A couple of years ago the movie Super-Size Me came out about a young man who spent a month only
eating at a noted fast food restaurant. During that month he gained weight,
became lethargic, and generally saw his health decline. As I came across this
movie again recently it dawned on me that this is what is happening in so many
of our churches. We are creating drive-thru spirituality, fast-food faith. This
type of practice creates consumers, not Christian. It promotes affirmation for
showing up, not blessings for sacrifice. It makes us less healthy as the body
of Christ.
Drive-thru spirituality creates consumers. They expect to
drive up to a window and be served, hot and fresh, the religious experience of
their choosing. They want it fast, hot, and tasty. No concern is given for the
value of the content or the depth of the theology. If it fills us up then
that’s all that matters. The question is, what is it filling us up with?
Consumer faith creates believers who think that God exists to meet their needs,
to literally serve them. This is little better than ancient pagan practices
that sought to control and influence the “spirits” with ritualized behaviors.
If we follow a particular formula or recipe suddenly all will be well, our
children will be happy, and we will become wealthy. Please pull around.
Not only does fast-food faith create consumers, it promotes
affirmation for showing up. Don’t misunderstand me, showing up in worship is
vital to Christian maturity, but it is only part of the plan. In addition to
encountering God in worship, we must pursue a process of maturity, and practice
a life of sacrifice. In our world of “more, more, more” the Church should be
proclaiming, “less, less, less.” Nowhere does Jesus commend anyone for the
accumulation of “stuff.” Actually, one parable remarks how building “bigger
barns” is actually a practice of self-worship, turning your reliance upon self
rather than upon God. Do you want fries with that?
Drive-thru spirituality actually makes us less healthy as
the body of Christ. When we practice consumption without activity, lethargy
takes over. It becomes easier to consumer more and more. We say things like,
“I’m just not being fed,” which translates, “its not entertaining enough,” or
“it challenges me more than I’m willing to admit.” Most of us actually already
know far more than we are willing to practice. We know that Christ calls us to
a life of sacrifice, not one of consumption. We know that we should be
continually challenged by the word of God, but prefer to be comforted by it. We
want our french-fried faith super-sized, please, no pickles.
So what’s the answer? Discipline. Yes, I know its no fun,
but it’s the spiritual equivalent to a balanced diet and exercise. We must
practice the discipline of worship, being regularly in the presence of God
among the people of God yielding ourselves to the will of God. We must practice
study and prayer, both corporately and personally. Spending time with God in
the presence of a few trusted believers and then supporting that small group
time with personal, daily encounters with the holy, molds and shapes our spirit
into the image of Christ. We must practice sacrifice and service. It is not
enough to learn, we have to respond to our times of worship and growth with
times of sacrifice and service. Serving the poor, giving of time, talent,
tithe, and witness (sounds awfully similar to our United Methodist membership
commitments). These are the disciplines that make us healthy and get us out of
the habit of making our spiritual lives a drive-thru disaster.
Jesus gave it all, do you really want to settle for fast
food faith? I remain:
Consumed by the Call,
Dr. Marty
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