As any reader of this article knows, congregational life can be a challenge. Work. Meetings. Disagreements. Seeming lack of resources. And so on.
And as any reader of this article knows, many of our congregations struggle. Across our District—and, for that matter, across the country—many congregations have faced significant decline. This year alone, nine of our congregations have closed.
And yet again, as any reader of this article knows, when God calls someone to faith, he calls that person into Christian community, into a congregation of other believers for strengthening of faith, consolation of believers, acts of love, and Gospel outreach to neighbors.
So regardless of the challenges, let us extol and celebrate our congregational life, accenting three key areas.
Immersed in the Word
Congregational life thrives on the Word of God. A robust ministry of the Word leads to robust life together and fruitful ministry beyond. Such a ministry includes:
- Individual members who have a habit of daily reading of the Bible. It takes 20 minutes a day to read through the entire Bible in a year;
- Widespread opportunities for Bible study in large, small, and home groups; and
- Sunday services centered on the Word and Sacraments rooted in Christian heritage and relevant to today.
For our life together to thrive, we must be immersed in, not dabbling with, the Word (See 2 Kings 22–23).
Recapture Biblical Membership
We should remember that the sort of membership the Bible teaches is not the sort of membership we think of when it comes to country clubs or Costco. Membership in a congregation is not about attendance, dues, and a roster.
Membership in a congregation is about being a part of a body. Like a finger or a kneecap is part of a body. To live out this biblical analogy, we need to keep in mind the following:
- Activities are more important than meetings, i.e., the body is meant for doing.
- Cooperation and coordination are essential for a body; conflict leads to dysfunction.
- No one is dispensable.
Being part of a congregation, then, is being part of an organism, not an organization. This understanding forestalls consumerism and breeds biblical community.
For our life together to thrive, we must recapture a biblical understanding of membership (See 1 Corinthians 12).
Loving Neighbors for Their Sake
While we want our congregations to grow, we must be careful that, when we reach out in love to neighbors, we do so for the sake of loving them in Jesus and not as a recruitment tool for the preservation of our congregation. Often congregations, especially when they are distressed numerically, see loving their neighbors as a way to sustain their organization.
Rather, we are to love our neighbors from a Kingdom point of view.
- We love as an outgrowth of the King’s love toward us.
- We love that others might come to know our King through the Word we share.
- We love so that the Kingdom of love might come to more.
There is an old song, now very old, that affirms “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Our being part of a congregation positions us individually and corporately to be an extension of love to a world that badly needs it.
For our life together to thrive, we must understand Christian love as a gift to our neighbors (See 1 John 4).
One More Thing
Your congregational life is not lived in isolation. It is part of the Christian Church. It is connected with all other Christian congregations either formally, as in being part of an organized Synod, or as being part of the One Holy Christian and Apostolic Church.
This past summer we experienced the benefit of life together in our District Convention. Representatives from our congregations across the state gathered for worship, encouragement, fellowship, and instruction. We were comforted, like Elijah, that there are more with us than we sometimes realize.
Each individual congregation does not need to—and, for that matter, cannot—“do everything” all by itself. It can work within a church body like The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and also with other local congregations. Of course, there are limitations to what sorts of things congregations can share and do together, but congregations should not exist in isolation from other congregations.
For our life together to thrive, our congregations need to see that they are part of a bigger whole, a Kingdom that transcends time and space (See Revelation 21).
Satan loves to corrupt gifts from God. The gift that is congregational life is not immune from attack. But such life together is indeed a gift, a gift to steward. May God’s Spirit lead us to thrive within congregational life, extolling and celebrating it day by day.
Photo by Elisa Schulz/Michigan District, LCMS
