How has consumerism affected American Christians and churches?

On Dec. 10, 2006, we started our Bible study discussion by reading the article "Leader's Insight: From Christ's Church to iChurch - How consumerism undermines our faith and community." This article goes beyond the typical and appropriate Christian critiques of consumerism that focus on "the temptation to make material goods the center of life rather than God." It also confronts the practice of churches to use modern consumer-driven strategies in "selling" the church to attract and keep the churchgoing "customer." The article ends with this quote: "After all, in a consumer culture the customer, not Christ, is king."

Having read the above article, students were challenged to come up with a biblical response to the situation. Numerous Scriptures were referenced in the discussion: Exodus 20:2-6, Deuteronomy 8:10-14; Joshua 24:14; Proverbs 19:4, Matthew 6:19-34; 21:13, Mark 11:15-17, Acts 8:18-20, 2 Corinthians 8:13-14, Philippians 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 6:10.

We have the responsibility to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness. We have the need to be more concerned about speaking the truth of the Gospel in our church than about appealing to anyone as an attractive, fun place to be. When deciding on a church to be a part of ourselves, the criteria must not be influenced by which church is more savvy in promoting themselves. The criteria must center around which church is faithful to the head of the church - Jesus Christ - and his perfect Word.