What’s Going On? Esther and Membership
As we head into the summer preaching season, I am taking up a challenge or encouragement that someone sent me. They said, “Would you ever consider preaching through one of the short books of the Bible?” And I thought, that is a good idea for the summer. A few suggestions were given, and I decided to preach on the book of Esther. I am not exactly sure why I chose Esther, but it should prove to be an interesting book for us to consider during the rest of June and early July. I won’t give away what I will be saying about it, but I do encourage you to prepare for the series by watching this Bible Project video (https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/esther/) that summarizes and outlines the book. You can also, of course, read through the book of Esther. It is interesting and full of action and plot twists.
The other thing I could have been preaching about at this time is church membership. In the next few weeks, our services will include families joining Mountainview, baptisms, and people giving testimony to the gift God has given them as they profess their faith. In the conversations I have had with people in preparing for these wonderful moments, the question that is running through my mind is this: what do you need to know to be a member of Mountainview?
I have asked people from other churches what they do for preparation. I have asked long time members what they remember from their own preparation. And I have reflected on my experience over the years with a variety of people. My conclusion is that we have sometimes treated faith like an academic test where you needed to know certain things to qualify. I would encourage us to put more emphasis on the relationship aspect of faith and to wonder what it looks like to be able to describe a meaningful and transformative relationship with Jesus. What we need to know (with our hearts primarily) is that God loves us and that Jesus exemplified that love and the Holy Spirit pours that love into us in a way that when experienced and understood results in us loving others. And so, what we are looking for as we ask, “Do you love God?” is a way of being that comes out in a growing love also for other people. Measuring this or “testing” for this is, as it should be, a challenging thing to do. So perhaps the best way forward in this membership conversation is not to try to define exactly what people need to know or do, but to continue to welcome and embrace people, getting to know them in a way that encourages them on a journey with Jesus. In short, we let people know “There is a place for you at Mountainview!” After all, that is what it says on the banner in front of our building.
Pastor Erick