Consumed to Death

I am fascinated by the show The Biggest Loser. The show where some of the heaviest people you’ve ever seen work off the weight in weeks that they’ve taken years to put on. They step on the scale for the first time… almost dying… barely able to walk up stairs without being winded. And they got this way for two reasons… they are great consumers… and they are very lazy. They are professional consumers… meaning they like to eat. At the same time they lead extremely passive lives… their simply isn’t enough activity in their day to burn up the energy they’ve consumed. And because of that… they’ve nearly consumed themselves to death.

I sometimes wonder if our churches have fallen into similar patterns. By creating systems that allow people to consume an excessive amount of our spiritual goods and services… but which do not allow them to actively exercise their gifts by tapping into the spiritual energy available to them.

I mean think about it… when people think of going to church they think of sitting quietly and taking in what others are serving up. And for far too many this is the extent of their church experience. The same few voices teach, lead, and share… while the masses feast at the table of religious goods. But there is no exercise… no action… and the result I fear… is no discipleship… because discipleship is an active process.

I’m challenged by a comment from pastor & author Alan Hirsch about the effects of consumerism upon the church… “we simply cannot consumer our ways into discipleship.” Where is the space for disciples-on-the-way (that is all disciples) to be active in exercising their spiritual gifts for the benefit of the body of Christ?

If the only people active in our churches are a few seminary trained men… then I think we’re missing the key to discipleship… and we’re starving our churches of some of the gifts that have been given to it.

What if the couple on the second row has an apostolic bent and is most aware of their “sent-ness”... but never gets to challenge the body to go out? What if the guy sitting on the back right has a prophetic gifting to challenge people to return to truth… but he’s stuck in the nursery every week? What if that lady in the 10th row and those few guys two rows back are gifted shepherds? Or that older lady who sits in the back and those college students are gifted teachers?

If only trained clergy is doing church…we’re in trouble. And discipleship will be choked out by gout… through excessive consumption and extreme inactivity. Literally, consumed to death. And in the end… the cause of Christ becomes the biggest loser.