Over the past year or so, I have become convinced that the greatest enemy to the Christian faith and biblical Christianity in the West, and especially America, is the philosophy of consumerism, which basically states that personal happiness can be attained through the acquisition of goods, experiences, or a particular lifestyle. Bombarded by goods, services, brands, commercials, and incessant advertising, we believe ignorance like "you are what you wear," "clothes make the man," that there is a "right" side of the tracks, and that our identity can be purchased by acquiring items of status based on a particular brand name or celebrity endorsement. This philosophy has crept into every area of life as we have succumbed to the idea of commodification of relationships and even religious experiences in that we use people and even God to satisfy our personal desires. When we no longer find immediate gratification, we move on to something else that promises to satisfy. Everything in our life (even God) becomes a means to an end of our own personal pursuit of happiness and self-fulfillment). Of course, these views have always been present in the human condition (i.e., selfishness and sin), but only recently have we built an entire economy and way of life on the proliferation of consumption. Only recently have Evangelical churches grown based on the whims of the consumer class and their preference and choice for religious goods and services that meet their "felt needs."
My friend, David Phillips, writes an outstanding essay on this issue called Reframing Success: The Jesus Way or the Consuming Way? If we do not understand how the Jesus Way is in complete opposition to the Consuming Way, or the spirit of our age, then true spiritual formation into the image of Christ is impossible. Discipleship in the 21st century almost wholly consists of learning to discern between the way of Christ and the way of our larger culture which is based and grounded on a worldview that is almost totally opposed to Christ when it comes to an individuals personal choices about life and where happiness comes from. David says, regarding the effect of consumerism on the Church:
What does this consumerism do to the church in America? Large churches are growing, medium-size churches are declining, and smaller churches are struggling. The larger a church grows, the smaller the kingdom grows, because in America, those larger churches are pulling from the smaller churches who cannot offer the same goods and services as the larger churches. The religious consumer, wanting the needs of their family met heads off to the big church where they are busy with activity and have entertainment for all ages. The smaller church suffers, to the point of having to shut down because it cannot sustain itself.
The churches who are surviving are trying to put together the right programs and activities that will attract those religious consumers. They are spending time, money and other resources on buildings and productions so that people will enjoy (or be entertained) by the show that is put on in the church.
But is this real success? The Jesus goal cannot be achieved unless the Jesus way is followed. The end does not justify the means. God’s goal is that we become like Him, conformed to His image and the image of His Son Jesus. The goal is not heaven, the goal is Cruciformity, or conformity to the Cross of Jesus. It happens through Faith, which for Paul was a “total response to obedience to the gospel (Rom 1:5;16:26). It is also…a death experience in which one enters into the experience of Jesus’ crucifixion.” The Jesus Way is a process where God seeks to re-shape and re-form that person into his or her original identity, and to re-fill that person with His original purpose of relationship with God. In embracing the gospel of Christ, a person embarks on a journey out of brokenness and into wholeness that will only be complete as God works to restore all of creation. The Jesus Way does not have as its goal the creation of people looking to have their own needs met. Why then perpetuate the climate of the consumer church in an attempt to see people conformed into the image of God?
Success then is not following the consuming way, but the Jesus way. Maybe our measure of success should be an expression of people being conformed to the image of Christ, obeying the Gospel, and living the crucified life that is an expression of Faith.
A major conversation is beginning about the effects of consumerism on our faith and it is about 50 years too late, in my opinion. But, we were so "consumed" with success and numbers that we failed to see that we have been buying into a system that actually makes discipleship harder. Yes, Jesus meets our deepest needs, but He redefines what those needs are. He tells us that if we want to follow Him, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross. It is ironic that in America, the richest nation on earth, we have the prosperity gospel (which has infiltrated every denomination in one way or another) because we feel like we do not have enough.
Several excellent resources that address this topic are:
The Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani. I have been reading this book over the past couple of weeks (it was my beach reading) and it is probably the best book on any subject that I have read in the past couple of years. He uses the art of Van Gogh as a metaphor for what consumerism has done to our culture and the church. A review is forthcoming.
Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church by Paul Louis Metzger. Metzger makes the case that racialization is embedded into the church through the vehicle of consumerism, choice, and personal preference. He picks up on the groundbreaking work of Emerson and Smith as they detail how racial, class, and consumer preferences are hardwired into the foundation of modern evangelicalism.
The Big Sort: How the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart by Bill Bishop. Because of unparalled prosperity and emerging diversity in America, we are using our freedom of choice and economic means to cluster together with people who share our lifestyles, values, and concerns. Bishop argues that this is actually not good for America because when people gather based on homogenous views, they become more extreme in their perspective and more alienated against others. Though a secular book, there is an entire chapter on the contemporary evangelical church and the Homogenous Unit Principle.
ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost. Okay, this book rates up there with Jethani's. I read it last fall and it was amazing. Hirsch and Frost make the argument that the evangelical church has lost its way because it has failed to follow after Jesus. It contrasts Jesus with the prevailing culture and shows how we have compromised our vision for what the Christian life should be with a culture that seeks to satisfy itself.
_______________________________________________________
Like I said earlier, I fully believe that those serious about following Jesus in our current world have to begin to use discernment in these areas. Pastors who want to lead their churches biblically have to become astute at helping their members work through the implications of living in a consumeristic, materialistic world. Emerson says that the religion that most of us have bought into can be defined as "theraputic, moralistic, deism." If so, then how does that affect the way that we engage in life and ministry?
I am actually very encouraged, however. Even though there is a lot of talk about what is wrong with us, an understanding of the problem is a first step to overcoming it. I don't know that we have always seen what has derailed us and how joined with the larger culture we really are. We have to understand that methods to proclaiming the gospel and living the Christian life are not neutral. The method becomes the message. Living missionaly in a post-Christian world requires that we understand that world and that we become aware how we are to put it aside. If we love the world the we cannot love God. More and more people are getting this and I believe that God's Spirit is moving to draw us to Himself. That can only be a good thing.
It is time that we follow Jesus and lay all of this other stuff down. But, that will cost us something - everything, really. Are we willing to pay the price?
Why not use your existing communities to encourage more community sharing and cooperative effort. The current economy provides a perfect "excuse" as community can help people reduce their expenses dramatically (see my new blog). I can only speak for my local community, but I can't see why it wouldn't apply globally. We are far less consumer-focused today - and by choice, we all have vastly different mindsets now. Far less me me, and far more we.
Posted by: Annette | June 16, 2009 at 02:31 PM
Shouldn't any book titled "The Divine Commodity" at least be available as a free download?
Posted by: Lonnie | September 12, 2009 at 01:01 PM