Is church just another consumer choice?

Many Christians regularly attend different churches during the course of a week or month, picking and choosing among programs and services, The New York Times reported. This particularly happens with young people, who may go to one church with their parents but a different one for youth groups and praise services. This can be a good thing, particularly with teens who are seeking their own spiritual connection. But it also can result in a consumer approach to faith, in which people focus too much on satisfying their own needs and are quick to “church hop” if they don’t like something. This consumer approach also can tempt pastors to water down messages or focus on being entertaining, and it may be why several megachurches decided this year not to hold services on Christmas Day. There likely is also a generational difference. My mother has been extremely loyal to her denomination and local church. If there were problems, her attitude was that you stay and help fix them, not jump ship.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

4 Comments

  1. kansassam
    Posted January 3, 2006 at 2:38 am | Permalink

    If you are attending a church for what you can get out of it, you ae attending for the wrong reasons. It’s not about you.. it’s about worship of God.

  2. Sum1
    Posted January 3, 2006 at 6:26 am | Permalink

    I’d rather people shop around than end up in a Church like the Spirit One and believe it’s the “only” way.

  3. Sum1
    Posted January 3, 2006 at 6:12 pm | Permalink

    Church is like anything else.

    If you’re only exposed to one view than your vision of the world as a whole is fragmented.

    I’d rather people shopped around and found a church that believed in fundemental things like the value of neighborhood and community.

  4. zseriez32
    Posted June 13, 2006 at 9:52 am | Permalink

    religion is corrupted all the way around the world. there is no doubt. to what degree is the question that needs to be examened.

    Q. is islam, buddism, and hinduism;the three largest uncorrupted religions by todays standerds?