Member-only story
What if it’s okay to be a real sinner who needs a real Jesus?
Pastor, It’s Time to Preach the Gospel to Yourself
Jesus is enough for you, too. He is MORE than enough.
Club Dues
I served a church back in the 1990s where many folks in the congregation were members of the Country Club. As a pastor in my twenties, there was no way that I could afford to pay the membership fee, which I suspected was in the six-figure range. Nevertheless, I was invited to the club as a guest on occasion. I had the contacts, but not the funds.
Even if I took out a loan for the membership fee or had someone generously pay it for me, I wouldn’t have been able to cover the ongoing monthly dues. And if you can’t pay the monthly dues, you lose your status as a member in good standing. Eventually, if you remain in debt to the club, you are removed from membership altogether.
This is the way some of us have thought about Christianity. Even as pastors. At least functionally. Jesus graciously pays the joining fee (which is a huge gift!), but we are left to cover monthly dues in order to remain members in good standing, not at a club, but in the Kingdom of God.
