“We are a designer
society. We want everything customized
to fit our personal needs – our clothing, our food, our education. Now it is our religion” ~ George Barna.
Without trying to sound overly cynical and snarky, it seems
to me that George Barna gets it. We are a consumer society and the church is
seen by many as being one of many merchants with products to sell. How many times have you heard someone say, “the
church just isn’t meeting my needs”? How
many Sunday School teachers have felt the pressure of having to make Sunday
School “fun” in order for parents to keep bringing their kids back? How many music leaders are given an “audience”
request list for favorite hymns to play, or how fast or slow to play the music
in worship?
In his book, “Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the
American Soul”, G. Jeffrey MacDonald laments the consumerization of faith when he
writes,
“Faith
has become a consumer commodity in America.
People shop for congregations that make them feel comfortable rather
than spiritually challenged. They steer
clear of formal commitments to Christian communities. They flee when they are not quickly gratified
or when they encounter interpersonal problems.
Changing churches has become as routine as changing jobs. As a result, churches are no longer able to
help people develop solid moral characters”.
So here’s the question.
As a church, do we feed people what they want or what they need? A long time ago, Jesus sat on a hillside
meeting the needs of thousands by feeding them with a few fish and a couple loaves
of bread. After his resurrection, Jesus came to his
friend Peter and laying the foundations of the church on Peter’s shoulders
commanded him to feed God’s sheep.
Clearly the act of feeding was really important to Jesus. So too is it for us who would claim to follow
Jesus.
There are lots of unchurched and de-churched folks who need
to hear and be fed by the love and grace of Jesus. Here’s my dilemma. How do I do that in ways that are relevant
and engaging without turning the priesthood of believers into a company of
consumers looking to buy the most appealing “ministry” product?
I completely understand that the church needs
to be aware of and responsive to people’s needs and to meet folks where they are. But it seems to me that meeting them where
they are doesn’t mean leaving them there.
When Jesus first started calling people to follow him, he
said “those who lose their life for my sake will find it”. In these times of numeric decline for
mainline churches, do we dare issue such a challenge? When our pews are becoming increasingly
empty, do we dare challenge faith consumers to get over their needs and to lose
themselves to Christ? If so, what might
that even look like?
These are not easy questions to ask in a society as heavily
soaked in consumerism as ours. But ask
them we must. Who knows we might even
find that in the end we have nothing to sell; just everything to give away.
Peace on the journey,
Pastor Doug
