The Cross or the Consumer?
Many people today choose a church based on what they like. “Go to the church of your choice,” is a popular saying. They pick a church like they choose a flavor of ice cream. This one is vanilla. That one is chocolate. They reason: “I may choose whatever flavor suits me because ice cream is all the same: sugar, milk, and cream. The additional flavoring is merely a matter of personal taste.”
That thinking goes something like this: “All churches preach the same morality, Jesus, and Bible. Therefore, I may choose whatever church suits my fancy.” This is the consumerist decision process of wanting something (a toaster, bank, cup of coffee, etc.), finding what we like, and getting it. Is that how to “pick a church?”
Many churches tap into this consumerism. They design “worship” around the shopper offering a rock-concert like experience. They have a motivational speaker to make people feel good. They segregate children’s worship to give parents “a break.” It’s what the consumer likes.
What if church isn’t about the consumer? What if it isn’t about personal preference? What if churches don’t preach the same morality, Jesus, or Bible? What if “picking a church” was about something other than “me.” What if “picking a church” means picking the cross?
When Jesus says, “Not my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42), is that about pleasing the masses? When the Savior washes the disciples dirty, nasty, filthy toes (John 13:2-17), is that about personal preference? When you see God take the form of a slave (Philippians 2:5-8), is the church about “your choice?” When an innocent Man dies on the cross for the sins of the world (John 20), is that about the “experience of worship?” Should consumerism form the church or the cross?
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley