Consumerism, Pastoring and the Slow Death of the American Church

Guest Author Alan Cross, Pastor of Gateway Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama

For about a year now, I've been heavily contemplating and praying through the effects of the ideology of Consumerism on the Church. I have come to believe that this worldview and economic system is one of the greatest enemies that the church is facing today. Consumerism tells us that the individual can find satisfaction in life through making economic choices that benefit him personally. While the idea of economic choice is not necessarily bad, it is when those choices establish our identity apart from God that this perspective becomes deadly. In other words, "choice" is only a good thing when we choose what is ultimately good, namely God and His ways. Under God's authority, choice is beneificial. Under our own authority, it is a nightmare. When our choices are focused on what we perceive to be best for us based on our own reasoning, then they become spiritually deadly. According to the perspecitve of Consumerism, life is about choice and the individual exercises his personal freedom by making choices based on preference, desire, and the perceived benefit of the choice regarding material purchases. The locus of authority is in the individual himself, or so it seems. Behind the mechanisms of consumerism is a whole host of manipulators, er, advertisers that exist to create desire within the individual where none previously existed. Messages are sent and taken in that communicates to the individual that their happiness and self-worth will be enhanced if they purchase a certain product or consume an experience. We feel like we are missing out on something valuable if we do not have what others have. Envy, greed, and lust are the result of this approach to life as people judge others and promote themselves over others according to what they are able to consume or personally own. Our identity becomes based on what we have and we value earthly things over spiritual realities. Because our lives are based on a consumeristic approach to life (we define ourselves by our ability to "choose" what satisfies us the most) instead of the worship and devotion of the Living God, our thinking becomes futile and our foolish hearts are darkened. Though we claim to be wise, we become fools (Romans 1:21-22).

Alan Hirsch in The Forgotten Ways says,
I was trained as a marketer and advertiser before I came to Christ, and when I look at the power of consumerism and of the market in our lives, I have little doubt that in consumerism we are now dealing with a very signficant religious phenomenon. If the role of religion is to offer a sense of identity, purpose, meaning, and community, then it can be said that consumerism fulfills all these criteria. Because of the competitive situation of the market, advertisers have become so insidious that they are now deliberately co-opting theological ideas and religious symbols in order to sell their product. But this co-option is merely incidental or functional; in so doing it is acting consistently with its own nature, namely that of the official priesthood of a new and all-pervasive religion. The assimilation of religious symbols and rituals merely serves to bolster its appeal to the spiritual dimension of life. An advertising executive recently confessed to me that they are now deliberately stepping into the void that was left by the removal of Christianity from Western Culture.

So what does this have to do with pastoring and the church? Well, it should be rather obvious. Pastors in 21st century America are attempting to lead people who are used to being presented with a plethora of choices for every decision of their lives. These choices are made off of the basis of enticed desire (usually by someone convincing them that this choice will improve their happiness and their life). Rarely does the aspect of duty or obligation elicit anything more than frustration and a sense of loss of personal freedom. So, pastors quickly take on the role of "salesman" if they want to be effective in enticing their church members into following their teachings. But whereas in past generations there was an appeal to judgment and discipline if one did not obey, today there is a constant appeal to desire and personal fulfillment, because that is the language of our times. It is all that people understand when it comes to personal choice.

This prevailing attitude causes us to eschew authority, even Scriptural authority. It used to be that a pastor's authority was judged based on whether or not he was acting within the bounds of Scripture. Now, even the authority of Scripture is ignored if the consumer/churchgoer does not see where the commands will benefit them. Faith is exchanged for instant gratification. Instead of sitting under sound biblical teaching, we personalize our faith based on what we perceive our needs to be in the moment. In order to get a hearing, the contemporary pastor must make sure that he is speaking to the hearers perceived needs at that time. Then, the pastor must convince the hearer of the validity of his message and the utility of it for accomplishing the goal of the personal happiness of the hearer as he understands it to be. Sin, redemption, heaven, and hell have given way to personal fulfillment and self-actualization. The therapuetic has taken over the theological. In reality, the real authority has become the consumer. His choice personal perception of happiness (what works for me) is what determines the validity of the message for his life. Since the Church has not critically examined the effects of consumerism and its related philosophy of moral relativism on the worldview of its people, we have created a situation where people claim to value Scripture, but feel very comfortable in picking and choosing the aspects of it that they perceive will benefit them in the moment based on what THEY feel their needs are. Instead of sitting under the authority of the Word of God, we have given ourselves over to relativism, as the truth that is lived out becomes relative to the perceived needs of the individual as they exercise their right to choose as they see fit. Again, perceived personal happiness is the goal, not based on the Bible, but based on our own wisdom.

