I am increasingly concerned that adapting Jesus culture to business culture transforms faith into following a fad. I am fully aware this didn’t just start yesterday, nor does it describe the whole of Christianity in America, but it’s becoming endemic. Here are some of my personal observations, which may or may not be worth a plug nickel.
1 – Business culture seeks most of all to succeed on terms which are incompatible with how God defines success.
Worldly success values that which has a wide appeal, fulfills a demand, generates a profit, and can be multiplied or duplicated through packaged franchise methods. Do I need to explain how this is counterproductive to the foundational principles of faith Jesus taught?
2 – Innovation drives business and technology but destroys doctrinal foundations.
We are a culture driven to find something new and our gadgets are obsolete before we even get them home from the store. Marketing companies are always looking for ways to reinvent the same product to appeal to the bored consumer. The nature of the human separated from God is seeking to fill up a void with something. Nothing but God can satisfy that longing, so the search for a new thing goes on endlessly. This same obsession is described in Acts.
Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. Act 17:21
The “old time religion” isn’t good enough for us either. It has become archaic, boring, and too simple-minded. We have to reinvent the gospel, deny the authority of scripture, turn Christianity into a motivational self-esteem campaign, and seek to make it compatible with other World Religions. Many things can and should change – but never the Gospel.
3- Hero/leader worship of pop culture (a tool of business culture) lends itself to creating widely accepted icons…
…with mega churches and best-selling books. A sign that says billions and billions served must prove the product is great! Or does it? The documentary “Super Size Me” seems to indicate that the food billions have consumed is actually lethal, yet it’s the single most successful restaurant in the history of the world. In Christianity, if these icons stray from the truth – few will dare question them because of their popularity. Truth can never be determined by popular vote. There are some really great pastors with huge churches, don’t get me wrong. But often success in numbers will over-rule the need to discern.
4 – Marketing success of one product generates a merchandising frenzy of many others.
Even if the initial offering had some value, the ensuing effort to capitalize on the success wave is often banal and funnels valuable financial resources away from areas where they could have eternal impact. You can tell this is a problem when authors drivel on about nothing to get a book-length manuscript when they could sum up their point in ten pages. Sequel books are often as disappointing as sequels to movies. But then so much would be missed in the way of journaling editions, study guides, simulcast events, t-shirts, bobble heads, and children’s products with the same name, etc.. etc… etc….
5 – Relying on business marketing methods (mass mailings with pithy slogans inviting people to gimmicks, limited-time promotions in shopping-mall like churches) demotes the gospel and our Savior from Life itself to a competing product in a world of possibly equally valid ideas.
Some people justify all this based on the success alone. They say the goal is to maximize the profit.. (er…impact, sorry) and it’s only right to seek the most effective ways to draw people through the doors of a church. This last Easter the efforts of churches to outdo one another in my small town for the largest Easter attendance reminded me of the retailer frenzy the day after Thanksgiving. From a 15,000 eggs at one Easter egg hunt to a free Barbecue dinner, it seemed strange to me that Jesus overcoming sin and death for us – having been raised from the dead – isn’t a big enough draw?! Makes me wonder how much we believe it or think about it. Instead, we have to bait people in with something more appealing.
6 – People attracted to Christianity via these methods will demand a steady supply of such to remain interested and pumped up.
This will probably not be easy for people to swallow – but I was sickened when I investigated the Women of Faith website recently. I’ve never seen such shameless marketing, even to the point of offering a Women of Faith VISA card! I lost interest about a nanosecond later. Evidently this traveling mega convention isn’t enough to really satisfy because yesterday I got a flier in the mail for a “Women of Joy” conference! I think I’ll hold out for “Women of Peace” when it comes along. That’s probably what I need the most. (obviously! ha.)
Each woman spends hundreds of dollars to attend these conventions. I’m sure they have fun. I’m sure women are touched. But I wonder why the demand and success of such events when we have churches on every corner? Don’t we have enough ministry in this country to keep women encouraged? I guess I just don’t get it, so I apologize to those who do. I am greatly edified by the 3 women I meet with for Bible study once a week, my Godly husband, my church fellowship, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit. I would rather send my money to the native missionaries in India who are walking barefoot from village to village to tell people about Jesus who have never heard of Him. K.P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia is very vocal about how American Christianity spends 99% of its ministry income on itself rather than to reach the lost and hurting.
7 – Vendors of Commercial Christianity will be tempted to not speak the whole truth if it means they will lose fans or revenue.
Jesus said you can’t serve God and money at the same time. The problem there is pretty obvious. My son is disgusted with “Christian” bands who do not use their influence and platform to share the gospel. What are their priorities? (i.e. gods?)
So how is it working?
Are the lost being saved and lives changed? People picking up their own cross and following in the footsteps of their Savior? Are we really expanding the Kingdom of God with all this?
In spite of generating churches with memberships equal to some city populations, rumor has it Christianity in America is not growing, but shuffling. Church growth has been found to come from church transfers, not from evangelism of the lost.
Christian divorce rate is equal to the general population according to this study. I have been tempted to blog on this topic all by itself. How can we follow what Jesus said to love one another as He loved us, if we can’t even sacrificially love our spouses? This one is HUGE to me. I have seen so many Christian marriages dissolve just from pure worship of self. There was no biblical right to divorce. Before coming to Christ, I too chose divorce and the consequences of a broken family on your children have to be lived with. My husband and I both come from divorced families. Many of our grandparents were married multiple times. The Word says God hates divorce, and so do I. It has caused me so much pain, and no one is untouched by it anymore. If the Body of Christ looks the same as the world in this area, we have a deadly problem.
Only 1 in 5 of those who say they are Evangelical actually hold to the foundational beliefs which define Evangelical Christianity. Truth isn’t sought after because now even Christians have adopted relativism.
The seeker friendly movement at Willow Creek which generated a revolutionary church-growth strategy admitted openly a few years ago, that according to their research, all their programs were not affecting lasting transformation in people’s lives. They drew people but failed to make disciples. Their solution? Do some more research and start over with a clean piece of paper. Hmmm..
Incredibly, the guru of church growth now tells us that people need to be reading their bibles and taking responsibility for their spiritual growth… Bob Burney … See Full Article
Mass marketing seems to generate a great income, but it looks like a steady diet of this type of religion is leaving the church in the state of spiritual emergency, not emerging health. It’s not that I am against great programs and ministry conventions – just people trusting in them to do the work only the Holy Spirit can do. The biggest problem with Laodicea is she thinks she can manage just fine on her own.
With God even a rich man can get through the eye of a needle and a Laodicean church can repent and buy gold tried in the fire. We won’t be changed however until we see ourselves as we are, or all our man-made devices are taken away from us in God’s mercy. When Christ applies the eye salve (Rev. 3), we will be compelled to pray, repent, seek God and His ways instead of the world and its way, because we will finally realize there is no alternative. Well, there is one other option actually – something about being “spewed out.” I trust this is not God’s will for Laodicea. He knows what it will take. It’s not something an outward reformation in form or method can fix. The root problem is a body severed from its Head, and a heart drawn after idols.
If you see clearly – please pray with me that others will too, and pray with each other. We so desperately need to pray.
(Picked up a book recently by Michael Horton called “Christless Christianity – The Alternative Gospel of the American church.” I am only in Chapter 1 so far, but standing and cheering … other people far more qualified to speak out are seeing it too!!)
8thDay4Life 