the parish: Interview, Part One:
"A megachurch worship event is a very sterile thing. Worship is supposed to shape us into a particular kind of people. If I go to receive a blessing or an event that is tailored to my felt needs and I'm never required to minister to my fellow parishioners, what kind of person am I being shaped to be? A narcissist? A consumer?"
and from part 2
"I would hazard a guess that no megachurch in the U.S. has ever critiqued capitalism through the lens of the Hebrew prophets. No mega has asked where the ridiculous trinkets we buy in so-called Christian bookstores come from. No thought is given to global policies that might cast us in a negative light. Oppression of developing nations? Environmental concerns? These aren’t issues in megas because the focus isn’t really on helping God with the redemption of the world; the focus is on a truncated soteriology and then allowing me to believe that I’m okay just the way I am, even if just the way I am relies on oppression, exploitation, or political expediency."
2 comments:
I really appreciate Greg's insights into theology (even though I sometimes have to look up a word or two). The central question is one of mission, who does the church (in both the building/congregation sense and the sense of the Church writ large) exist to serve? If it is those who attend, then by all means bring in Starbucks and cater to their every whim. But, if the church exists to serve God, then, what is that all about?
well said, bucky. Well said.
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