Over the years, I have made many poor choices for gifts to my wife. I’ve given her a cordless iron for Christmas, a treadmill for a birthday, a chess set, a coupon book full of free back-rubs, a coffee maker, a Nintendo Game-boy, an Estwing Hammer, and even a mattress and box springs. But none of these choices of gifts matched the really poor one that I gave her just before we were married.

At that time, my wife walked a lot for exercise to stay fit and healthy. But, now she was living in an apartment complex in East Nashville, which caused her to spend lots of time commuting to work, and the area around her home was too dangerous to walk alone at night. Plus her roommates were on a variety of schedules that prevented them from walking with her regularly. As a result, she became less motivated and unwilling to exercise, giving way to a more sedentary lifestyle with all its consequences (if you know what I mean).

So, I decided to give her a gift that I was sure would solve all her problems, perk her up, and set her on the right track so that she could get fit again. I decided to give her the gift of health: a full membership to the YMCA!

(I’ll let her fill you in on the details on how well that gift was received!)

Our culture has a fascination with memberships. We are members of health clubs, country clubs, video stores, fraternities, libraries, nightclubs, airline miles clubs, professional groups, hairclubs (I’m not just the owner, but I’m a member), investment clubs, the Shriners, the Rotary Club, AARP, AAA, school clubs, and even credit card memberships like American Express whose slogan echoes what all memberships have in common, “Membership has its privileges,’ that is, members get certain privileges that others don’t.

As consumers, we like the idea that membership in the SkyMiles Executive Club for Delta Airlines, we have the privilege of a quiet, separate waiting room, while others have to sit out with the chaotic crowd in the terminal. We like the special attention we get as a member of some high profile organization. We like the discounts we get when we join the special clubs at the grocery stores, and we snicker at the higher prices others have to pay. All in all, our culture has shaped our understanding of membership: “Membership must have its privileges.” Is the same true for church membership?

B. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Today’s scripture is taken from a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, whose culture was not much different than ours. The seaport city was a prosperous home to many nationalities with a wide multitude of religions. Corinth thrived in industry and trade, but was most well-known for its vices, so that to ‘corinthinize’ became an expression for debauchery. At best, the moral standards of Corinth were mixed, and the new converts to Christianity were struggling to be faithful among these influences. Thus, Paul wrote a letter in response to their questions on a number of topics from marriage, food, conduct of worship, resurrection, and the collection of offerings.

For today, Paul uses their question about the meaning of spiritual gifts in the first 11 verses to set the foundation of a much more important subject, membership. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with the Christ.” Paul links the variety of the gifts of the spirit to the variety of members needed for a healthy body of Christ…the church.

I am often asked about why should anyone join the church? After all, a non-member can partake of all the benefits of the church without ever having to join: Sunday School, VBS, recreation, small groups, Youth Ministry, worship, even the sacraments. The congregation will pray for a non-member as readily as they would a member, and a pastor will visit anyone if the need arises. Church membership does not bestow a special seat in worship (although some may believe it to be so), discounts for activities, not even a ticket to heaven. In fact, the way the church collects money, food and clothing for the community, it almost seems that if one wants to benefit from the church, one should NOT become a member. In fact, I might see more privileges to not joining—do not feel responsible for the ministry budget, attending worship, or serving on any committee. I can pick and choose what to be involved in, reserving the right to complain about the decisions, theology, and policies; and if I feel my needs aren’t met, I can leave anytime I want. In the end, why should anyone join the church?

1. First, unlike our culture, membership in a church has nothing to do with our benefits, but everything to do with our response. When we are nudged by the Spirit of God and awakened to God’s love, our very souls are compelled to cry out to respond.

Many are confused that Confirmation is the rite of passage into church membership. On the contrary, at its core, Confirmation is the church’s recognition of the presence of God in the life of a young person by con-firming or ‘making firm’ the person’s commitment to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. As a result, the new disciple then has an opportunity to respond—by joining the church and committing to uphold it by prayer, presence, gifts, and service. God acts first, and then we respond. Just like an unexpected gift at Christmas we find under our trees fills us with a longing to express gratitude and thankfulness; the touch of the Almighty fills us with a longing to respond with a commitment of our lives.

