“We have turned churches into “vendors of religious services and goods” where people shop for worship, instead of “a body of people on a mission.” People choose a church by what makes them feel good, instead of belonging to a community in which God will kill us, and then raise us up into the new life of obedience!”
Marva J. Dawn, Living in the Lamblight ed. by Hans Boersma
I am thankful for my friend Tony for posting this quote over at SetsnService.
Major conviction. Dying to self, mortifying sin, giving our life away and decreasing so that Christ may increase in us are not the things that most churches are willing to but on their website. We sell our ministries like products to be consumed.
There is a church in our area that proudly proclaims that it as 160+ ministries to serve YOU. We are cultural consumers and that consumerism transfers into our religious experience. How do we reverse this trend?
How do we resist the temptation to flow within the cultural streams and become a people on a mission? Let me know what you think.
Bill Reichart is a pastor at The Vine Community Church in Forsyth County, GA. He blogs at his personal blog, Provocative Church and his ministry blog, Ministry Best Practices.
