The Church and the Consumer Mindset

Last Sunday I mentioned Brett McCracken’s excellent book, Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community. McCracken brings a bold challenge against the consumer mindset that’s killing so many Christians and churches.

The book “is about the comforting gospel of Jesus Christ that leads us to live uncomfortable lives for him” (p. 25).  “Are you willing to lay aside your ‘dream church’ consumer fantasies and accept the hard-to-stomach truths and awkward requirements of locking arms with weird people in common pursuit of Jesus?” (27).

Authentic Christianity focuses on that rugged cross.  “To be a follower of Christ is to join his journey of aban­don­­ing comfort and enduring suffering, a journey that is foolishness in the eyes of the world” (46).  Jesus summons us to take up our cross (Luke 9:23-24).  And yet, “Every loss is worth the gain of Christ” (56).

McCracken is blunt about the quirks of church life.  “We should not expect our church, or any church, to be free of people who annoy us” (124).  Churches, like families, are supposed to have a wild array of personalities—and yes, at times they’ll clash.

About diversity:  “Paul’s vision of the church is not a melting pot as much as a salad bowl, where the different flavors and textures are all there, complementing one another and working together to create a dynamic, surprising, and beautiful entree” (138).  So don’t try to find a church that “suits me” and “fits me,” since your natural impulse will be to gravitate toward others who are just like you.  Rather, embrace the diversity of the body of Christ.

When it comes to worship, a humble heart means everything.  “We should not let our worship preferences get in the way of our worship participation” (149).  “What would happen if we put aside our pickiness and just sang our hearts out?” (150).  A hum­ble, submissive attitude “is the heart and soul of Christian worship because it reflects the deferential character of Christ” (153).