Love to hear from and know who is listening
Why do you go to church? Is it because the service makes you feel uplifted? Maybe it is because you need someone to bear your burdens. Do you go to church to get something for yourself? "Consumer Christianity" is a term used to describe an Americanized version of Christianity that focuses on the individual. Consumer Christianity can be debilitating for a church congregation because it encourages people to go to church for what they can get rather than what they can give. If everyone attending church is there for what they can receive then no one will receive anything, because there is no one serving the needs of others, everyone is taking and no one is giving! Consumer Christianity encourages people to be consumers of Christian goods and services, rather than contributors to Jesus' mission and ultimately is is at odds with God's plan for the church. A consumer approach to church life favors pragmatism, in other words what is useful or makes good sense in the moment, over true theology. The consumer approach focuses more on marketing, over evangelism and large crowds, over devoted disciples.
Matthew 20: 26-28 CSB It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
So what are some signs that you may be a consumer Christian? First you stop attending small group bible studies, Sunday school and maybe even don't attend Sunday service as often as you once did. You have a negative attitude towards the activities of the church and you become more critical of the church as a whole. You decrease or stop your financial support of the church, and finally you become critical of the sermons offering much criticism, rather then listening with a prayerful ear! A pastor leading a consumer-Christian church doesn’t issue threats of Hell or calls to salvation, nor preach for hours on end; instead, he (or she!) makes placid, gentle, easy, funny, and most of all short sermons that make congregations smile and nod along. Such a pastor makes no demands on their congregation. Consumer Christians pick their churches according to the perks those churches offer to members, how nice the sermons are, and a variety of other feel-good perks. They leave if a competing church opens up nearby with programs and preaching that they like better. My hard question to you is this, how can we call ourselves Christians if we are not servants? The Bible has a great deal to say about servant-hood because the central theme of the Bible is the one who is the greatest servant of all—Jesus Christ!
Mark 10:45 CSB For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
What was one of the greatest examples of servant-hood in the bible? The moment when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, even the feet of the one that would betray him! Walking in sandals on the roads of Israel made it imperative that feet be washed before a communal meal. The dirt roads were used by both people and livestock. The heat of the day would have caused your feet to sweat and that combined with the manure that was in the streets would have created a very pungent and undesirable task... of washing of the feet! People ate, reclining at low tables, and feet were very much in evidence. Your neighbors feet would have been inches from your face. When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He was doing the work of the lowliest of servants. When He washed the disciples’ feet, He told them (and us) “I have given you an example, that you should do as I
