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.

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