Wendell Berry and the Beauty of Membership

Frequent readers of this blog will not be surprised that I was very encouraged by the recent article at The Gospel Coalition site by Matt McCullough regarding Wendell Berry and the Beauty of Membership.  The article focuses primarily on my favorite Berry novel, Jayber Crow, drawing parallels from membership in the Port William community to membership in the church. 

...Berry's stories bring to life truths at the heart of the community we're aiming for when we emphasize church membership. A thriving, covenant-shaped local church requires precisely the sort of self-abnegation Berry celebrates and is opposed by the same self-exaltation he portrays in all its ugliness.

Too often we try on new churches like we try on new clothes and for much the same reason. We're looking for style and fit, for what meets our needs and makes the appropriate statement about who we are. We put our churches in service of our desire to be somebody, and our commitment doesn't outlast the better options of Elsewhere. But this posture—beside its offense to the cross—leads to self-absorption, restlessness, and isolation.

Read the entire article here.