by Zac Veron

Why do so many Sydney Anglican ministers find it difficult to encourage their members to share their faith, let alone attend church every week?
The answer to this question " which cuts to the heart of our Mission " is complex.

However, I believe that there is one overriding reason that sadly you never hear discussed.

We Anglicans let just about anyone be a church member without placing any expectations on them at all. Not one ounce of commitment is asked of people when they join their local Anglican church. We are usually content, if not delighted, just to have people involved.

Commitment. It is a word that will set many teeth on edge because it is so counter the mainstream Anglican culture.

For instance, anybody can attend, speak and vote at our annual vestry meetings if they sign a document declaring that they are a baptised member, not less than 18 years of age, and have "usually attended divine services' at the church within the past 12 months.

But they don't have to be "committed' to that church! They don't have to be serving in any way at their church. They may not have given a dollar to their church in the last 20 years. They may not even believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Indeed they may have only attended half a dozen church services. Yet they can be full members, and, incredibly, we give them the right to make decisions at vestry meetings that affect the future of our church!

Why does this matter? It matters because the church that simply asks its members to be "involved' will look very different to the church that asks its members to be "committed'. Involvement in a church results in maintenance of the status quo at best. Commitment to a church results in effective missioning and growth.

One first step would be for Synod to reform:

1. The annual vestry meeting declaration so that only "committed' members may be involved in decision making at the local church.
2. Parish council membership, so only committed members will be eligible to serve.

Over the next couple of issues of Southern Cross I'll set out how pastors and lay people can move their church culture from "involvement' to "commitment'.

That's my view from the trenches!

The Rev Zac Veron is Senior Minister of St George North Anglican Church. This is the first in a series of columns.