Our sermon in church today was based on 1 Tim 5:1-3 and Titus 2:1-8. And I find the words in Titus very good and instructive.
Titus 2:1-8 (ESV)
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
I feel that being in a faith community gives us the privilege of being in a larger family in Christ and it’s something so good that we shouldn’t take it for granted, which we sometimes unconsciously do.
Like what Titus 2:1-8 say, we should be building relationships in the churches we worship in together.
But building relationships and building trust with each other takes time. And we don’t spend that much time in church.
So I find that we do need to make an effort to get know each other, to talk to one another and to love them.
It wasn’t brought up in the sermon but it does bring me to something I have not thought about in a long time: church membership.
I have not put much thought into committing to being members of a church ever since we sort of got burnt in one.
We are not negative about it. We just don’t think about it. And with that I realise we are not fully committed either.
As such, I am now beginning to put some thought into why I am not thinking or considering being a member of the church we are currently attending.
We have “visited” a church before this for more than 4 years. We left and now we have been in this current one for one and a half.
We love the people and the place...so maybe it’s time we commit again.
pearlie
A good question to ask Pearlie is what being a member means to the pastors and leaders of the church. Are there any benefits to becoming a member or are there just obligations? I have felt for some time that churches have got a lot more of me than I have of them. I have cared more about them than they have about me. Always good to remember (I sometimes forget) that the kingdom is all about people and not organizations.
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective...I have not thought of it that way but I feel it is a very valid question. I am still a member of the Methodist church and I did feel that when I was worshipping there, they had me more than I have them. And just so you know, when I first typed the previous sentence, I used the word "serving" and not "worshipping" and that I think speaks volumes. I was serving then, and I am worshipping now. I think you hit the nail in the head for me. I think that is the reason why I am not even thinking about becoming a member. I do serve in the previous church and the one I am in now. I attend the CGs. But do I want to take the step to be a member but what does being a member mean? I really need to think this through.
DeleteThe church that I was in lay leadership at for a very long time did not have official membership. They did not even take a collection. They said that if you want to be a member then just attend, serve and give. Even so, there were cultic aspects to the church that I did not see until I had been gone for several years.
DeleteIn retrospect, I am not sure that being a member (especially in leadership) of any of the churches that I attended was all that good for my soul. I learned a lot about the bible but I also learned way to much about the underbelly of those churches and the dark side of religious leadership.
In closing, I have found that I served better in the secular than the sacred. I found that my leaders in the corporate world sometimes cared more about me than in the church. And that is a tad sad.