Devaluation June 29, 2010
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Christian witness, Church growth, Congregational Life, Core Values, Mission of the Church, The United Methodist Church.Tags: Christian Community, Church growth, Church Leadership, Church membership
35 comments
We’ll take anybody. We don’t even require membership classes anymore. Nobody has the time, and most of the people who join our church are coming from other churches, anyway. We ask at the end of every service if there is anyone who wishes to join, they come forward, and we ask if they believe in God and as Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If they say “yes,” they’re in. Our numbers are way up because of it.
The above paraphrase, comes from a recent conversation I had with one pastor, but it is representative of a large (and possibly growing?) segment of our church. It reflects the “low-cost/high-benefit” mentality of most of American consumer culture, but is it appropriate in the church. I say “no,” but there are an awful lot who say “yes.”
It isn’t about rules and regulations and keeping people out. It is about making it as simple as possible for people to enter the family of God.
This pastor speaks for those who believe no one should be denied, and that church membership is of secondary importance to Christian community. Her comment points out the gatekeeper role of the local congregation and reflects a broad sentiment that any person who wants to say “yes” to Jesus Christ should not only be allowed to do so, but should be helped along in whatever way possible.
I don’t disagree that we should be an open gate — but a gate still implies a boundary; something that distinguishes those who say “yes,” from those who have no interest. For me, there is a huge difference between making something simple and making it meaningless. I believe that many of our attempts to make Christianity simple have done little more than devalue the Christian life, resulting in an insipid, passive, and unproductive faith.