2. But, when we get this turned around as if God responds to our actions like some cosmic vending machine, we overlook that membership in a church is not about what we get, but about what we give. One of the biggest reasons why many people choose not to join the church is because that they just don’t get anything out of the worship services. They do not feel something. The hair does not rise up on their arms. The preacher does not say anything inspiring. The hymns do not cause tears to fall from the eyes.

The people at Corinth struggled with this same consumerist belief that God doled out spiritual gifts as a response to one’s faithfulness. They were enticed by the emotion-filled practices of the pagans, and came to believe that emotion was the telltale sign the gifts of the spirit. However, Paul explains in verse 7 that the authentic gifts of the Spirit were not judged by the emotion, but how they contributed to the common good. In other words, it was not about what one receives, but what one gives.

Paul understood that if membership in the body of Christ is viewed as what we get out of it, God is reduced to some sort of heavenly “vending machine” that dispenses ‘warm fuzzies’ and ‘good feelings’. This subtle distinction poisons our understanding of the meaning of church: we only come to church when it benefits us; we will serve on a committee if we can attend to our own agenda; we avoid Sunday school because we don’t like the teacher; we attach strings to our gifts so that only our own pet projects will benefit; and as soon as times get tough in the church, we leave in search of another ‘vending machine.’

Paul clearly understood membership as the sharing of ourselves, not just our spiritual gifts, but also our talents, prayers, and our presence to benefit others. God is not the ‘vending machine,’ we are!

The United Methodist Church lives this truth of membership out uniquely and most obviously through our apportionments. Apportionments are moneys that each church gives to the General United Methodist Church to support a variety of ministries around the world. You would be proud to know that St. Stephen gave nearly $150,000 last year in apportionments that made it possible for UMCOR to be one of the very first Christian relief agencies in New Orleans after Katrina. Our giving fed the hungry and built schools in Africa, supported inner city ministries, provided scholarships for the poor, offered free Christian counseling services, shored up justice and relief efforts in war-torn countries, and countless other ministries. I am so proud to be a part of congregation that so diligently year after year gives away money to help others around the world. As a member of a church, we become the ‘vending machine’ that alleviates the hurt, the pain, the suffering, by dispensing the love, grace and hope that God so freely gives each of us.

3. Lastly, unlike our culture, membership is a calling, not a burden. By choosing to join a church, we accept the calling of God in our lives to be bearers of hope, love, peace, and God’s undying grace.

In 1993, after visiting Brentwood UMC in Nashville, Tennessee, I received a letter from the Senior Pastor, Joe Pennel. It was a standard welcome letter that is sent to all first time visitors, but I will never forget its contents. In it, instead of inviting me to join the church as a member, he offered the following advice: “As you consider finding a church home, don’t join a church where you feel comfortable; join the church where you feel needed.” Although Brentwood had thousands of members, Rev. Pennel understood that every member is needed and every member should take responsibility for their part in God’s mission. He didn’t want luke-warm members who showed up from time to time. He wanted members that rolled up their sleeves and boldly took up their crosses and followed Jesus Christ. He wanted members who would take seriously their calling as Christians and to link their gifts with the gifts of others to build God’s kingdom.

Paul is quite clear that all persons are given a gift of the spirit and every gift…every gift…is absolutely needed to build up the body of Christ, make it healthy, and make the body of Christ work for the good of humanity. We are not complete unless we are together. When even one member is missing, we are incomplete.

So, do not take your church membership lightly; and do not let others take theirs lightly. I don’t. Because I need you. I need you to hold me accountable. I need you to call me at home when I haven’t come for a couple of weeks and encourage me to come back. I need you to ask me how my soul is doing. I need you to help me raise my kids to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. I need you to challenge me, redirect me, lift me up, teach me, know me, and to love me.

This is why church membership is so important: I need to know that I can count on you. And you need to know that you can count on me! If you are not willing to take the vows of church membership, then how could I ever know that you will not leave me nor forsake me? If I am not willing to take the vows of church membership, how will you ever be able to trust that I will ride with you through the storms of life?

Most people do not like this understanding of church membership. They get angry when we expect them to take their membership seriously by praying daily, attending regularly; giving faithfully; and serving selflessly…some may even leave for another church where they are not held so accountable. But I for one want to be faithful to a God who has called us to respond to his touch, transformed us to be bearers of God’s grace to the world, and called to help others in the faith. While the world may offer memberships that have great privileges, there is no other membership that means so much.