After talking about our views of Christ and calling us to discipleship to Jesus, Alan Hirsch began to talk about one of the major hurdles to discipleship in the West today: Pursuit of the Middle Class lifestyle and Consumerism. Hirsch said that the major issues in Middle Class living are safety and security. In the realm of Consumerism, it is comfort and convenience.
Hirsch said that the Market dominates our lives. It is the metanarrative of Western Capitalism and defines our identity and purpose in life through thousands of messages. Brands offer meaning, identity, purpose, and belonging. This has taken the place of religion in our society. This is the Matrix - the church has bought deeply into this. The Church Growth Movement has bought into this as well. We use entertainment to try and bring people into the Kingdom, but we cannot entertain people into discipleship. Our churches do not disciple people as they should - they primarily affirm our present lifestyles.
We buy more stuff and bigger houses to find our security against the dangers of the universe and to secure our status. We are experiencing status anxiety all throughout our culture. Status anxiety is defined by what others think of us and our rank in society. If everyone is below the line and we are all in the same boat, we are happy. If one person rises above the line by having success in some way, then everyone else is upset. We become unhappy when others move past us, not because our situation has changed, but because we feel less than because we constantly compare ourselves to others. We live in a meritocracy - our worth is based on merit.
All religions offer meaning, identity, purpose, and belonging. Consumerism is spirituality. It offers all of these things. Do we buy into a Consumerist spirituality, or do we follow Jesus? If we follow Jesus, then we have to die to this life. We have remade Jesus to provide a pleasant, middle class, consumerist lifestyle for us. As Christians, we have to live from an alternative story - the story of Jesus.
In our culture, our identity comes from what we look like. This destroys our soul.
The best way to change society is to tell a different story. We ahve to live a qualitatively different life. It must take place in community.
The traditional church is a dembodied message - Sermon is separated from life and people.
Contemporary church keeps the spectator perspective (disembodyment), but makes it entertainment oriented.
Emerging church shakes things up, but it still focuses on the presentaton. While creative, it still creates passivity.
Family has become an idol for many people. Instead of being a small community of faith that represents Christ to a hurting world, the family has become a place of withdrawal and protection. The gospel is a threat to this. In the name of the family, we attenuate (cut down) the real gospel. Jesus must becme mediocre to support this lifestyle.
All of our pietism must end up doing something.
Consumerism co-opts everything. Even our social causes and religion gets co-opted and sold back to us in trinkets and symbols. We buy good feelings.
Rodney Stark - How did Christianity grow in the Roman Empire? During the plagues, the Christians cared for the sick. They were different.
If we don't embody the gospel, then we cannot effectively transmit the gospel.
Live Jesus' dream for America instead of America's Dream for itself. What would the American Dream Redeemed look like?
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