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Membership Expectations
Official membership in the church is a very
personal thing at CUMC. We encourage people to
consider membership as an important step on their
spiritual journey, but it needs to come at a time
when it seems right and people are ready. In
our week-to-week life together as a church family,
we don't make much of a distinction between those
who have officially become members and those
who actively participate in the life of the community
but are not yet members. (There are a few occasions
when legally only members can vote, but these occur
infrequently.)
Becoming a member of the church is publicly
declaring one's own personal faith in the grace
of God, revealed in Christ, as the central and
final truth of all Life. It is pledging one's
allegiance to the purposes of God for our world.
It is taking one's place in the family of God
and affirming that one can be counted on by
this local community of faith.
Whenever we talk about church membership, people
frequently ask about expectations. What 's expected
of members of the church? Or, If
I become a member, what am I getting myself
into?
The vows of membership that is, the questions
that are asked when people are received into
membership ask people to promise to support
the church by their prayers, their presence,
their gifts, and their service.
But not everyone finds this an adequate response.
So, I have share here my own expectations of
members of the church. These are my expectations.
They are what I expect. Everyone in the church
does not expect these same things, and my expectations
are not always met. These are not rules or
legalistic requirements. But, for what they
are worth, they are my expectations, and they
may be a helpful amplification of membership
vows.
--Larry Thomas, Pastor
1. Worship
The central act of the Christian community is the worship of God. Worship is what makes us a church. Worship is also a community activity, and it's hard for us to be a
real community together unless we are face-to-face present to one another. And Sunday worship is primarily where we come together as the community of faith. This doesn't mean that we can't ever
miss. But is my expectation that consistently we will worship together.
2. Spiritual Journey
The first time we experience the love of God
flooding our hearts it is often an awesome and
sometimes an overwhelming experience. But soon
we realize that the life of faith is a life-long
process and that God's hope for us is not just
a spiritual experience but growing up into full
spiritual maturity. I expect that we will
be engaged in our own spiritual journeys in some
intentional way, formally or informally. The
ways we do it are different for different people.
But I think we all need to be growing spiritually.
3. Ministry (Direct Service)
To be a faithful disciple means that we are actively serving others in some direct way. This can take all kinds of forms, both inside and outside the church. The form is not important. But I think Jesus is very
clear that discipleship means service, making a real difference in the lives of other people.
4. Organizational Support
The church is a volunteer organization. We have a few staff
persons, but their jobs are really to help organize the work of the rest of us. The church only works when all of us chip in and help make the church organization work. This may be serving on a committee
or helping out on workdays or teaching Sunday school or working on some special project.
5. Financial Support
Each of us is asked to support the church financially,
in proportion to our financial resources. This
is both an expression of our gratitude for the
love of God and an empowering of God's mission
in the world. Different ones of us have different
financial resources and are able to contribute
to the financial support of the church
at different levels. What's important is that
we all do our part, in proportion to our resources,
to support the church financially.
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