I have a friend and colleague who recently made the painful but needed decision to bring an end to a ministry program.

Then he got an email (well, he got several actually, but this one stands out).

The writer told him that she was very saddened by the news and she emphasized the point with many emotive statements like,

“I don’t know where else I will serve….”

“I felt most impacted when I participated in…”

“….was the only reason that I was part of this church”

What I find so interesting about this exchange is that this person used language that is no different than language you or I might use to describe any product or service we may acquire.

in other words, these are the statements of a consumer.

Imagine a cell phone provider discontinuing service in a geographical area:

“I don’t know what other service provider I will find.”

“I really enjoyed the service I received, I’m concerned another provider will not serve me as well.”

Notice that these are all “I” statements. The troubling reality about these “I” statements when used in reference to someone’s interaction with the church is that these statements are antithetical to a faith that embraces such teachings as:

“Not my will, but yours be done”

“whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”

“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant”

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!”

Now, it would be one thing if this woman’s comments existed in a vacuum, but unfortunately this type of perspective is pandemic.

This is what I call consumer christianity.

So many “believers” interact with communities of faith looking for what the community has to offer them, instead of seeking to discover how they can share what they have (resources, experience, wisdom, skill, love, etc) with others.

I don’t believe this is the only variable, but I believe it’s at least one variable to the equation that ends in someone finding little different between someone of the faith and someone not of the faith.

May we abandon this “consumer christianity” and move to “post consumer christianity.” It sounds new, but really it’s just a new term for what was intended all along.

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