Why it's important, and why it's a burden.
Note: This page is not an exhaustive reflection on membership. Rather, it is a brief summary of the values and issues surrounding membership in ELCA congregations.
Maybe the first question to ask is why have members at all? The easiest answer is because they are legally required for nonprofits. Most states allow nonprofits with no members, but then all power belongs to the board of directors. Without members, the Congregation Council would be the only decision making body. Without membership, the Congregation Council would call a pastor, purchase property, or close the congregation. Others in the congregation would have no vote in such matters.
But beyond a legal requirement, what is the theological purpose of membership? In the Church, membership is primarily viewed as a covenantal relationship. Members of the Church are those people who have entered God's new covenant. St. Paul even says the baptized are members of one body (1 Corinthians 12). This is why membership in congregations happens primarily through Holy Baptism or an affirmation of baptism.
As noted, baptism and affirmation of baptism are the primary markers of membership in the Church. But even among Lutherans, where we accept infant baptism as valid, there is great diversity of opinion on the role of this sacrament and future sacramental moments.
Is baptism the entrance rite? The scriptural references to baptism appear to make baptism the very first moment on the journey into faith. No training required. If you have any interest in Jesus, let's get you baptized and trust the Holy Spirit.
Is baptism the first major milestone? Within the first few centuries of Christianity, the catechumenate became the norm. Instead of baptism being the first thing a follower of Jesus experienced, it was the conclusion of an extended entry journey. This is probably more similar to Abraham's covenant journey, as well as the concept of "discipleship" outlined at the end of this page.
The way we answer these questions will greatly influence our understanding of membership. When Jesus gave us the Great Commission, did "go and make disciples, baptizing them" mean make disciples first, then baptize them? Or did it mean baptizing is the first step in making disciples?
Confirmation grew out of the catechumenate and has its own messed up history. Today, questions abound about the role and purpose of confirmation. Lutherans are one of the only church bodies that primarily practice a confirmation journey that is year long or greater. What is the purpose of confirmation for us today?
Note: The Confirmation Project researched five mainline denominations, and the ELCA was the only denomination of the five that averaged over 6 months of confirmation. They found that "90 percent of ELCA programs last more than a year, while 90 percent of non-ELCA programs last less than a year. Indeed, 75 percent of ELCA confirmation programs last two years or more" (Cultivating Teen Faith: Insights from the Confirmation Project, pg. 131).
Is confirmation an important baptismal rite? Where baptism is primarily the entrance rite, confirmation serves the role of an intense discipleship journey. However, it is primarily for teens in the Lutheran church. If confirmation is important, how do such congregations handle unconfirmed adults? Double standards exist, and they say a lot about our theology.
Note: This issue is exacerbated when adults join our congregations from Christian traditions that don't practice confirmation. If we don't require them to go through confirmation, what are we saying about the importance of this rite for our members? If we do require it, what are we saying about the Church catholic. Is God's grace sufficient in its many expressions?
Is confirmation a coming-of-age rite? Coming-of-age rites have important roles in communities. But if this is the purpose of confirmation, does the journey reflect this purpose? Often confirmation as coming-of-age is conflated with the previous option, creating an unclear hodgepodge.
Is confirmation a relic from the past? In congregations where the catechumenate their central practice and baptism is the first major milestone at the conclusion of an entrance journey, confirmation may no longer have meaning, or may primarily be a coming-of-age rite instead of an extended period of intense training.
Depending on the answers to these questions, congregations' understanding of confirmed membership may greatly vary.
There is also tension in Lutheran theology around cheap grace. Some claim baptism without worthwhile preparation cheapens grace, as if it were this thing with no real meaning in the Church. Others claim that any requirements on baptism and extended confirmation journeys make grace so costly that no one can afford it. At what point do we make grace so cheap that it is worthless, and and what point do we make grace so costly that it is no longer free?
As long as there are categories of "baptized member" and "confirmed member", these are questions the Lutheran church is going to have to struggle with together.
Membership is, first and foremost, a legal tool. Members have the power to vote. Congregations can take steps to legally protect members. Membership may already provide legal protections in some cases. Members can be disciplined, and non-members can be removed for trespassing. There are many legal reasons why membership is important.
Membership also has theological purposes. As an expression of the Church, congregations are expressions of Christian faith. Though congregations gladly work with other when purposes align, should congregations allow people an active role in its ministry who do not hold the same beliefs?
Membership also has expectations of what it means to be a part of this church. A lot of people may not understand this as a benefit, but *C8.04. outlines a clear set of expectations for which members are held accountable. Knowing what it means to be a part of this church is important for our united identity.
