The Consumptive Church: The Religious Industrial Complex.
The Context For My Starting Point, Different Starting Points
If you’ve missed the first two posts, I’d highly recommend going back and reading them and the follow-up comments. Although my articulation of the ideas were a bit weak, the comments they generated were really constructive and thoughtful on all sides. Unlike some of the comments in previous posts, everybody who was involved in the recent conversations (The Context For My Starting Point – 24 comments, Different Starting Points – 32 comments) contributed some thoughtful and helpful push-backs and developments of the rough thoughts I shared. So please don’t be shy.
The title of this post is The Religious Industrial Complex because I’d like to try and make a connection between the consumptive, market-driven culture that we live in and the machine that has become the church. This may seem a bit harsh, but I think the truth is closer to my exaggeration than anything that an apologist would argue. And although I get the whole God still loves the bride of Christ thing . . . I just don’t want it to be used as a counterpoint. Because ultimately as my mother-in-law would say, you have to call a spade a spade. And the church has become an industry. It is what it is.
This is what it ultimately boils down to for me. I struggle with the church being as consumptive as the culture around it. I’m tired of change beginning with environmentalists and activists, grass root movements and politicians. I’m really at a loss for words for how the conventional church has little to nothing to offer to the larger questions that are being raised about consumption. In my mind, it should be the community of God that are the ones at the forefront bringing into existence the change they want to see in the world. It should be the bride of Christ that is birthing this revolutionary change into action. Instead, I’m afraid the church is sitting on the sidelines mad at those prophets at the margin who make them feel guilty for what they industry they’ve created.
Consider these rather disconnected stream of conscious thoughts . . .
- There is such a thing as Christian book stores. To say nothing of the printing practices for the books that get printed or what 3rd world country is producing the novelties and trinkets that they sell, but just the oddity of what is available for purchase is enough to make the stomach turn.
You can buy mints with scripture verses on them. These are not sold for the inherent need and goodness of them, but they are sold for profit. You can buy bracelets and earrings. These are not sold for the inherent need and goodness of them, but they are sold for profit. You can buy Heaven Scent Shea Butter Hand Cream or the accompanying Body Wash. These are not sold for the inherent need and goodness of them, but they are sold for profit. You can buy Bibles for the Sportsman, Cook, Divorced, Teenager, Baby, Sailor, and the Soul Winner to name a few. These are not sold for the inherent need and goodness of them, but they are sold for profit.
- There is such a thing as a place that sells sermon illustrations for only $119.50 a year. These are not sold for the inherent need and goodness of them, but they are sold for profit. I suppose it would be way to hard to be able to talk about the Bible without using someone else’s illustrations that you pay for instead of actually talking about what happens in your life.
- There is such a thing as TBN. Enough said.
- There is such a thing as buying sermons already produced for you only $30. These are not sold for the inherent need and goodness of them, but they are sold for profit.
- There is such a thing as 300,000 square foot church buildings with their remodeling, mortgage, and electricity bills.
- There is such a thing as a church having a million dollar sound and video system.
- There is such a thing as a multi-site church. Which is the equivalent of having a franchise like Starbucks. Where there is 1 church and 1 speaker, but over 20 churches all across the country in different cities doing the same thing and watching the same pastor back at the corporate office.
- There is such a thing as a $50,000 seminary education.
- There is such a thing as pastors getting paid a 6 figure salary, a housing allowance, yard maintenance, and a leased luxury SUV.
- There is such a thing as pastors who wear thousand dollar suits.
- And now for the ultimate bit of irony there is such a thing as Red Cowboy Designs, where I make my living making “stuff” for some of these conventional churches.
I could really go on and on all day. But hopefully you get the point. These type of things only happen and exist when the church mirrors the larger host culture around it.
They only exist in a Religious Industrial Complex.
I know that not all things that are sold are necessarily bad. Or that making a profit on anything that is loosely affiliated with Jesus is some sort of mark of the beast. But it’s dizzying to me to think of how much consumption happens at the local church (to say nothing of what goes on at the denominational, parachurch, and educational levels).
I wonder how many churches recycle? I wonder how many use energy efficient lighting? I wonder how many are as cautious and careful with other people’s money (tithes) as they are with their own? I wonder how many of them shop and eat locally as opposed to hopping from franchise to franchise in the homogeneous malaise of their suburban contexts? I wonder how many of them see their job as a 9-5? I wonder how many of them think their job is to be a dispenser and purveyor of goods and services? I wonder how many could make the connection between their marketing strategies and people’s felt needs?
Better yet, I wonder why the conventional church and Christians consume at the same rate of the culture around them?
Where’s the pause button? Where’s the step back? Where’s the brakes?
I think there are ultimately 2 reasons, which I will hopefully develop in the next couple of posts, as to why this is almost impossible.
1. For those who are the leaders of the Religious Industrial Complex it pays the bills and pays their mortgage. And for those who sit in the pews on Sunday morning, it keeps them happy and pacified. Marx was right, religion becomes the opiate of the masses.
2. If people were to listen to and at the very least consider the voices of the prophets at the margin, it would undermine and subvert much of their lives. Thus requiring them to move from blind indifference to radical change. In many ways it would kick one of the legs out from under their chair (a four legged chair being made up of consumption, fear, objectivity/absolutism, and individualism) sending them crashing to the floor.
Listening: Woman King by Iron & Wine