Consumerism

Worship is like meatloaf?

Have you ever heard, or perhaps you might have said, something about worship on Sunday morning that could be mistaken for a critique of a restaurant?

"Well, that was good."
"I really liked it today."
"I will be back next week."

All of these comments, and others like them, are built upon the idea that Sunday worship is very much like a dish that is served up for our consumption. And just like after a meal at a restaurant, we have a number of comments that "evaluate" what we just experienced.

"The service was slow." 
"After that, I feel full."
"I am not sure I would go back."
"I could not read the menu."

Worship "evaluation" is built on the idea that it is just another thing we consume. If we do not like the "head chef" then we will not go back to that restaurant. If we had a good experience we might attend again, but we really would tell someone about our dislike of the music (selection or volume). 

When we are hungry we have any number of food options at our disposal and it really does not matter which restaurant we go to because they all ultimately serve the same thing - calories - just in different styles. 

Worship is consumed like meatloaf.

Worship is not something to consume. We do not attend worship in order to, like a meal, "get something out of it". We are not looking for a "nugget" that we can "chew on" for later this week. We are not attempting to "fill ourselves up" with an experience with the Holy or Mystery. 

Worship is not something we just consume, but something we participate in.

It is the difference in going to a restaurant and ordering the meatloaf so that someone else makes it and serves it to you or going to a kitchen and learning to prepare meatloaf in a class. 

Infograph - power of the holiday consumer

If you are not reading GOOD then you are really missing out on some wonderful stuff - in fact you might just call it "good".

As Christmas gets closer, I just want to pass along this little infograph that was submitted to GOOD the other day.


If you are looking for alternate gift ideas Mercy Corps help supply the numbers for the information above and have some neat stuff.  I am sure you know of many other gift alternatives to consider such as Kiva or 10,000 villages.

Thank you Nike and Wal-Mart, but we are more than that.

Our culture continues to impress upon me that what it means to be a human being is to be a consumer and a competitor. And while I am those things at times, I am more than that.

I am not always looking for the lowest prices. I am looking for meaning, I am looking for a cause.

Just doing it makes me into a mindless zombie. I desire to live my life with intention and purpose.

So thank you Nike and Wal-Mart, but we are more than consumers and competitors.

http://3rdidea.com/inspiration/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/brand-definition-cartoon.jpg