Finally, there are many practical reasons for membership. Creating a solid donor base, knowing who is part of a volunteer pool, or determining who is of primary pastoral concern all become easier with membership.
Note: Once someone becomes a member, it is actually hard to remove them from membership. Outside of discipline (*C8.05.d.), it is entirely out of the congregation's power to remove someone from membership (inactivity requires they first be inactive).
Membership is no longer the primary model of ministry of many congregations. Though membership is a model in scripture, the primary model appears to be discipleship. Many view membership as the opposite of discipleship.
Membership also appears to put many barriers between people and participation. "Doubting Thomases", split households, and many other factors may keep one from being a member. Should that exclude them from the means of grace?
Example: A young teenager wants a more active role in the congregation. The teen comes from a split home, which has resulted in two thing. 1) The teen was never baptized due to one parent's objections. 2) The teen is unable to commit to confirmation classes due to rotating between parents' households. This teen wants to take the next steps in faith with their friends, using confirmation as baptismal preparation, but life has gotten in the way.
Additionally, membership in a congregation has also been conflated with membership in the Church. If someone is removed from membership in a congregation, they think this means the Church catholic has rejected them. Many leave the faith after such moments.
Note: The ELCA is hopefully considering many options to address the current membership model. The below suggestion does not pretend to change the required provisions on membership. Rather, it offers a solution that can work in tangent with the current model until the ELCA decides how to address membership for the modern church. See Example Bylaws
Maybe the simplest solution is to speak of both discipleship and membership. Some contrast these two as if one cannot be both, and one is good and the other is bad. Members apparently care about budgets and expect to be recipients of care. Disciples apparently care about making offerings and expect to be the givers of care. In other words, the contrast between membership and discipleship is often one of being inward focused (not simply upon one's self, but upon the Church) and being outward focused (upon unbelievers and those in need of ministry).
Examples: Below are some examples of sites contrasting membership and discipleship.
Why can't we speak of being both disciples of Jesus Christ and members of the Church, the body of Christ? Why can't we be both disciples, sinners who are ever growing in faith by following Christ, and members, saints belonging to Christ and rooted in faith?
As members, we do all those things members of nonprofits do, as well as that stuff described in Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and elsewhere. As disciples, we take up our crosses and do all those things described in Matthew 25, John 13, and elsewhere, bearing witness and making more disciples along the way.
Note: Those congregations that embrace the catechumenate already use a discipleship model that leads to membership. They spend time training people as disciples prior to making them members.
To put it another way, liturgists often speak of two liturgies. We are gathered together to build one another up (the first liturgy, the internal focus often described as "membership") for the sake of being sent out to care for the world (the second liturgy, the external focus often described as "discipleship"). The movements that want to throw out membership will miss something important about what it means to be part of the Church. But the term "member" appears to hinder the Church from seeing its additional function of discipleship, the "go and make" of the Great Commission.
Note: Yes, the difference between membership and discipleship is arbitrary on some levels. Like the difference between the historical Jesus and the resurrected Christ. We cannot separate the two. But the effort to look on the same thing from different perspectives often brings about a more full picture. In this church, we may need a more full image of what it means to be a Christian.
"Discipleship" is mentioned nowhere in the Model Constitution. Aspects of discipleship are present, but it appears some find the distinction between membership and discipleship meaningful. Would it be helpful to hold these two aspects of Christian living together in tension, rather than conflating one with the other?
Note: Some groups prefer using the term "missionaries", which fits well with the baptismal acclamation in the ELW. However, this term is already used in the ELCA to refer to those who are called to global missions.
Maybe the biggest problem with membership is that membership in the Church (capital "C") and membership in the nonprofit corporation (the local congregation) have been conflated. Literally, baptism is the way one becomes a member of the legal entity.
There are two big problems with this reality. On the one hand, when one is removed from membership in the congregation, what they are being told is that they are no longer a member of the Church. This is a horrible message to send to about God's grace.
On the other hand, there are many people who may feel a connection to the local congregation as a nonprofit entity who are not ready or prepared for the full statement that baptismal membership makes. The journey into faith is different for everyone, and often takes time. But the journey into dedicated one's self to an organization is simple and easy.
To solve this, some non-ELCA congregations have annual membership renewals, where anyone who wants to be a member (likely with some restrictions or approval process for those who weren't previously members) simply signs a form dedicating to be a member for the coming year. At the end of each year, the rolls are cleared and a new membership roll is established.
Is there any hope that the ELCA may one day separate the concepts of Church membership and membership in the legal nonprofit corporation that is the local congregation?