Church: Welcome to the Jesus shop | James Henley

Nov200816

Culture, Society & Mission, Reflection & Contemplation

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Church: Welcome to the Jesus shop

Preaching in a couple of weeks time in the Lab’s mother-in-law (who we get on really well with…) church, St Paul’s, on the subject “Stuff” – to do with money, possessions, consumerism etc. The gospel reading is Mark’s Rich Young Ruler. Pretty loaded issue for me to step in and speak on.

Anyway so that’s the precursor that’s sparked me off thinking again about consumerism and Church. I started thinking about consumerism – about challenging people to stop consuming other things but instead focus in on Jesus – but hit this stumbling block:

Are we asking people to stop consuming the world and consume Jesus instead?

Advertising these days isn’t just about selling you a product – it’s about selling a worldview. Selling a mindset change to make your life better.

Is what the church has to offer just another change of mindset for people to buy into? Or is it something more? And if we believe it’s something more (I really hope it is), then how do we make the distinction clear?

Should we be trying to assimilate into the marketplace – and simply provide the best advertising for our own worldview? Or should we be trying to do something which is radically different? Should we be saying to people who want to buy Jesus, “Sorry, but you can’t have him”?

One line of thinking says that the cost of following Jesus should be so high it makes him a crazy, illogical investment – but even if we pay that price we’re still buying into something, right?

Or is Jesus free – is that what makes him different?

Is the problem that stops a lot of us truly following Jesus that we’ve bought into him too much – or not enough?

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