Consumer Christianity

At college, we were frequently challenged to look at our own culture and evaluate where the gospel is needed, where it can change, where it can challenge. One of the central things we were taught was that there was no such thing as a perfect culture: all cultures are tainted by human sinfulness in some way or other. The gospel needs to challenge these areas rather than capitulate to them. It taught that sometimes when we are immersed in a culture we can be blind to certain aspects that actually need to be healed rather than held.

At the time, one of the big issues we discussed was the heavy reliance on individualism rather than corporate identity. But I don't actually think that's the big challenge for the gospel in Western society. The real challenge is consumerism (yes, I know they are linked, but I believe it is actually a separate issue).

We live in a materialistic culture. Matters of spirituality are not really addressed in mainstream media, except as a form of entertainment to be consumed. The key messages our culture transmits are acquire, consume, criticise, take your pick, dispose of the old, crave the new. You have only to see the hype surrounding the opening of the new Apple store in Sydney to see that "stuff" has become the new god.

This affects the church in many ways. Most obvious are the Consumer Christians who may inhabit churches.

Some indicators of Consumer Christians (if you know others, please feel free to add your comments!):

1. Are ME focused, rather than service focused. They attend churches that give them a buzz, make them feel good, have the kind of music they like, and so on. They might volunteer to serve in the occasional church activity, but only if it doesn't require too much time commitment, pain, or long-term "contract".
   
2. Have a "shopping list" of wants for their church. Their favourite sentence begins, "You know, what I think this church needs is..."
   
3. Are constantly dissatisfied with the current state of the church, but with little desire or willingness to actually help things become better. They are the restaurant critics of the church business, and they share their dissatisfaction behind closed doors, in the open, or to anyone who will listen.
   
4. Shop around for better churches. Consumer Christians will often attend 2 or 3 churches at a time, sampling the best of everything, but being satisfied with none. The more they sample, the more they wish their original church could be the best of everything.
5. Have a short shelf-life attitude to church friends, church workers, church attendance. They might shift churches once every couple of years (or every few months). Or maybe they agitate to have a new senior pastor once every four years or so. Basically they want to change their church environment as often as they change their mobile phone. After all, when that initial contract runs out, we just chuck it for a new one, don't we?
6. Are excitement and "new" focused, rather than gospel focused. Consumer Christians can be constantly pushing to have new and exciting initiatives always going on in a church. They reserve the right to pick and choose which church events they attend, but they still want the smorgasbord.
   

How does the gospel challenge this attitude? The gospel is a radical antidote to Consumer Christianity. Jesus' teaching goes way beyond opposing this kind of attitude even among Christians. How? Here are a few verses for you:

Matthew 20:25-28 “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ^26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ^27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ^28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Leaders of churches, followers of Jesus were put in their place by these words. Consumer Christians want the "me first" out of church. Jesus wants us to be "you first" instead. Being a Christian is not about purchasing a service for ourselves and then complaining to the service desk if it isn't what we wanted. It's about genuinely loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, and seeking their good before our own. After all, if Jesus our king could stoop so low, we should be able to.

Romans 15:1-6 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ^2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ^3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^{ 4} For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

^5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, ^6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Endurance isn't a big virtue these days, is it? Well, maybe enduring a cold night to wait for a shop to open. But long-term endurance, loving our church as a family for the long haul, that is a toughie, isn't it? What about when they disagree with us? Paul makes it clear that our focus in serving one another isn't for our own glory, but for the glory of Christ Jesus. Will it be tough? Yes. But what's a few years of struggle compared to the glory to come?

^{2 Corinthians 4:16-18. 16} Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ^17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ^18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Quotes taken from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.