by Deacon Peggy Hahn (she/her), Co-Director at LEAD
Membership can feel like a hidden tax instead of a spiritual practice of generosity. Church membership has its perks and responsibilities, right? The privilege of leadership and the power of the vote rank highest on the list when we think about why a person would “join” a church in this day and time.
Church membership, outlined in most constitutions, boils down to 1) receiving the sacraments once a year and 2) a financial gift of record (of any amount) each year.
Are we placing value where it should not be placed? If we are measuring a commitment to following Jesus, wouldn’t we also have metrics around serving the poor, prayer, study, etc.?
By requiring a “gift of record” the cost may be excluding people. If you are thinking that any amount of money counts, what is the real point? How does this low bar inspire giving? Equally important, how does this open our doors as wide as possible to welcome all of God’s children?
For full disclosure there was a time in my life, while working on a church staff, that I couldn’t give money to the church. As a single mom with two children in college and one in high school, I was fighting to keep the lights on. It is humiliating enough to ask for a scholarship for your child to go to camp, while serving on the church staff, much less to realize if your membership record was called into account, you would be out the door. [For the record, my church never asked me to give.]
Wouldn’t it be more fruitful to the Christian movement if we encouraged a high commitment to all spiritual practices from everyone, without prioritizing money over service, prayer, care for our neighbor, etc.?
If we are going to keep this membership tax as a baseline, it begs the question, maybe every church should have members who will sponsor the giving of new people – and advocate for fair wages for them while we are at it? Or do we only want people at our church who can give money?
Some of the most faithful people we know don’t have the means to give but will donate as much time as they possibly can. On the flip side, we know people who give a lot of money and are never held accountable to live a life of relationally loving their neighbor. We hear stories of extremely generous givers who have an expectation of special treatment like preferred members. We see unhealthy anxiety in congregations resisting the change they know they need to make out of fear it will upset the highest givers. We know congregations where big givers want to pick the next pastor. Is this the culture we hope to create, or this the loophole to keep certain “kinds of people” out of leadership? If any of this rings true to you, this is a conversation to have at your leadership tables.
Raising the bar for full inclusivity and a high commitment to Jesus can not be centered in our financial contributions. We are encouraging a call to revisit this metric through the lens of love.
This is a truth that is all too common. A main reason for individuals or families leaving a congregation to seek another, only to find that such structures are more the rule than an exception. Congregations with a truly flat leadership structure are perhaps more a reflection of the structure of organizations in general. The rare leaders who see and understand the problem are those who make the “best” congregations in terms of truly universal involvement. Sadly, much of the failure can be placed on those of us who choose to sit idly by, accepting the status quo.