Ultimate Individual-Consumerism!

As the recent lockdown neared there was a surge in people using online shopping options. Whether it was groceries or other items, the online retailers struggled to keep up despite their incredibly efficient logistical operations, with robot equipped warehouses and gig economy delivery drivers.

In many ways this lockdown steers us yet further to the Ultimate in Individual-Consumerism: a cultural trend that has been in the making for some years now. We, as individuals, have a pantheon of online consumer options at the swipe of our fingers. We can pick and choose, and flit from one provider to another to get what we want at the best (usually lowest) price. If you don't like even the tiniest detail of your existing retailer, then just skip to another for next time. Furthermore automated supply depots mean that there are barely any humans in the chain of delivery - it really is just all about YOU!

As with any cultural development, churches and their members have to wrestle with it. Some may find themselves in too deep (technically called 'syncretism'), others may isolate themselves off but in doing so effectively be left behind. It is the classic question of how to be 'in the world but not of the world' (John 17:15 - 21).

An irony of the current lockdown is that it may steer some believers further down the individual-consumer route. We had already the growing trend of people commuting ever greater distances to attend the 'big well resourced church' that has professional quality production in all aspects of its gatherings (or should I say 'worship events'?). Now in lockdown none of us can physically attend, and so a myriad of live-stream options have sprung up very quickly to allow virtual attendence.

Of course there will be value in these, and no doubt the Spirit will be at work. Just as I can be spiritually moved by listening to a worship album, people can find encouragement and nourishment from such options. Yet the risk is that now people can act as individual-consumers with regards to their worship or message input more than ever! Didn't quite like the message today (in either content or style)? No problem, next time flit to another!

The end result may not just be virtual attendence, but a reduction to a virtual spirituality coupled with a near total loss of community.

Deconstructionalists Rejoice!

For a good few years now some have been resonating with thinking that comes with the so-called 'Post-modern Mindset' - thinking that leads to some serious questions being asked about how we do faith and church. This kind of thinking is also often known as 'de-constructing' because it involves taking apart structures that have been in place for years (even centuries) and assumed to be fixed and solid. Upon de-constructing it is found that the underlying assumptions perhaps weren't so good after all.

One of those structures has been the fixed weekly Sunday gathering that many seem take as if it was the definition of church. This thinking is often exposed by language such as 'we go to church'. A common symptom is a high degree of focus on the Sunday gathering, and the high level of importance placed on it.

Another symptom is that people seem to confuse taking someone 'to Jesus' with taking them 'to church'. That is not to say that taking someone to a church gathering will not be helpful towards someone meeting Jesus, but we should pinch ourselves and remember our task is first & foremost to take someone to Jesus. Of course the church aspect should then follow, naturally arising in discipleship.

Now don't get me wrong! I still believe that gathering is important (in fact very important). Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25 makes the case for not giving up on meeting together. But Deconstructionalists ask whether the Sunday gatherings should bear the weight we put on them.

Now, with our Covid-19 lockdown scenario, our Sunday physical gatherings are simply not possible!

So Deconstructionalists Rejoice! The arguably dubious tower of over-inflated-importance given to Sunday gatherings is demolished! Now (presumably) is our chance to highlight the importance of individual and in-the-small discipleship practices and experiences (an importance that needn't exclude the complementary importance of gatherings, when they become possible again).

Interestingly churches have rushed to attempt 'live streaming' of their services, so that people can gather virtually. There is value in these, I am sure ... but if the Deconstructionalists are right (or at least their thinking has merit), then I fear that the live streaming efforts might be missing a valuable learning point that this strange season affords us.

An Alternative Pandemic

We live in uncertain times. The spread of an unseen threat has set governments and policy-makers scrambling to make appropriate decisions. The media has to walk a tight-rope of helpfully informing versus inadvertently stirring panic. The reaction of the public shows some disturbing signs (e.g panic buying).

The whole covid-19 virus outbreak scenario raises some interesting questions. Among them are questions about the sustainability of our developed nation's economies, our dependence on trade and people simply being out and spending!

For Christians, remember that the concepts of virology and being effective witnesses of the good news of Jesus go hand in hand (see my post 'Go Viral' from 2015!). Yes we want to play our part as good citizens in preventing the spread of harmful viruses such as covid-19, but equally we want to be caught in the wind of the Spirit in spreading the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom!

That means being ready and willing to tell of that good news whatever the circumstances. It means being tenacious, jumping beyond the limits and inoculations that society may try to put on gospel-witness.

It means also helping people discover the grace of God but then not limiting them to some kind of faithful holding-pen, but rather releasing them in their God-given calling such that they are able to witness to Jesus themselves to others!

Let us do our bit to limit and prevent the spread of any kind of harm.

Let us do our bit to spread that which is good, and persist with it.

Kingdom or Church

Recently I asked some small groups to think about the Kingdom of God and the church, which led them to do a classic 'compare and contrast' exercuse. I'm pleased to discover in their feedback that they seem to have 'got it'!

For in the Kingdom the focus is unashamedly on Jesus, whilst in the church that is not always so.

The Kingdom is inherently spiritual, while the church is inherently an earth-based gathering (albeit one that hopefully intends to be a spiritual people).

The Kingdom is perfect (by definition). The church remains imperfect.

The Kingdom is wherever God is at work, seen through what God is doing, or glimpsed in the people where God is present. The church can too easily be focussed on one place, one set of practices, or one set of traditions.

The Kingdom is of God. It is aligned to His will. The church can easily be of people and influenced by their will.

The Kingdom is about the Living Word (Jesus). The church can entrap itself in its own incomplete understanding of the written word (the Bible).

The Kingdom somehow has a way in for those on the margins. The church can inadvertently exclude those on the margins.

The Kingdom focusses on the key issues for God and His relationship to the whole of creation. The church can end up focussing on the key issues of society without discerning the limitations of this endeavour.

So Kingdom or church ... which would you choose?

Join a church and love it - but remind yourself and your fellow church members to keep your sights on The Kingdom!