Many of us church members have lost the biblical understanding of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ, according to Thom Rainer in his book I am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference. We join our churches expecting others to serve us, to feed us, and to care for us; and we don’t like the hypocrites in the church, but we fail to see our own hypocrisies.
The book is a journey of rediscovering the privilege and joy of church membership, a journey through six pledges which are about the joy of being last instead of first, the joy of being a unifier rather than a complainer, the joy of being a servant rather than being entitled. The six pledges are:
- To be a functioning member, giving cheerfully and abundantly, and serving without hesitation.
- To be a unifying church member, avoiding gossip and negative talk, and promoting forgiveness and unity.
- To avoid insisting on personal preferences and desires, and to put up with associated inconveniences.
- To pray for church leaders every day, including for protection and physical and mental health.
- To lead one’s family to be healthy church members, worshipping together and praying together for the church.
- To treasure church membership as a gift, rather than treating it as a legalistic obligation.
The book is a very short one, at around 80 pages, easy to read and inexpensive. I found it quite inspiring, and by the end I was feeling eager to commit to a higher level of church membership. The problem with passivity in churches is usually diagnosed – probably correctly – as a leadership problem, but it is also a followership problem, and this book is a great way to open the eyes of ordinary believers to the importance of their role as fully participating members of the body.