Under this scenario, church discipline becomes almost impossible except in cases of obvious, glaring sin, and even then it is difficult. There is also constant suspicion. Because Consumerism teaches people that their right to choose is their greatest expression of personhood and indivuality, there is always the fear that someone will take away that freedom by telling them how they should live, even if what they are telling them is totally Biblical. They fear that their freedom will be somehow restricted. How many Christians today say, "I just don't know if I can trust God in that?" What they are really saying is that they are afraid that God will require something of them or limit their happiness in some way. They do not know the character of God, and even if they did, they have little interest in submitting to Him if they do not see how it will benefit them according to how they understand benefit. So, the pastor becomes a salesman, trying to entice people to obey God so that they will experience the ultimate in personal happiness. God does bless us and prosper us, but our view of this is so skewed that we have actually developed theologies that show us how we can get God to bless us if we follow the right steps. We have succumbed to trying to control God! The gravest errors occur when we are told that we can give money so that we will experience God's favor and blessing, as though God were some kind of commodity to be purchased at the department store. Pastors become the clerks that take the money and dispense the goods.

All that I have said applies to people who are already IN the church and are supposedly redeemed. When it comes to "evangelism" and "church growth" the situation becomes even more dire as churches sell themselves in every way possible to convince people that all their needs will be met if they just give Jesus (and them) a try. They say that the message is unchanging but the means of proclaiming that message can and should change to fit the times. Some of this is true, but we fail to realize that for many, the means becomes the message. If my introduction to Jesus is in a large auditorium filled with rock music, flashing lights, coffee bars, and fun-filled activities for all ages, what am I saying about Christianity? What am I saying about Jesus? People encounter such a spectacle and quickly see Jesus as one who exists to give them their best life now. The problem is that rarely do we trade in what we think our best life should be for what Jesus says that it should be. We more likely end up baptizing our own views of what personal happiness is and believe that God exists to fulfill our desires. This is why people just leave a church whenever there is any type of problem instead of sticking around to work through issues. Problems do not equate to happiness, therefore, the church down the road will work out better - until I realize that it has problems too. It is why people leave neighborhoods when they are no longer trendy and their homes are no longer increasing in value, and why people move to the suburbs or outlying communities when the city has problems. Instead of being salt and light in dark places and confronting problems to make our world better, we have given the message that our own personal fulfillment as we see it is what Jesus died for. Therefore, we should escape problems by running to idyllic communities where we can experience earthly bliss - if we have the economic means to make these choices. If not, we wonder why God has abandoned us.

Consumerism and its effects are slowly killing the church and its witness. If the defining factor in my life is making choices about what makes me most happy; if I am primarily a consumer of goods and services that I perceive to satisfy me personally; if I am determined to avoid situations that do not directly correlate to my own personal satisfaction as I perceive it; then what chance do we have to become disciples of Christ? Didn't Jesus say that we are to take up our cross and follow Him? I doubt that He meant to the mall to spend money on consumer goods that we perceive will make us happy. I also doubt that He meant that we are to follow Him from church to church in search of the congregation that best "meets our needs." Yet, few pastors will challenge this perspective because they know that to do so will elicit opposition and frustration in the hearts of their people. We do not like our idols to be tipped over. So, pastors fall in line and try and entice people to do what the Bible clearly says that we should be doing through means of manipulation and persuasion instead of declaration of the Word of God. Everything then becomes an option and we use our own idea of grace as an excuse to live how we desire according to our own choices.

Of course, this whole perspective is nothing new. It is as old as the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve made their "choice" to partake of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Ever since then, we have been darkened in our understanding and have rebelled against God. This is common to the human experience. But, it was never meant to be so. We were not to operate off of the perspective of informed choices. That view comes from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We were supposed to live from the Tree of Life which comes from relationship with God. He is to be our ruler and Lord. We need to begin to take seriously again the Lordship of Christ over all of life and pastors need to stop being salesmen and start being shepherds. This means that we might be rejected and persecuted, but that just puts us in the same boat as Jesus. He did not give the people what they wanted and they responded by crucifying Him. If we are His followers, why do we avoid His fate? Could it be that we are getting our identity from the approval of a people who base their view of spirituality on what makes them happy and makes them feel most satisfied? Is man really the measure of all things, or should we listen to God and worship Him only? Yes, God satisfies, but we receive what we need when we first seek the Kingdom (reign and rule) of God.

Should we not all submit to Christ and seek to live for the glory of God and not ourselves? Until we do, what hope do we have? What will keep the American Church from continuing to go softly into the night? If Jesus is not Lord, then can we even call ourselves the Church? He is life and it is not compassionate to leave us in our fallen state of selfishness and continually appeal to what we think our needs. are.

I spoke strongly in this post about a virus that I believe is attacking the Church with a vengence. I am not speaking here of all churches or pastors by any means. There are many, many faithful pastors and congregations that have not bowed the knee to the god of Consumerism. In case anyone reads this and thinks that I am writing from some sense of personal frustration with my own church, they would be off base. I can speak like this BECAUSE I am fortunate enough to serve a church of people who really do want to follow God and put away idols. We are not perfect and we are assaulted by the same struggles as any American congregation, but there is a desire to work through our temptations and strongholds and know God and the freedom that He gives. No, I am writing about the overall cultural environment that we live and minster in so that we can see things clearly. If we do not see things clearly, then how can we recognize where we need repentance and healing? If we stay immersed in a broken worldview without our eyes being opened, then how will restoration come our way? Because of the grace of God, repentance is a good thing. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. It is only a desire to stay the same that rejects the call to repent, turn to Jesus, and experience the life that God really has for us.