The Great American Church Myth

In almost any retail business today you can find those little questionnaire cards asking, “How are we doing?” Everyone in retail business understands like never before the importance of “giving people what they want.” If you don’t, they are gone! Any restaurant that has been in business for twenty-four months will probably make it because they have been able to navigate those dangerous waters of appealing to the fickle tastes of the American public. We are all a spoiled lot. Recently, I was with a friend ordering breakfast. I said, “I’d like two eggs over easy, ham, no grits, dry, whole wheat toast, sugar free strawberry jelly and tomato slices.” The waitress looked at me and said, “My, someone has really spoiled you, haven’t they.” I said, “Rotten to the core!” We all want what we want when we want it. It’s the American way of life.

Unfortunately, this consumerism has found its way into the American church. American Christians shop for churches like they shop for groceries. People actually call churches with a survey sheet of sorts, asking “What can this church do for me? If I attend this church, will I be fulfilled?” I was serving as pastor of a church in the Houston, Texas area back in the early 90’s when a lady met me at the back door of the church after service. My sermon that day was not a particularly “make you smile” kind of message. It was more of a “you need to change” kind of sermon. I’ll never forget her words that day. She said, “Preacher, if you don’t give these people what they want, they will leave you and go somewhere else.” I wonder how many pastors find themselves imprisoned by such attitudes? How many gifted and called spiritual leaders are held hostage by self centered people who believe the myth that the job of the church is to make sure that they are fulfilled!

The myth of the American church today is clearly an infection that has attacked the church from the prevailing attitude of the current culture. This attitude screams, “It’s all about me.” Churches are driven to try to compete with music, drama, sermons, and all kinds of specialized ministries that a very savvy Christian public demands. This attitude is a far cry from Biblical definitions of what the church, the Body of Christ, is supposed to be. The church is not a centralized place organized to serve Christians. It is a staging ground for Christian service. The church is a place where Christians are equipped for service. It is a place where spiritual gifts are discovered, strengthened and activated into function. In truth, the address for fulfillment for the Christian is not the church…it is the world. The church equips the Christian to serve outside the walls of the church and that service in the name of Christ brings fulfillment.

It is time for the American church to return to it’s roots. It’s time for Pastors and leaders to cease bowing to consumerism. It’s time to stop the insanity of competition and return to the primitive principles of Christian service rising out of a personal relationship with our Lord and King, Jesus. The real question should be, “What does He want?”