By Pastor Mark Moreno

Consumerism and Church

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

I travel a fair amount for my work, and I find myself typing in a familiar search into my phone: “Restaurants near me”! It never fails that many places pop up and you can search and sort by distance, food type, prices and so much more. Sometimes there are so many choices that making a choice can be overwhelming.

This approach really puts me in the driver’s seat: I get to decide what the most important pieces of information are and make a choice that meets my needs. This consumer approach can be used for any and every need you could possibly have.

But what about a church? Do we type in “Churches near me”? Do we search and sort by time of worship, type of service, and distance? Should we approach church in a consumer type posture?

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, we read,

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit”.
-English Standard Version

Choosing a church can be overwhelming too! But there are a number of items to keep in mind:

• Is this church built on the Word of God and does it clearly proclaim Christ?
• What can this church do for me and my family to grow in faith?
• What can I and my family do to serve at this church?

I believe these questions can help us move away from a consumer approach to church towards a posture of spiritual health. It may be a small church or a large church, it may be close or it could be far away, it may be very similar to your past churches or completely different.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado