Consuming Jesus

In the March newsletter for New Wine, New Wineskins (http://new-wineskins.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/090401-new-wine-newsletter.pdf), I explored the profundity of two different cultural art forms (Bach and African music) being brought together to produce something entirely different: ballet. I would like to explore this theme further, specifically in terms of how it speaks to our dire need for cultural diversity and multi-ethnic representation in the church. 

That ballet performance involved the creation of something beautiful out of two or more different and separate cultural expressions. This inspired in me a longing and sense of need: I long for the church to be a community where we truly sense our need for one another in the diversity of our cultural expressions, involving rather than negating cultural and ethnic tension. “Tension” in the sense that I do not believe that diversity in the church “just happens,” or is necessarily comfortable (especially considering the unequal footing from which we are currently working in America in regards to race relations and divisions).

We must intentionally work to understand, engage and respect one another–accounting for our different backgrounds and ethnicities. These differences must not be undermined, but rather engaged and celebrated. When this happens, something beautiful and new emerges.

It frustrates me that the phrase “celebrate diversity” is often labeled as taboo in Christian circles. I believe that the call to “celebrate diversity” is one of the most profound and significant aspects of our spiritual lives as Christians! The way I see it, the lack of appreciation for diversity fosters passive racism and homogeneous units in our social, educational and churchly spheres as believers. True, we are not to herald religious and spiritual “relativism” as such, but this is not what I am addressing.

It perplexes me that diversity is often dubbed as synonymous with spiritual and religious relativism. But diversity–different colors, voices, perspectives, thinkers, feelers, cultures in the body of Christ? This is something to be celebrated. Rather than stopping at celebrating diversity, my desire is that we celebrate the one Christ in diverse ways in the church.

I am convicted that to move forward, we must be brutally honest with ourselves about our faith. We, as believers, have been part of a movement that throughout its history has at times celebrated cultural diversity and yet at other times has shamefully oppressed diversity, including minority and non-Western cultural expressions of the faith.  If we as the church are to move forward as the embodied presence of the liberating and compassionate Christ whose glory is revealed in manifold and diverse ways, then we must come to celebrate diverse cultural expressions as central to our worship gatherings and daily Christian existence.

It is my desire that we make beautiful music out of the prism of differences in the world, music that inspires and liberates the church to be a diverse people centered in Christ. Just as Albert Schweitzer combined his Bach performances with the lively and colorful sounds of Africa surrounding him (which eventually inspired a beautiful ballet performance by the Oregon Ballet Theatre in Portland), I believe we too are designed to combine, to harmonize, so to speak, with different communities and peoples.

What would that eventually produce? Who thought Africa and Bach would inspire a ballet? I believe we, too, could produce something unexpected, unique and utterly beautiful. Something that resonates with and echoes the symphonic melodies of the kingdom of God. I desire to see something of a ballet emerge from the body of Christ: a collision of diverse expressions creating something entirely new and profound, accompanying the divine drama of the reconciling Christ. 

Reshey’s essay assesses the influence of modern consumer culture upon Christian discipleship in ‘small groups’. His argument is framed around what he terms the power of the “invisible yet heavy hand of the market economy,” that makes itself felt in every aspect of life, including the church in America. He believes that, “consumerist mentalities affect interpersonal relationships through the imperative of personal preference,” meaning that he local church is often forced to cater to individual tastes. This problems especially true with regard to prevailing small group discipleship structures. Reshey argues that the consumer-oriented church fails to adequately disciple its believers in small groups because their content and structure reinforce consumerism. He concludes that churches need to address small group discipleship with an affective Trinitarian ethic of love and engagement to counteract the prevailing consumerist orientation.

