Consumerist Church and community

This article is really helpful. Written by a 'rising star' USAmerican megachurch pastor who dropped out and never went back. It resonated with things that I had been reflecting on in the last few years. For instance, about three years ago, I recall a vicar of a 'successful' Anglican church describing how changing demographics meant that the church was becoming more a commuter centre and that it was harder to do the things that they felt were important because of a consumer mentality among Christian congregants. I remember thinking that he was right; there was a sense among a lot of Christians that they were looking for in a church a product or range of products that served their perceived needs and move on if somewhere else did it better. Or drop out.

church leaders are quick to blame “consumerism.” The problem? People. They want too much, and they’re never satisfied.
But is that really it?
Is the problem that people in the pews keep upping the ante on their demands, or is it that church leaders don’t comprehend the real source of their discontent? Is it that people want too much, or that they just don’t want what the church is currently selling?

I had the same quesion. Yes, I do think that a full-on consumer mentality is detrimental to Christian faith and community [heck, I'm even writing about 'adbusting liturgy' on and off!]. And yet we can't entirely ignore the consumer mindset because it is so formative of our contemporary culture. I think Spencer Burke manages to use the consumer paradigm helpfully here without falling victim to its ungodly entails. Ultimately, it comes down to what we think church is for. I was beginning to question the value of measuring everything by Sunday attendance: it isn't good education, it's often not hugely entertaining, it is increasingly culturally odd, and it doesn't deliver -or isn't the most effective delivery system of- the most important Christian goods: community, personal growth, support, education. About the only thing is communion, and maybe without the other things that isn't such a great thing to boast about. I increasingly am thinking about how we can value, empower, and resource small-scale Christian meeting. I'm not talking about cell-church [though including it], rather asking what is it that we need to do to enable Christians to grow and be effective spiritual leaven in the lump of the worldly dough? How do we co-ordinate Christian efforts to make the best use of economies of scale, whether to do with use of money or effort? What social mechanisms best support Christain plausibility structures?

Spencer's analogy is really helpful:

The situation reminds of the banking industry. At one time, if you wanted to deposit or withdraw money, you had to go to the bank and stand in line. You had to fill out a slip and wait for someone to serve you. Today, there are independent ATMs capable of instantly dispensing cash everywhere ...
But the church seems largely oblivious to this trend toward flexible, on-demand service in our culture. We still expect people to come to us, at our buildings, to do transactions with God or make deposits in their spiritual account. ...
Imagine if people were encouraged to do their spiritual banking in ways that fit their lifestyle. They could watch some of the world’s best speakers on TiVo, DVDs or download resources for their iPod, then gather in smaller groups to discuss and apply what they’ve heard. A church wouldn’t necessarily need its own teaching pastor on the payroll anymore, and people wouldn’t need to leave their community in search of better teaching.

What churches -Christian community networks- need is community theologians, teachers, coaches, spiritual directors, 'growth facilitators', activists, organisers, artists ...

Oh dear, it looks like I just abolished 'the ministry' as we have known it! Oh, who cares?
Leadership Blog: Out of Ur: Spencer Burke on the Church that Consumerism Built--and Why I Fled:
Filed in: emerging, church, mission, consumerism