About every quarter we try to stop and celebrate the newest members of our “Jesus-Centered Community of Scripture, Faith, and Grace.” Normally, that membership is the product of a conversation that I start that goes something like, “Hey, we’d like you invite you into membership.” That already is kind of weird for Lutheran churches, because from what I understand, in other churches – that’s more of a thing that someone would volunteer themselves for, like, “Hey, how do I become a member here?” (To be clear, that does happen here too.) But here, it’s usually more of a, “we want you to consider this.”

Many times the response I get back is, “why?” Not a nasty “why?,” but one that wonders about the “whys” (and whats and hows) of membership. Does this help the church? Do I get some kind of benefit? Do I have to get a letter of transfer from my last church? What if that church wasn’t Lutheran? etc.

But probably the most important question is “what does this mean theologically?” I confess that I only recently added that to the member guide we send out, so let me give you the basics: As Christians, we recognize that our baptisms make us all a part of the Body of Christ. Paul talks about that in places like Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. This mystical “membership” isn’t about having your name in a role call or on a card, but is about imagining yourself as an ear, an eye, a kidney, or a little toe of the Body of Christ on earth. That reality is ours throughout the whole Christian church worldwide -we are all a part of that Body.

Yet, that Body is not an all together ethereal body. Instead, that Body is created and maintained in physical ways: real, live, in person Baptisms, communion with almost everyone in the room participating, hearing the actual sound waves of the Word of God read and preached. So we’re all a part of this mysterious Body of Christ, but we’re a part of it in a somewhat less mysterious way – by coming together in a local church, receiving God’s good gifts, and working together in His will. You don’t get to be a part of the Body of Christ without being a part of the Body in a local church. 

So this Sunday, when we celebrate our newest members, we’re not just celebrating that we have new statistics to report to Council and the Synod. We’re celebrating much more than that. We’re celebrating that in His grace, Christ has called new brothers and sisters to be connected to us in this local manifestation of His Body. And we’re also celebrating you, if you’re a person who has been a part of this Body for some time, because everyone here makes up who we are as a church. See you this Sunday for the celebration.