Explorations in Anger

A series of meditations on the right nature and expression of anger in Christian life. Coming soon.

Concerning church membership

There is a church here in Toronto that I've been attending for a couple of years. When Rachel and I started dating, she came with me. We've recently considered becoming members there.

Church membership is something which interests me, but which I don't know very much about. If I had to guess, I'd say that contemporary church membership involves a general affirmation of the church/denomination's theological positions, a promise to adhere to a moral standard and some kind of financial, chronological and ergonomical commitment.

But why now, specifically? To tell you the truth, it was precipitated by an announcement on Sunday that there would be classes for people interested in membership, and that resonated with me. Does membership take place only after I've satisfied myself that this is the church I want to be at? I don't want that to be the whole of it; that would simply amount to saying that I've shopped around and found this church to be the best option. Or even worse, that I haven't shopped around, and that I'm just a lazy, indiscriminate church-goer.

While the very image of church-shopping is evocative and largely repugnant, it seems that in our culture, this is by far the most natural way to view church. Is this church a place where I feel welcome? Is the liturgy done in a style that I like? Can I get involved? Check, check, and check. What's wrong with this?

Is irreverence the latest virtue in worship? There seems to be a glut of "seeker-sensitive" churches, who pride themselves on being pithy things like "church for people who don't like church", or "Jesus without religion". In slogans like these, I see the culture of church-shopping taken to new lengths; if I can extend the metaphor, my sense is that these groups are offering the theological equivalent of a sale, all the freedom of Jesus without any contracts or paperwork. Like the idea of being encouraged, but don't want to feel bad about your sin? Have we got the place for you.

Please excuse that latest digression. I don't mean to suggest that those kind of churches are bereft of value, or that they don't love God. I just think that they have some misplaced priorities.
Charles Spurgeon once said, "why all this talk of 'defending' the Word of God? Would you defend a lion? Let it loose and it will stand up for itself."

The church that I'm at, it's the only church I've been to regularly in several years, and I've developed some good relationships there. I suppose that membership also carries with it certain privileges, like voting, and it gives the church a name to put in their directory. This is a completely different issue, which I might talk about later.

Sorry I got distracted, maybe we can talk about this again sometime.