[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 21/May/2023]
The other day I was listening to a podcast where some pastors were discussing what it means to be part of a church. Now, as a Baptist church we have a formal membership process, where applicants are interviewed and then voted in. But in reality, belonging to a church is far more than a process, or maybe even a conscious decision, it’s a position you find yourself in.
One of the pastors I was listening to on the podcast put it like this; you know you are part of a church when two things happen:
Firstly you stop saying ‘them’, and start saying ‘we’ – rather than saying ‘they’re’ a lovely church, or ‘they’ do so much good work, you start saying ‘we’ are a lovely church, and ‘we’ are doing so much good work.
The second thing is this – you know where the silver-ware is. In other words, you start to help out. You know how many chairs go on a stack, you know how to operate the coffee machine, you know where the cleaning cupboard is. This is because the church has become your family, and the building has become a home. You feel comfortable, and you slot into what is going on, and help out where you can.
So are you part of HBC? Not an official, voted-in one, but one of the family? If not, do you want to be, and what do you need to be one? In September we will be looking at this in more detail, but to give you a preview, here are the next steps you could take…
- Find a place/group to offer your time, talents, and efforts
- Connect to others by joining a home group – know and be known
- Give financially to support the work of the church
- Invite friends and family to come to the church and join the family
Where are you at in your journey? What will your next step be?
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Last week’s reflection: The Disciples’ Second Bereavement by Helen Ruffhead
Contributed by Martin Shorey; © Martin Shorey