Rev Writes - 2nd Nov

When a friend asks you about church you say, “I go to NAC.” When we say that, we are saying more than “I go to the footy.” We are making a statement about belonging to NAC.

Belonging to NAC means something important to us. Over the last few weeks we’ve been thinking about what we mean when we say we belong to NAC. We’ve been exploring the idea of membership. And, because we’re NAC, we’ve been doing this exploration as we’ve been looking at 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians has things to say about church.

Let’s do a quick review. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about gifts. Being a member of NAC means I use my gifts for the common good. I use my gifts in fellowship. I am guided by others so I know how to use my gifts well

1 Corinthians 13 talks about love. Being a member of NAC means that serving others and
meeting the needs of others is more important than simply using my gifts. I will, out of love, serve others even if I feel inadequate.

1 Corinthians 12 talks about NAC being like a human body. Every part of our body is important and is needed. When someone has a part of their body missing or not working properly we describe them as handicapped. We don’t want to be handicapped at church so every member of NAC is important and needed.

So we looked at the idea that being there when NAC meets is significant. Choosing not to be in church is an important decision, one which shouldn’t be taken without fellowship. So we thought about deciding to miss church as something we should talk over with others.

Being at church, caring about the needs of other members, and using all that God has given me for the common good are three things that seem to be part of membership.

This is the fifth RevWrites on membership. There’s a few to go. If you’ve missed one or more email me and I’ll send them to you (neil@nac.asn.au). They contain some good ideas!

But soon the rubber has to hit the road. We can talk about membership for ever. How do we act on what we talk about?

Do you think we should define membership more clearly? Do you think we should have a document that spells out what it means to belong to NAC? Do you think we should ask people to sign up for membership? Should membership be required before people vote at annual meetings?

These are just a few questions that come to mind. If I knew how to set up a blog I’d start one on our website so we could all interact about this. Anyone want to have a go?

In the meantime, email me your thoughts or phone me or write me a letter or even talk to me about what you think about membership. I think that when I say to someone “I go to NAC.” that

I’m saying something very important. I’m just not sure exactly what it means. I’m also not sure that you think the same thing as I do about belonging to NAC.

So, where to from here?

Neil Macken