Scott Lencke asks the question:
There are not a few tragedies in the history of the church. The Crusades, the killing of those who do not line up with the Christian faith (or one particular branch of the faith), mixing the Christian faith with colonialism, particular church denominations aligning themselves with particular political parties, the despising of 2,000 years of church history…and we could probably go on and on.
But one of the great tragedies of the church today is simply this: Consumerism.
This tragic reality peaks its head around many a corners in many a ways. From how we tailor our services, to the teams of musicians that lead us, to the over-the-top concert-style productions, to the expectations set upon children’s ministries, to the need we feel to take pics during the gathered times of worship and post on social media, to the desire to formulate the next best hashtag campaign on Twitter, to a host of other gimmicks. We are running this thing like an entertainment center or business corporation.