This article was inspired by a seminar given by Col Marshall called “Making Lay Ministry Sing” and an article by Phillip Jensen, “Partners and colleagues in the gospel” in Southern Cross
Imagine, for a moment, that you possess the same power as Jesus—the power that allows you to perceive the thoughts of men and women. If you then went into your local church and walked up and down the pews, what would you hear?
“I didn't get much out of his sermon. He should use more illustrations.”
“The pews in this church are always so messy—rubbish everywhere! It's disgraceful; someone should really clean it up.”
“The drums were way too loud again. You couldn't hear the singers at all. And why do we have to sing so many choruses? Are hymns too shameful for us now?”
“We should have communion every week. And we should use wine, not this terrible grape juice stuff.”
“Why don't the ministers wear their robes? After all, they've done their four years at theological college; they've got the right to wear them.”
“Nobody bothered to talk to me after the service. They're all so cliquey at this church.”
“I don't know why they bother giving everyone copies of the missionary newsletter. As if I have time to read it or even pray for these people I don't even know!”
“The church wants us to increase our giving again. I don't see why we should; every year they raise the budget and then fail to meet it. Bad economics, really.”
This is the sound of the consumer church. Many of the sentiments expressed above may seem familiar to you. You might have expressed some of them yourself—if not verbally, then in the inner sanctum of your heart. They are all symptoms that point to a serious disease which is rapidly spreading through congregations throughout the western world.
But the disease should not be surprising. After all, outside of church walls, we are trained to think and behave in that way. Our suburbs are filled with shopping malls booby-trapped with devices that cause us to covet and lust. Hardly a day goes by when we exchange money (electronic or otherwise) for goods and services. And, because we are handing over our hard-earned mammon, we feel that we have a right to expect quality in return. If something breaks or does not satisfy us, we complain. We expect our complaints to be addressed by the management and some sort of restitution made to appease our grievances. This is all part and parcel of what finance and trade is all about.
Consumerism is what finance and trade is all about but it is not what church is about. We do not go to church merely to sit back and be entertained by the band, the singers, the service leader or the guy up the front giving the sermon. We do not go to church to have some deep spiritual experience or “revelation” of God. We do not go to church because that's where all our friends are and therefore that's where we want to be.
No. We go to church to hear God's word proclaimed, like the nation of Israel when they gathered in the wilderness around Mount Sinai and heard God's voice speak amid the cloud and thunder (Acts 7:38). We go to church to be comforted and rebuked by the Bible as it is preached through the lips of our pastors. We go to church to meet together with other Christians— to encourage each other to continue in the Christian faith, walking in love and good works, as the Day of Jesus' return—the Day of Judgement—approaches (Hebrews 10:23-25).
Church, therefore, cannot be characterised by consumption but by the corporation of believers working together to love and serve one another. Love is what distinguishes the people of God (John 13:35). Paul calls us to “[b]ear each other's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Peter, similarly, urges us to “keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). We are God's gift to one another for God has enabled us in different ways to participate in the work of building up the church in the faith:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
(Ephesians 4:11-16)
That the church is one body with many members (1 Corinthians 12:12) is an old and well-worn concept. We know that there are hands and ears and eyes in the church. We know that hands, ears and eyes cannot exist independently of each other but have been made to work together. We know that God, through his Spirit, has gifted us in a variety of ways and that, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7), and yet I feel that, in a lot of ways, we do not really know it. For if we did, we would not continually fall into the trap of thinking that the pastor's job is to do everything. We would not see needs in our congregations and think that others will meet them. We would not come to church looking to be served instead of serving.
“But I'm no good at anything,” I hear you say. “I can't do anything.” Based on the passage I quoted above from 1 Corinthians 12:7, that cannot be true. There is always something you can do—whether it be stacking chairs, cooking meals, building websites, giving away books or simply telling someone else how you came to know Jesus—everyone in the church is able to do something, including you. (See this article for more ideas for ministry.)
The question is, are you willing? Are you willing to put the good of others before your own? Are you willing to become one of God's fellow workers—God's fellow builders? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to reach that goal of presenting everyone mature in Christ on that last day?
Karen enjoys being part of the body of St. Michael's Anglican Cathedral, Wollongong
Comments
I think we have the right to have expectations of Church, if Church doesn’t live up to our expectations then there is a mismatch between expectations and reality.
Its important for things to meet expectations, when they don’t we get upset. I think the problem is - what can we as individuals do about helping reality meet expectations within the Church environment.
For example “Nobody bothered to talk to me after the service. They’re all so cliquey at this church.” is very often true. The problem is, we often feel so powerless to do anything about it, especially me.
philip andrew on 26 January, 2004 10:08 AM
I read you discussion paper on the ‘Consumer Church vs. Corporate Church’ with great interest; it is a topic which is currently discussed in many churches around South Australia. I feel your article brings up many good points, however, I believe it lets itself down by not what it say, but rather what it does not say.
Surely there must be a balance between personal commitment to a church and church accountability to its members. All committed Christians know they can’t expect to get something out of church every week, and that we must make a commitment to a congregation so that we can support others through our presence and gifts. But a church and its leadership must also be accountable to ensuring they ‘run’ church in the best way possible, so that it is most effective and relevant to the congregation, so that it truly reflects the writings of the bible and so that it is open to unbelievers.
I feel that by not mentioning church leaderships accountability when discussing Corporate church we miss an important element. People are consumers; therefore church must be aware of this!
“Nobody bothered to talk to me after the service. They’re all so cliquey at this church.”
This example you used, one which is all to common in western churches, I feel can be an effective one to further show my point –
As part of corporate church it is each individual to show Christs love to each other, in this case by talking to new people and showing an interest in their lives, this is self evident. However, that is not where it stops, it also the leaderships responsibility to put in place measures (systems if you like, although I know that is a Consumerist idea) to encourage people to take an interest in one another. This may include a number of people on a roster that deliberately take on the task to go and speak with people who are alone. Or to set up a welcome lounge for people who are new. Some of these ideas are consumerist; however, they make good sense! We, as individuals and as congregations, must find a balance between consumerism and corporate worship.
Good luck and God Bless as you attempt to find that balance.
Andrew on 15 April, 2004 11:45 PM
I liked this article alot.I attended a big church in my hometown.Not a single person bothered to talk to me.I told them where to stick it.The body of Christ is not a clique.
Tommy Shaw on 15 November, 2004 5:29 AM