On the vows of church membership

This past Sunday our church concluded a month-long examination of our church membership vows.  Historically these have been, “As a member of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?”  (In 2004, the church added “witness” to the vows.  Those who joined The United Methodist Church prior to that date are familiar with the four listed above.)

I have been thinking of the nature of “a vow.”  In our day-to-day conversations, the place where we employ this word is in speaking of that which is at the core of a marriage ceremony.  We speak of the “wedding vows.”  In the Ritual of our church that we used exclusively until an alternate was introduced in 1992, the service’s charge to the couple included the phrase, “Be well assured that if these solemn vows are kept inviolate, as God’s Word demands, and if steadfastly you endeavor to do the will of your heavenly Father, God will bless your marriage, will grant you fulfillment in it, and will establish your home in peace.”

 Good words.

 But, as I say, outside of the marriage ceremony context, we hardly ever use the term “vow.”  It certainly means “to commit” or “to promise.”  But we can be careless with those things.  To say, “let’s do lunch,” is almost cliché for, “I have good intentions, but I don’t really intend to follow through.”  “A person’s word is their bond,” is a noble sentiment, but we often practice varying degrees of that principle.  I know people who will make certain commitments while face-to-face, only to have a text message or email or some other impersonal communication back down from those obligations.

 So, when we talk about “membership vows,” what is our intent?  Do we affirm those vows merely in order to move along?  Do we understand that to answer in the negative is to disqualify ourselves from proceeding?    Is it like when we are downloading a program or app to our personal computers, and when we get to the licensing agreement we scroll to the bottom and accept without reading, knowing that we can’t take advantage of the program unless we click “yes?”  I would hope that our membership vows had more meaning than to say, “If I don’t respond, ‘I will,’ I can’t move forward with my church affiliation.”

 There are those who interpret our taking of membership vows as a contractual agreement.  They interpret our affirmation as entering into a binding legal agreement.  As a pastor I have a certain degree of attraction to that interpretation.  It would be interesting if the church could enforce prayer and attendance and contribution and volunteerism and testimony.  But it can’t do that.  There has been no point in our lifetimes when The United Methodist Church has acted in such a way.  (In times past, the church dismissed – or “churched” -- people the who committed grievous acts such as crimes, but the church has all but removed those procedures from church law.)

 So, what do we make of “membership vows?”  According to Webster’s dictionary, a vow is “a solemn promise or assertion.”  In looking to illustrate, I turn again to our traditional wedding ritual, that states of marriage, “It is therefore not to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly and in the fear of God.” A vow is something of which we say, “Think this through.  Weigh the consequences.  Study as to whether you will maintain this commitment over the long haul.”  I cannot help but wonder of some people pondered their membership vows as deeply as they considered their marriage obligation.”

 I knew one man at a single time who withdrew his membership from his local church because he felt that he was not living up to his commitment to the church.  Sadly, I am acquainted with many more who just slipped out the back door of the church without comment, 

 All of this is to say that our membership vows are a cause of ongoing solemnity and consideration.  The affect each day we live and every significant decision that we make.  And I say that speaking of the vows collectively.  We may not ask in a given situation, “what is the prayerful, or attending, or contribution, or performing, or testifying thing to do here?”  But we _can_ say, “What is the disciple’s response here?  How does a member of the Body of Christ act in this situation?”  Then, then, our vows take root.