 Pastor's Perspectives
~ by Pastor Ted Firch
Today I wrap up my beginning of the year series on basic principles for being Church together. Today's principle is that the Church exists for the benefit of those who are not yet members. The Church was not established to function as a club. You know what a club is. Folks join clubs so that they can receive the benefits of club membership. For example, if you join a golf club, you will probably pay a hefty fee, and then you get to play golf on the beautiful course tht belongs to the club. Your yearly fee then provides you with other benefits, like a clubhouse, and lockers, and caddies and such. And those benefits go to you, the club member.
Some people think that a church should function this way also. They believe that the bulk of the programming and the funds that are raised should benefit the people who are already members. Quite often, people who feel this way will argue against sharing the church building with other groups, after all, the church people built the building, and we built it so we would have a place to worship. "The outsided groups put too much wear and tear on our building." In a more subtle expression of this attitude, we often organize our worship and programming in ways that appeal just to us, the "already members," and rarely consider what might appeal to those who are spiritually seeking.
When Jesus addressed his followers for that last time on the mountain top in Matthew 28, he gave them/us our marching orders. He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." In other words, our task is to bring a message of good news to those who have not yet heard it. Jesus' concern was for those who were lost and broken souls, who saw themselves as being outside of the fellowship, as beyond the reach of God. His disciples were given the task of going everywhere with the message of God's inclusive love. We, as today's disciples, have the task to reach others with the message of Jesus. In this time and place, that involves effort, because those outside the Church do not immediately understand our words and our ways. In order to reach those who do not yet believe, we need to find ways to structure our ministries so that we can communicate effectively in this current culture.
Now some of you might be saying, "Wait a minute, Pastor Ted, I though last time you said Job #1 was to love one another within the Church. Now you are saying the Church exists for those who are outside our doors. Which is it?" Clearly, it is both. We have the mission to be a royal priesthood, to share the message of God's reconciling love. The Church exists to serve and to reach out to those who are not yet a part of us. This is our calling.
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