Church MembersA few weeks ago, I posted some of my thoughts on the concept of church membership. As I mentioned in that post, there are definitely positive aspects to having people become members.

But my question in this post is this: Should we call them “members” or is there another word we can use to refer to those who have taken a vow of commitment to the local congregation?

The reason I ask this question is that the word, “member,” I think, carries some negative connotations. I think “membership” implies, for instance, belonging to a club with benefits. I believe it’s American Express that advertises with the tag-line, “Membership has its benefits.”

The concept of having benefits is, I believe, contrary to what the church is really all about. One does not join a church to start receiving certain goods and/or services. A person joins a church because he or she is making the commitment to contribute one’s own goods and services to the community.

In other words, church membership is about giving, not receiving.

I also think that the idea of “membership” suggests that all you need to do is pay your dues. And that’s all that tithing, then, comes down to–paying your membership dues. But giving ought to be something that overflows from a grateful and generous heart, with a desire to see people blessed regardless of how the gift benefits oneself.

Again, I don’t think it’s wrong to have church members. I just think that the word, “member,” doesn’t really communicate clearly what a committed Christian is.

Mosaic, in Los Angeles, calls their members “Volunteer Staff.” Wow! Now that adds a twist to membership, doesn’t it?! It completely reverses the expectations. When you’re on staff, you have certain responsibilities. You discover your spiritual gifts and you use those to honor God and love others through the ministry of your church–which is the same thing that a paid staff person does. In fact, I’ve got a friend who is a “Volunteer Staff” at Mosaic and every week he serves on the video team.

I bet that Mosaic doesn’t have very many “inactive members.”

Another word that I started thinking about is the word, “Partner.” I was at Starbucks with Robin, my brother, and his wife while we were in San Diego back in April. Sarah, my sister-in-law, works for Starbucks and was telling me that all employees are called “Partners.”

I thought that was really cool because that immediately gives all employees a sense ownership in the company. I mentioned that to my brother, and he told me that that’s what their church calls their members.

I really like that word, “partner,” as a reference to a church member. Just like with Starbucks, there’s an inherent sense of ownership built into that word. When you’re a partner, you don’t just belong to the organization–you’re responsible for the continued growth and well-being of the organization.

And when you’re a “partner” in a church, you intrinsically understand that you are there to contribute to the ministry of the church–you’re not there to “get something” from church.

I’m curious if anyone else has heard of any creative words used for members in other churches. Let me know if you have.