In the Gospel of Matthew there is an account of Peter jumping out of a boat into stormy waters. It is pretty dramatic stuff. It seems to me that, in some ways, this story expresses what is going on in the life of the Christian Churches today.
For some people membership of a church is an experience of belonging and community. A church helps them feel connected. It provides them with a degree of stability and certainty. It is like being together in a boat, especially a boat that is being tossed about in rough seas.
But for other people a church is not a place of belonging and community. It is not a place where they feel accepted and included. It is not a place where they are spiritually nourished. These people often walk away from a church. They step out of the boat.
People who step out of the boat can end up feeling lost and vulnerable, threatened by the storms of life. Often they do not know what to do or who to turn to. Yet people who leave a church are in fact being offered an opportunity. They can use their experience of uncertainty and vulnerability to discover something new. This is what happened to Peter. Feeling the force of the wind and waves, knowing that he was drowning, he cried out to Jesus: “Lord, help me!” And he found that Jesus was there for him. The Gospel tells us that, “Jesus put out his hand and held him.” What a powerful image! In his powerlessness Peter was to discover in a new way the presence of Jesus in his life.
Whether or not we belong to a church there is something we need to realise. The heart and core of the Christian religion is a relationship, a relationship with the person of Jesus. It is a relationship with Jesus that saves us from emptiness and despair. It is a relationship with Jesus that gives meaning and purpose to our lives. It is a relationship with Jesus that provides us with the love we long for and need. It is a relationship with Jesus that puts life into church membership. If our experience of religion is only about belonging and identity then we are missing out on the thing that makes all the difference: a life-giving relationship with Jesus. And so, we must do whatever we can to claim this relationship.