There is a phenomenon known as the “consumer church.” Just yesterday, I read about a lawsuit filed against a mega church which assured members they could receive a refund of their tithes if they were not happy with how the church used their money. It sounds just like a Wal-Mart or infomercial advertisement.
This is not the first such instance. Rick Warren made a similar statement on salvation, daring people to try Jesus, “See if he’ll change your life. I dare you to try trusting Jesus for 60 days. Or your money guaranteed back.” I’m sorry, but this is nothing more than pluralism. If we can “try” Jesus and get our money back, then it is no different from choosing among many different options to arrive at the same result.
There is now big money in “contemporary Christian music,” mega churches and multi-site “franchises” [my word], and publishing books designed to be New York Times best selling.
It is no surprise that consumerism is found in the church. All the instances of consumerism found in society today are repugnant – it’s in our textbooks, health insurance, financial literacy, referring to people as “consumers”, and of course, the instant gratification advertising.
How was consumerism introduced into the church? There are only a handful of people who are considered to be the founders of the church growth movement. This idea morphed into seeker-friendly churches, and now today has been re-branded as the disciple making movement. They are adaptations from the same root.
At the core is a program-driven church. Notice that I did not use “gospel-centered” or “Bible teaching” when describing the church. No, they are program-driven.
You see, when I studied missions and evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary, this is what they were teaching. “Use surveys to understand the demographics of people surrounding your church and then design programs to meet the needs they have. The programs will attract people to church.”
It was all based on felt needs. The idea sounds good, and it obviously has a good objective, namely, to bring people to church. Indeed, there is some truth to it. When someone has a genuine need, they are so focused on the need that it is difficult for them to hear the gospel. Sometimes, we do have to address the need as a means of introducing the gospel. Jesus Christ often encountered people who were paralyzed by a need that He had to address before introducing faith.
However, the early church growth movement and all of its iterations are not referring to a person in crisis mode. Felt needs are merely general concerns people face in daily life.
Donald McGavran, C. Peter Wagner, and Robert Schuller were the pioneers of the church growth movement. Dallas Theological Seminary was also a major player in distributing this ideology (note that McGavran and Wagner were both from DTS).
Unfortunately, the results of a program-driven church are rather troubling:
1. Attracting people to programs and then expecting to hit them with a gospel message is dishonest. We have managed to turn off a whole generation of people from the church because of the dishonesty.
2. Realizing the problem, many churches have adopted a watered-down gospel. This is easier than dropping programs and strengthening Bible teaching.
3. Limited spiritual growth is facilitated in the programs, and because people come for the programs, they are not interested in Christ.
4. The end result is a misunderstanding of worship of God and the fundamental purpose of the church.
Modern evangelism is a farce and has only managed to weaken the church and water down the quality of Christianity in the United States.
In a recent Christian Post article, I read, “Transformation doesn’t come from programs or platitudes. It comes from living out the truth of God found in the living Word of God… The growing churches in America right now aren’t the ones with the flashiest worship teams or trendiest branding. They’re the ones that open the Bible and teach it line by line, verse by verse, book by book. And in places where we see the Spirit moving most powerfully around the globe, believers aren’t rationing Scripture to four times a week. They are eagerly in the Word every single day, and their lives bear the unmistakable fruit of transformation, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” — Dick Smith
How does all this relate to worship?
In the Bible, we find that the essential purpose of the people of God is to be a light to the nations. Genesis 12:1-3, Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, Acts 13:47 Primarily, these passages are referring to Christ. It was through God’s people that the world received Christ.
But let’s dig deeper. What is “light”?
First and foremast, “light” is God’s word. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Not smoke machines, programs, music, books, watered-down approaches, or projectors – just the Bible.
The reason that we resort to all the other stuff is that we believe the Bible is insufficient. We do not trust the Holy Spirit to move hearts. God is just not enough for us, we need something more.
Secondly, “light” represents truth. We read in John 8:12, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”
Thirdly, “light” represents spiritual purity, which we understand to be our righteousness or piety. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” See also Ephesians 5:8-9, Philippians 2:15, 1 John 1:7.
We understand that Christ is the light of the world through His obedience and the truth which He taught us. He also brought us the way of salvation from sin by making Himself a blood sacrifice for us. By extension, we are the light of the world when we imitate Christ and present ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). We are righteous only to the extent of our belief on Christ. We put into practice what we believe.
John Wesley taught this through the lens of Christian perfection and personal holiness. True worship of God originates in obedience through our ordinary lives.
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