No Higher Authority

From Page 8 of the UUA's new publication, the Membership Journey:

"In Unitarian Universalism no higher authority creates a congregation; in fact, a congregation is formed only if people are willing to constitute one. Membership, then, is the heart of our Unitarian Universalist congregational life."

If your religious values are not tied to salvation, what keeps your butt in the pew? With the fear factor scrubbed out of the theology, why not just go out & act on principles? Of course, most people can't or won't function that way...fear still exists, the need for love & companionship still exist, and there still are mysteries left to be explored on the various points of the continuum between the self and the way-out-there.

The section in which the above quote appears also offers definitions ofcongregational growth. Their points are drawn from a book by Loren B. Mead entitled "More Than Numbers: The Way Churches Grow." Mead's book is published by the Alban Institute, an organization which provides consultative services to churches.

The section ends with a link to a page at the UUA site on evangelism Unitarian-Universalist style. When I get around to reading it I'm sure there will be lots to talk about.