Discipleship vs. Consumerism

Someone had posted an article about how people see the church. I would like to share it with you. “The longer I pastor, the more I am convinced that one of the great mistakes of modern Christianity is that we keep arguing about traditional church versus contemporary church. That is not the deepest divide. The deeper divide is discipleship versus consumerism. You can build a consumer church with a worship band, stage, lights, coffee, and skinny jeans. You can also build one with hymnals, pews, choirs, suits, and a King James Bible. Consumerism is not an aesthetic. It is a posture of the heart. Consumerism ask: Do I like the music? Do I like the preaching? Are there programs for my children? Do people dress the way I think they should? Does this church share my politics? Does this church make me comfortable? And when the answer becomes no, we start looking somewhere else. Discipleship asks an entirely different set of questions. Where can I serve? Who can I love? Where do I need to grow? What preferences do I need to surrender? How can I help carry the burden of this community? Where is Jesus asking me to die to myself? The problem was never primarily organs versus guitars. The problem is that we have spent decades teaching Christians to evaluate church as consumers rather than belong to them as disciples." Discipleship is not some archaic concept from Jesus day. It is a process by which we discipline our life after the teaching of Jesus Christ and then in turn, gather with others that can see the example that we set for them to follow. This is not shown just in the good times, but also in how we handle disappointments, grief, doubts, and temptations. It is a very humbling process because how many of us feel adequate enough to mirror Chris's life? Discipleship done right, comes with humility and much prayer. The command Jesus left with us just before He went back to heaven was to make disciples. How? By going, baptizing, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus taught. Who should we disciple? Anyone who wants to grow in their walk with God. It would include teaching God’s word, being in prayer, asking question, answering question, and encouraging. Father, help us to discipline our lives after Your word and commands. Help us also to reach out to others seeking You. Amen