Consumer Christianity, what does it really mean?

Pastors and leaders are getting frustrated because they are overworked, and overwhelmed with their jobs. Being a religious minister is appealing for some and in the christian religion the appeal to save souls for Christ can be a strong motivation to serve in the ministry. Whatever your calling is in life, it takes hard work to succeed and there is no guarantee that you will be living out your "calling" for the rest of your life. But this is where most of us are now or somewhere where we want to be in the future. There is no greater delight than taking pride in your work, but if you are a minister or a leader in a church, where do you find the motivation or momentum to keep doing what you are doing? To be motivated in the right way, requires that you know internally what drives you and what you are working for? I am learning from a mentor that if you find a job, external motivation (Things like rewards, fame, accolades, and making a name for yourself) will eventually fall away, the motivation that is.

I am also learning from my mentor that to be internally motivated, keeps you doing the thing(s) you set out to do, because the motivation is coming from within yourself. The ideal is to find a job where you are not driven by external forces, but motivated internally from within yourself. This builds the momentum to carry on in spite of what your ministry looks like, or how greedy the people in your church have become. This is very hard when your motivation is an external motivation to win souls, and when your religion is externally motivated. Such as "good behavior pleases God, so when I am bad, God is displeased with me." (external motivation!) You can be a person of faith, and your faith can be internally motivated, even though your religion might not be!

The problem isn't religion, it's what motivates you if you are religious! I believe in God, but if my motivation to please God is externally driven by some reward, I will live in fear of my church and my pastor, and my leaders because I want their approval instead of God's approval. In a consumer driven church it is all about pleasing the Pastor or the religious minister. I go to confession, not because I have a healthy fear of displeasing God, but because I fear man, and the external consequences of looking bad to myself and to the public if I don't "show" my religion. This is what drives a consumer church, external motivation. This is Mike.

Comments

On Christian Marriage. (Short)

On Christian Marriage. (Short) The modern co-habitation crisis has produced a lot of single moms and dads, and has fractured "family units" allowing other family members and relatives to take a bigger role in these "Separated families." There isn't a "one cause" why families have separated or divorced, it is a complicated issue, sometimes resulting in very hard emotions for Society to process. Things like the "millennial sexual revolution" have contributed to the widespread "non-committal" attitude, which in turn has given the traditional marriage the "black eye" it currently has and has turned many Christian men away from seeking a life partner. The more society devalues "traditional marriage" the more co-habitation you will see in all the other generations as well as the Millennials. This is Mike.

Why Christians must show Mutual Concern for One another.

Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. Psalm 142:4. Christians in the church should have mutual concern for one another, this is what it means to be part of the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:25. It’s takes good pastoral leadership to foster this sense of concern, and where it is missing, individuals who are suffering in the church are overlooked and not supported. Every believer needs support and encouragement, but when this is missing, the church divides and loses it power and testimony. Christians live like the world, and become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks when nobody is supporting them outside the church. I used to belong to an evangelical church which had great leadership, and something called small groups. This church felt like a family and I had people who shared my Christian walk with me when I was not in the church building. I have been attending a different denomination that doesn’t hav...

The Biblical Meaning of “Life in the Spirit.”

“Life in the Spirit” is an example that the Apostle Paul gives in the book of Romans starting in chapter 5 and going through to chapter 8. He begins by telling us we are justified by faith (5:1), and have gained access by faith into the grace of God (5:2). We have been delivered from God’s wrath (5:9) and we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son (5:10). He goes on to explain that through Adam all die (5:12), and that the free Gift of God brings justification and righteousness to the believing sinner (5:15-17). Through our conversion we are baptized into Christ and into his death, which frees us from the law and makes us dead to sin (6:2-4). He explains that just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are given new life in Christ (6:4). Our old unregenerate self was crucified with Christ so that our body of sin might be done away with (6:5-6). Because we have died to sin, we now submit ourselves to God being that we are now under grace, not the law (6:8-1...

The Super Blogosphere of a parallel word.

Search This Blog