Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Consumer vs Member
Ok, Will is on to something. I don't know Will personally, but I read his posts on the Coram Deo blog all the time. Lately, his focus has turned to individualism. In a blog post yesterday, he used the following chart to illustrate the practical ways to identify consumer tendencies. Check the graphic out and you will see what I mean. By the way, for the sake of conformity to the style of this blog, consider the |catfish| section to be the consumer column, and the |gospel| section to be the member column. Check out the graphic, then check out Will's post.
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3 comments:
Hey Cody,
The diagram is very helpful and insightful. One of the biggest challenges the Church faces is that our culture has become consumers of a religious product instead of full participants in the Kindgom of God.
A common question a "consumer" asks is: "What's in it for me?"
The mature "member" - "apostle" might be a better word (The word "member" seems to have a sense of entitlement). I digress. The "member" or "apostle" asks: "What can I do to serve God or God's children?"
The diagram identifies a problem. The question is probably something like: "How do we (the Church) partner with God in transforming the consumer into an apostle?
What do you think, oh wise one?
Well, that's not a small question, but my small answer is that transformation is something that happens in a person when the Holy Spirit confronts them with the gospel. We can only present intellectual arguments to a certain degree, but God does the transforming work. I do think we can help stir the spiritual fire, so to speak, with our encouragement, example, and edification. Hmm, 3 e's...maybe I could be a pastor after all! :)
Yeah...you could be / should be! Lose the alliteration though. That is pretty old school / 1980s.
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