Steve with some thoughts on how we make more palatable the concept of membership:
When we reduce membership to “prayers, presence, gifts and service†we put ourselves and the local congregation on center stage. Christ and his mission for the world is relegated to the margins. The church’s ministry is focused upon attracting as many people as possible to itself. Discipleship becomes an optional program. Mission is relegated to sending money and prayers to missionaries in foreign countries. And if the people who come happen to meet Jesus sometime along the way, well that’s a special blessing. What really matters is that people come to the church. To that end, the governing principle of most congregations is the General Rule of Pastoral Prudence: “The absolute minimum in obligations in order to keep the maximum number of people.â€
