Consuming Jesus » Consuming Cyberspace

One Saturday At Picadilly’s

admin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:09:27 +0000

This thoughtful reflection piece from Barbara Echo-Hawk provides us a window into the world of segregation which she experienced while growing up in the 1960’s. While reading it, consider ways in which we still face segregation of various forms, and what we can do to expand our horizons and engage redemptively in the process of reconciliation in our own day.

One Saturday at Picadilly’s

Consuming Cyberspace: Leadership Journal

Bryan Dormaier — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:39:10 +0000

Consuming Jesus was recently listed in the fall 2008 issue of Leadership Journal (leadershipjournal.net) as part of its Golden Canon–the top 10 books of 2008. Also featured in the journal is a great review of Consuming Jesus by David Swanson (who has contributed his story as part of this blog). Be sure to look for it in the most recent Leadership Journal. In addition, Out of Ur, the official blog of Leadership Journal, just posted this audio interview of Dr. Metzger by David Swanson.

Consuming Cyberspace

Bryan Dormaier — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:57:55 +0000

We would like to highlight this article about some folks involved in Compassion Connect, a ministry program in Portland that is helping to mobilize area churches to serve their community. Also if you live in the Portland area, be sure to go to the Compassion Connect website to find out about the Home For the Holidays program.

Blog Links

Kelsi Johns — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:25:44 +0000

The link to the Wall Street Journal article, “The Mystery Worshipper”, which quotes Metzger, is proving to be helpful in exploring issues raised in Consuming Jesus. As a result we decided to post links to other discussions related to the book. There will be more links to come.
Dashhouse.com’s Review of Consuming Jesus
Inhabitatio Dei Review of Consuming Jesus
Internet Monk’s Review of Consuming Jesus

Introducing a New Section

Bryan Dormaier — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:01:58 +0000

We are adding a new section to the Consuming Jesus blog. This section is titled Consuming Cyberspace, which will serve to draw attention to online articles and other blogs’ entries related to the themes discussed in Consuming Jesus. Check out our link to a recently posted article on “mystery worshippers” and don’t miss Dr. Metzger’s quote at the end of the article.

I’d rather be shopping

Kelsi Johns — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:13:41 +0000

The Wall Street Journal published an article on October 10th about secret shoppers– for churches– entitled “The Mystery Worshipper.” Metzger is quoted in the article, and it’s a sobering account of how churches are rated for quality and comfort through the lens of a church shopper. Check it out here. What is your reaction to this article? Some questions to consider:

What message do you think the secret shopper model communicates about the ultimate goal and purpose of the church?
Is this message biblical?
Do you think church-goers should be approached as religious consumers in order to grow congregations?
Can the two concerns of consumer comfort and preaching the gospel co-exist, or will one ultimately drive out the other?
Do you think approaching the church as a provider of religious commodities proves to confuse the message of Christ rather than clarify it?

Please share your thoughts. Below are some links to other blogs that have also covered this article:
http://floatingaxhead.com/2008/10/14/professional-worshipers/
http://www.getreligion.org/?p=4014
http://thesidos.blogspot.com/2008/10/forget-faithful-exposition-of-gods-word.html