Written by Dawn Rutan
In Philip Yancey’s book Vanishing Grace, he shares part of the story of Gina Welch, an atheist journalist who decided to research Christianity from the inside. Her story of involvement with a church eventually became the book In the Land of Believers: An Outsider’s Extraordinary Journey into the Heart of the Evangelical Church. Over the course of a year she went undercover to join a new members’ class at Jerry Falwell’s church, attended their singles ministry and worship services, got baptized, and joined a mission trip that included street evangelism… all without becoming a Christian. Her conclusion? “What I envied most about Christians was not the God thing—it was having a community gathering each week, a touchstone for people who share values, a safe place to be frank about your life struggles, a place to be reminded of your moral compass. Having a place to guard against loneliness, to feel there are others like you.”
That comment made me wonder whether many who call themselves Christian would say much the same thing. Particularly in America, it seems that the church has become more of a social club for moral, likeminded people than a place to meet God and learn to follow Him. Some mega-churches continue to thrive despite obvious faults in the teachings being presented. Families seek out churches with lots of programs for their children. Church social events draw bigger crowds than Sunday school and prayer meeting combined. It’s been noted that the more spiritual the activity, the fewer people interested in attending. Pastors and church leaders have a pretty good idea who is fully invested and who is just along for the ride. Although statistics can be misleading when it comes to spiritual growth, they do reveal what percentage of the membership shows up for different types of events. Faith can become a tangent for church members rather than the central purpose of life.
As was noted in Sunday’s sermon on Jesus the Teacher (podcast here), within the church we tend to focus more on the fact that Jesus is our Savior than on His teaching. If we pay attention to what He taught while on earth, as well as what is taught in the rest of Scripture, we may be challenged to do some things we don’t want to do. Having Jesus as Savior is comforting, but calling Him Teacher and Lord can take us out of our comfort zone. Having a circle of supportive friends is comforting, but holding one another accountable to be obedient to Scripture can be uncomfortable.
In thinking about this subject, I looked at several different church covenants and how they define membership. While they vary in the wording and specific expectations, the general idea is that members are to participate in the activities of the church and in the spiritual disciplines for the purpose of growing in relationship with God and with one another as the Body of Christ. How many people would forego church membership if such membership covenants were always taught and members were held accountable by one another? But we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes and imply that freedom and independence are not biblical values, so we build our cozy social club sanctuaries and then wonder why people only show up when they feel like it.
We’re treading on dangerous ground when we treat church membership with such nonchalance. On the Judgment Day, there will be many who say, “Lord, didn’t I attend church frequently, and helped clean up after the potluck dinners, and sorted clothes for the shelter?” And He will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23 ESV). I certainly don’t want to hear that for myself or for any of those within my church family, do you?
“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these [the new heavens and new earth], be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace… Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” -2 Peter 3:14, 17-18