The Consumer Church and Christian Discipleship in Small Groups

After granting that the content and thesis of Consuming Jesus are in themselves enough to establish its prophetic importance, Davis explores how the book’s implicit tone of loyalty to the evangelical movement can be understood as an especially potent prophetic power.  Beginning with an account of his own initially tepid reaction to the book, Davis goes on to propose that Metzger’s tone fits within a tradition of critical loyalty inseparable from Biblical history itself.  Critical loyalty, Davis suggests, has the strategic power to stir Christians blessed with a critical vantage of the church to consider anew what it means to be loyal to the church, and to ask how (and why) sharp criticism and faithful loyalty can (and should) be united.  He concludes the essay with a call for the proliferation of conversations and resources concerned with appropriate applications of critical loyalty to modern evangelicalism.

Critical Loyalty

In his essay, Brown reflects on the consumer nature of the Christmas season, realizing that everything he loves about Christmas has more to do with the social traditions than religious ones. As a Christ follower, he knows that Christmas should be about Jesus, the implications of the incarnation, and the impact of his kingdom; but he still struggles (as do many others) not knowing how to celebrate this holiday differently than he always has. He loves the shopping, the lights, sounds and smells, the hustle and bustle of the season. But where, Brown asks, does Jesus fit into all of this? Brown goes on to discuss how the love of the Triune God transforms Christmas by breaking down the societal structures that equate love and fulfillment with the purchase and consumption of products. He does this by pointing out the problems that come with a consumer based society, by showing that Jesus has no room in the Inn of our consumer structures and explaining how God’s love transforms the “Inn” to allow us to give ourselves relationally to Jesus and to others.

No Room In The Inn

Homola’s essay asserts that by buying into consumerism, church leadership has fallen prey to the commodification of humanity and a utilitarian use of people in the name of bigger and better programs.  In the process it has left behind the life-breathing relational nature of its God and its people. He contends that this problem is significant because people are dying void of dignity and purpose inside and outside our churches.  In the process of making church attractive, leaders in the church have commodified human
identity, and are in need of a revisiting of what Trinitarian leadership really looks like. His paper briefly analyzes the problem of consumerism as it affects the church, focusing on the commodification of human value and the subsequent turn to utilitarian use of humanity.  Homola presents his vision
of a two-part solution to this problem: the Triune relationality of God as it impacts the value of humanity—and its subsequent impact on leadership philosophy.

Utilitarian Relational Leadership: The Myth!

In his essay, Matthew Brooks advocates the importance of church discipline, explaining how our culture of consumerism has undermined the biblical model. He presents the case for reclaiming biblical church discipline by, “pursuing a Trinitarian model of compelling community based on our unity in Christ.” He states that the root of the problem is that our consumer-driven individualistic society undercuts church discipline by viewing it as archaic and oppressive, thus leading people to believe that the church is merely a “vendor of religious services and goods,” where churches compete to offer the most attractive array of programs to gain ‘customers’. In this sort of environment it is not difficult to see why church discipline is ineffective, when people can easily move on to another church willing to serve their needs. Brooks asserts that real Christian unity cannot be achieved apart from the Triune God who unites us both to Him and to each other. He concludes that, “with a renewed desire for biblical discipline, the church will be more capable of transforming the wider culture by shining forth as an example of holiness and love, thereby attracting many to be transformed by the holiness and love of Christ himself.”
Church Discipline in a Consumer Culture: A Call for Compelling Community

Van Deren addresses the possible negative aspects of Christian benevolence ministries and proposes a path toward more a more relational, biblical, Trinitarian approach to these ministries. He states that, “when divorced from genuine personal engagement, efforts by Christians to provide one-time or short-term financial assistance to those of lower socio-economic status—though well-intentioned—can rob the recipients of their dignity and can become little more than a form of religious imperialism.” He asserts that, “these benevolence efforts fail to capture the true nature of covenantal love for neighbor, which derives from the eternal relationship of love within the Trinity between and among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” He discusses the negative nature of these benevolence ministries using personal examples, followed by a discussion of how a relational Trinitarian perspective should shape our future ministry efforts.

White-Man’s Burden Revisited: The Oppressiveness of Certain Forms of Christian Benevolence Ministry