Be Doers of the Word and Not Hearers Only
Levels of Church Membership
There are in the Lutheran denomination three levels of church membership.
Baptized Members
Baptized members include all who have been baptized—adults and children.
Confirmed Members
Traditionally, child baptized members become full, confirmed members upon completion of study, usually around age 15. Once confirmed, youth have full membership privileges.
When adults join churches with little or no childhood experience in the Church, membership requirements are less clear. They can transfer membership from another Lutheran Church or a different denomination, with guidelines for acceptance consisting of little more than the recitation of a creed. Faith communities are often so starved for members that even that is not required.
Associate Members
Some congregations have a designation of associate membership. These adult members can hold full membership in another church while participating in congregational life as fully as they like— but they do not have voting privileges.
These are the constitutional membership guidelines. There are problems with these which might become more clear if we define church membership along biblical lines.
Hearers and Doers
There are Hearers of the Word and there are Doers of the Word.
All faith begins with hearing the Word. But hearing alone is not enough.
Most church governance centers on Hearers of the Word. There are far more of them and their individual votes count the same as that of people who may be far more committed.
Favoring Hearers and ignoring Doers dummies down the Church.
Hierarchical leadership does not like Doers of the Word —unless they DO exactly as they are told. The problem for Doers who have a strong foundation in faith is that they honor leadership only when leadership is scripturally based and act within constitutional guidelines. In their minds, they answer to a higher authority.
There are differences among Doers. Doers who do not have a strong faith foundation can create a cult-like following.
Doers commit far more than a weekly monetary offering. They commit time and passion. Doers look for opportunities to improve and change church community. Doers challenge their Faith Community. They motivate.
Doers will challenge status quo leadership.
The problem in the ELCA is that the status quo is revered. That makes Doers of the Word, whether they be clergy or lay members, people to be tolerated. If Doers are insistent upon change, they become unwelcome and are labeled as oddballs or trouble-makers. At worst they are targets of insecure leaders —the more insecure, the more ruthless.
The position of Hearers of the Word becomes glorified. They are less trouble.
The fact that there are far fewer Hearers in the ELCA doesn’t seem to faze leadership.
Doers, on the other hand, are an endangered species. This doesn’t faze our leaders either!
When a denomination is governed by Hearers of the Word and Doers are shut out, there are serious problems.