A Slow Death: The Cost Church Consumerism

The American Church is failing…miserably. Every Pew Research Poll in the last 5 years has confirmed that people are leaving churches in droves. Why? Lots of energy and money has gone into addressing this issue, but to make a long story short: the Evangelical Church culture started treating church goers like consumers rather than students.

Jesus’ admonition in the great commission was for his followers to “go forth and make students (disciples) in my name.” But, in order to sustain large non-profit buildings, flashy weekend productions, and a large staff with high pastor salaries, the Church decided it needed more money. If it needed money, it needed to attract attendees who would keep coming back. If the Church needed to continually attract attendees, it couldn’t risk committing the ultimate cultural sin: boredom.

The so-called “attractional model” of the church caught on and the attendees of a given evangelical church could rely on a good show to watch. Complete with a killer theatrical production, rock band, and inspirational message to boot, the seeker-sensitive Church culture single-handedly rebranded the church experience. So,what could go wrong?

The Church’s biggest mistake, IMHO, was that it bought in — hook, line, and sinker — to consumer culture. In a consumer culture, it’s the consumer that decides the value of a product. Newer products have more value than older ones and our constant stimulation with new products leaves us feeling unsatisfied and bored with old products.

In response, the Church did what any good business does — it asked its customers to take a survey (they’re still doing it). After all, if the customers ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. What these surveys show is that church goers are simply apathetic about church services. They just don’t care. The product is no longer interesting and there’s too much competition for entertainment on Sunday mornings.

What are churches to do? They tried to compete with culture by becoming another entertainment source, and they lost. Of course, there is a lot of denial about this. Of the pastors I’ve talked to, they are simply in denial of the blatant rejection from the Millenials. For those who have ears to hear, let me offer a few solutions from the POV of a millennial:

1. Have a “Come to Jesus” moment. Church, you have a real problem, and it has nothing to do with your church services. In fact, your services are quite pleasant. But I just don’t care. You’ve made it clear that you care more about what I want than what is actually good for me. I live in a world that promises to cater to me (as a consumer) every moment of my life. The last thing I need is for you to follow suit. This is the reality of the situation — like it or not.
2. Get some Self-esteem. Please, Please, Please stop having conversations about how “to get me to come to church”. I hear you at Starbucks, planning your next event. What’s wrong with you? Why would you want to “get” anyone to do anything? Isn’t that a tad manipulative? Let’s be honest, the way you send little colorful mailers to me, inviting me to your Easter service; the way you coerce your current members to keep inviting me to a Sunday service — it all feels like an insecure boyfriend who is constantly looking for affirmation of their worth. Right now, I don’t want you to want me! Leave me alone. Once you’ve found a way to value yourself and have found a life apart from courting me constantly, maybe I’ll think about answering your phone calls.
3. Offer Something Valuable. Notice I didn’t say, “Offer something entertaining”? Act like you have something truly valuable to contribute. Stand in the community, as if you are really important, regardless of your attendance numbers. Go back to your original mission — not to grow a huge church and live like a celebrity — but to love and care for people. We are entertained to death — but we are lonely. News flash, pastors — we need to feel connected and loved. You’re so concerned with relevance, but you’re unwilling to put the effort in to really love people. Once you truly care about me, I might begin to care about you. But beware, I can tell when you’re faking it — and if you do, I’m gone.
4. Be A Student Again. Your pride is the death of you. You’re so used to being the sage, the teacher, the expert, that you are unwilling to learn. You keep telling yourself that it’s everyone else’s problem that they don’t want to go to church. They are lazy, they are sinful, they are undisciplined. Whatever part of that is true — YOU are the one that will be out of a job if you don’t figure this out. So, you can either dig your heals in the dirt in defiance, or you can become a student of the culture (just please don’t hand out a survey, I beg you).