{"id":3561,"date":"2024-04-11T07:35:43","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T11:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3561"},"modified":"2024-04-11T07:37:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T11:37:04","slug":"privileges-and-responsibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/11\/privileges-and-responsibilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Privileges and Responsibilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>

Membership <\/em>has its privileges. <\/em>

That\u2019s the marketing slogan American Express copyrighted in 1980, the beginning of what became a \u201cwhat\u2019s-in-it-for-me\u201d American decade.

As one would-be church member asked me while I was planting a Presbyterian congregation during that time, \u201cWhat do I get if I join?\u201d

The first time I replied to that question I was surprised by the sheer dullness of what I said.  Presbyterian church members are empowered to vote at called meetings of the congregation and are eligible for election and ordination as elders and deacons.

Aside from a few esoteric privileges of jurisprudence, that\u2019s about it.

The pastoral secret, of course, is that the traditional \u201cgains\u201d of membership chiefly belong to the church.

Now we get to count you in our annual report, your name has been added to our stewardship campaign files, we have license to canvass you to teach Sunday School, and from now on you can\u2019t slip away from church involvement without serious pangs of guilt.<\/em>

But the real issue has never been about privileges. 

It\u2019s always been about responsibilities.

Years ago, as I said my goodbyes to those attending a particular New Members class \u2013 the very meeting in which I sought to \u201cclose the deal\u201d in bringing new people aboard \u2013 I noticed that two young couples had stayed behind. 

They were talking intently to one another.  Neither of these couples had ever belonged to a congregation.  They looked worried.

\u201cCan I answer any questions for you?\u201d I asked.  \u201cWell,\u201d they stammered, \u201cwe\u2019re not quite sure we\u2019re ready to make such a huge commitment.\u201d

\u201cWhat\u2019s troubling you, exactly?\u201d I replied.  \u201cThere\u2019s attendance, for one thing,\u201d said one of the husbands.  \u201cI\u2019m not sure we can be here every Sunday of every year.\u201d

It was one of the most purely idealistic statements I had ever heard. 

In truth, perfect attendance is not an indicator of spiritual maturity, nor is it particularly easy to pull off in the modern world.   Nevertheless, they were wrestling with it. 

And I managed to spoil the moment.

\u201cOh, don\u2019t worry about that!\u201d I assured them.  I watched the anxiety flee from their faces as I described what amounted to the least common denominator of church involvement \u2013 the kind of behavior in God\u2019s people to which I had accommodated myself years earlier.

They smiled.  They joined the church.  They attended only occasionally.    

I wish I could have a second shot at that conversation.  I wish I had been wise enough to honor the genuine tension of that moment and their sincere contemplation of actively engaging themselves in the work of the Lord.  It occurred to me about that time that the local Rotary Club, to which I belonged, was asking me to make a greater commitment of involvement \u2013 and promising swift retribution if I fell short \u2013 than I had ever dreamed of demanding of church members.

And I was the leader of the community pledged to transform history. <\/em>

It\u2019s not about the privileges \u2013 \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me, and what\u2019s the least I can do to keep my membership card?\u201d 

It\u2019s all about the responsibilities \u2013 \u201cWhat\u2019s God\u2019s call on my life, and how can I give my very best to make the greatest difference in this broken world?\u201d

And here\u2019s the beautiful reality: 

People are far more motivated by the second question than the first one. 
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Membership has its privileges.  That\u2019s the marketing slogan American Express copyrighted in 1980, the beginning of what became a \u201cwhat\u2019s-in-it-for-me\u201d American decade. As one would-be church member asked me while I was planting a Presbyterian congregation during that time, \u201cWhat do I get if I join?\u201d The first time I replied… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[713,93,347],"class_list":["post-3561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church-membership","tag-commitment","tag-responsibility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3561"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3565,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3561\/revisions\/3565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}