be synonymous with being lukewarm, and well you see how God feels about that!
The reality is that we cognitively know all this as church people, but the message and importance of being church together hasn't seeped into our hearts in such a way that activates change in how we are church beyond the geographical brick and mortar of the place we gather to participate in works of piety. We easily forget that church membership is just another word for discipleship, and well discipleship is a lifelong process that requires responsible grace which means work and participating with God in all God is presently doing in this world. Such a life is going to be filled with ups, downs, good, bad and everything in between. Such a life is not a lukewarm, stagnant life. It is as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 being the body--the hands and feet--of Christ in our world, and if you know the ministry and life of Christ, Jesus never sat still for very long except to pray and commune.
Just the way being a member at some gym does not make you automatically physically fit---sure that would be nice--in this same way simply being a member of a church will not make you a disciple who is growing more and more into the image of God, nor will the church have any relevance if we are not making disciples for the transformation of our world. Just like there are no short cuts or easy, quick, convenient ways to get in shape without putting in the work, the same is true of discipleship. Our culture is obsessed with the quick and easy and convenient. Such values have slipped into our church culture. The fact is that discipleship does take work; it does take long-term commitment and discipline. We, the church, exist to worship God by growing in discipleship, so that our lives reflect God's glory more and more and through us our world will be changed. There is a greater purpose for being a church member than simply a member in name only. So, you're a member at a church? Great! Now, what?
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