I read this article by Skye Jethani (link via Jay Kelly) about consumerist attitudes to choosing a church. No sense of prayer, Scripture, the Holy Spirit or wise counsel, just a ‘what we like’ approach to changing church from the couple Jethani writes about. It isn’t so new: people have been doing this for decades, choosing between demoninational traditions (although they now choose within as well as between), having a Sunday lunch of ‘Roast Preacher’ (especially in Methodism, where there is a variety of preachers from week to week – certain preachers may be boycotted), and so on.
It made me reflect on a couple of things in family and ministry that we could have treated in a consumerist way. One was the painful decision for my wife and children not to worship in any of my churches, or even in other nearby Methodist churches. They settled at a charismatic Anglican church. But our reason wasn’t ‘The kids like the music’ (although they do). It was an issue of needing spiritual nurture for them that wasn’t available in my churches.
The other was the recent Family Friendly Churches weekend at my Broomfield church. It’s over two weeks ago now and I’ve never got around to blogging about it, but Mike Bossingham (his blog is here) offered us various models of church that provide worship across the generations. About half the congregation came to the workshops, and one model above all the others grabbed us. It was called ‘Pick and Mix’ (very postmodern title). He pioneered it when the minister of Chesterton Methodist Church in Cambridge. Sunday morning begins with a simple breakfast of cereal and toast. Then there is Sunday School for all ages. ‘Formal worship’ begins with twenty minutes of contemporary and all age worship. Then the appointed preacher for the day takes over and leads more traditional worship, including readings, the sermon, hymns and prayers. It is called ‘Pick And Mix’ because people are free to come to as little or as much as they are willing and able. It does carry the danger of becoming consumerist, but we hope it will be an entry point, as well as provide increased opportunities for fellowship and Christian learning. People were so excited about it that one family began running the breakfast the following Sunday. Formal decisions haven’t yet been made – they await a Church Council on 16th October (and we’ll be working on the ideas at a stewards’ meeting tomorrow night).
Technorati Tags: Skye+Jethani, Jay+Kelly, consumerism, church, Methodist, children, Family+Friendly+Churches+Trust, Mike+Bossingham, Pick+And+Mix, worship, all+age, Broomfield
Big Circumstance 
Not meaning to be critical – as proof, I offer the statement that I’ve just bought Mike’s book (which arrived in less than 24 hours!) – but it’s an interesting question how “Family Friendly church” buys into the consumer culture.
I will confess to having changed churches and that, in consequence, I’m not certain about the arguments against “spiritual consumerism”. The church I left was my parish church and it was two blocks from my house. It was 350 members strong with 700 adherents. I left because I was so theologically out of step that I couldn’t be myself; I could neither be free and I hurt a number of people inadvertantly (e.g. by saying that I didn’t think the Lord’s Supper was just a memorial meal).
When I left, I became a Methodist. The Methodist Church I joined would have been pegged by almost anyone as “less Christian” than the church I left. But, having left a church where most people believed that women should not preach or teach, I was able to become a Local Preacher in my Methodist congregation. My subsequent route to ministry has made me absolutely convinced that God wanted me in the Methodist congregation (not endorsing Methodism over Anglicanism, which is a whole different argument).
Although the eventual outcome has made me certain I was supposed to join the Methodist congregation, I had no great revelation from God at the point that I changed. Just the feeling that I couldn’t grow in the former congregation and that I’d probably end up leave off going to church entirely if I didn’t do something. I think that, at that stage, I could have been accused of “spiritual consumerism” as I made the change for no objective reason.
The outcome having been obviously correct and the process having been choosing a church that I felt comfortable with, I’m thinking that “there is something wrong with this picture”.
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Absolutely, Pam – I’m not denying the need to change churches at times for the sake of spiritual well-being, and that’s exactly what my wife and children have done. It’s when we go ‘shopping for a church’ and conceive of things purely in terms of personal taste.
Would the Family Friendly ‘Pick And Mix’ Sunday morning be my personal choice for my non-existent ideal church? No. But I’m advocating it because it seems to be good for Broomfield Methodist.
However I can certainly anticipate the idea of leaving a church over big personal convictions, and that goes all the way back to Paul and Barnabas arguing over John Mark in Acts. But some of the consumerist approaches to church are not about deep convictions. They’re about spiritual entertainment – something that plainly wasn’t the case in your circumstances.
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Dave: In case it needs saying, I have no doubt that you have the best interests of your congregation and your community at heart. In our case, we have over 40 young people coming to non-worship activites in the middle of the week (all of them, to my knowledge, totally “unchurched”) and zero young people at worship services. Would family friendly worship be right for the young people, their families and us? (That’s a rhetorical question!) Or would we be buying into consumerism? I can see it both ways, actually. Fortunately, it will be a congregational journey and decision-making process.
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I am glad you were encouraged by Mike’s ‘pick and mix’ style of service. I have attended the church in question, Chesterton Methodist Church, for the majority of my life, (started at 6 with a uniformed youth organisation. Am 30 now) I had struggled in the last 10 years with the Church and had tried other churches for short periods to find a more ‘accessible’ form of Church, but always ended up bringing my family back to Chesterton. The Church attendance before the change was approximately 9 adults and 3 children (mine). On a Sunday we now have between 15 and 25 children every week, ranging from 6 to 16, and have added 9 adult attendees. We have lost a few of the older part time attendees, some due to the change and some due to age and illness, but on the whole we have grown.
We are now looking at ways we can actively reach out into our community and challenge those with the message of Jesus.
I wont say it hasn’t been without its problems, we certainly dont fit the Methodist mould, and it is a lot of hard work for a small number of people. But we are becoming again a Church with life, rather than a Church heading for death.
God Bless
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