Bo Chancey

Church + Consumerism – Christ = Consumeranity

The evolvement of the “Church Shopper” is perhaps the clearest indictment that Consumeranity has ravaged our churches.  Christian consumers bounce from church to church in hopes that all their wildest church dreams will one day come true.  They never find true fellowship, authentic accountability, or sustained biblical teaching.  They will leave as soon as something they don’t like happens.

If the pastor forgets to shake their hand, they leave.  If the youth minister says the word “crap”, they bolt.  If the music is too loud, too fast, too soft, or too slow they head for the doors.  If they get offended, have their toes stepped on, or feel ignored, they are gone.  If nobody calls them when they decide to leave then they will come back for two more weeks just so they can leave again.

I have had several people tell me that they left their home church because they didn’t really feel connected.  They tell me that after they decided to leave the church nobody even noticed.  I always tell them that I know how they can fix that problem at our church.  I tell them that if they serve every week and we are counting on them, then we will notice when they are gone.  Nobody I have shared that with has ever come back. 

I always try to tell these people the truth even though I know that they will continue shopping elsewhere.  I confess that it is hard though.  I want those people to like me and I want them to like our church.  No honestly, I want them to like me and my church better than you and your church.  I would love to tell them that “the other church” let them down and that “my church” would never do such a horrible thing, but that is a lie.  I have had to tell people that they needed to go back to their previous church.  I just can’t stand the thought of perpetuating Consumeranity just so that I can ensure my church’s survival.       

I once met a family of die-hard church shoppers.  Over a six month period of time they had visited 25 churches, but still couldn’t find a church home.  Somewhere along the way they were taught that they needed to find “the perfect church”.  So this family bounced around from church to church week after week, searching for something they would never find.  As I looked at that precious family I became nauseated by the damage being done to them.  Each church along the way made their little sales pitch and tried to convince them to stay, but they always found something they didn’t like.  I asked what they were looking for in a church and everything they said reeked of Consumeranity.  I strongly encouraged them to just pick a church, any church, and to throw their lives into the mission of Jesus Christ. 

Now deep down, I wanted them to pick my church.  We were number 26 on their list, so I figured they were getting desperate and that we might actually have a shot.  FYI, we didn’t “win”.  But that is the craziest thing about Consumeranity.  Nobody wins.  Churches scramble to compete for the affection of the church shopper and ultimately lose sight of their true mission.  Church shoppers are left to wander aimlessly through a vast sea of Christian marketing and propaganda never to find the sweet joy of authentic connection within the Body of Christ.

Over the last several years I have asked hundreds of guests what they were looking for in a church.  Only once have I had someone tell me that they were seeking a church home where their gifts could be maximized to move Christ’s Kingdom forward.  Every other person was looking for something they could consume.  They wanted a specific program, a certain ministry, a style of music, a particular size, etc. 

It makes you start to wonder:  “Is Jesus really enough?”  It seems that in today’s church market the presence of God takes a back seat to a myriad of more “pressing issues”.