5 Reasons We Are Outsourcing Our Faith
Monday, February 15, 2010 at 04:43PM 5 Reasons We Are Outsourcing Our Faith
We are living in the age of outsourcing. We pay someone to change our oil, cook our food, care for our yard, clean our clothes and anything else we don’t want to do. And of course we’ve all read the news reports of companies outsourcing business needs to countries around the world.
It’s been years since I got under my car to change the oil.
My family eats out 20-25 of our 90 meals each month.
A company comes by my house monthly to put fertilizer and weed killer on my yard.
IS IT POSSIBLE WE ARE OUTSOURCING OUR FAITH?
We live in an extremely consumer-driven culture that tells us that the customer is number one. The customer is always right. I can have it my way. I deserve the best. This consumerism has crept into the church and turned church members into customers. The church exists to serve me and my family.
To meet my needs. To “feed” me spiritually. To provide relationships. To … entertain me (gulp).
How many people put their money into an offering plate with the thought that “I have done my part, now it’s up to the church staff (professional Christians) to take care of the rest.” I “pay” them to tell me what the Bible means, to organize programs for my kids, to run evangelism and outreach projects to reach non-believers … to ______________ fill in the blank with whatever product or service we think the church should provide.
Here are five reasons a business outsources and how we might be doing the same with our faith …
1. Cost Savings
It’s costs me time and energy to study the Bible, serve others and be a disciple. If the pastor will do the heavy lifting, then I can save some of this time and energy for other things I enjoy doing.
2. Focus on Core Business
The pastor’s core thing is ministry. Mine is work and caring for my family. It will work best if we both stick to our core business.
3. Improve Quality
I am not really qualified to do ministry. I haven’t been to seminary or Bible college and my knowledge of the Bible isn’t great. I should leave real ministry to the professionals.
4. Risk Management
Ministry is messy. To really get engaged in ministry could lead to rejection, heartache and additional work to my already busy life. I’d rather not risk it.
5. Tax Benefit
The most measurable way for me to minister is to give money. It’s trackable and the more I give, the more I can claim as a deductible to the IRS.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
I feel for church leaders across the country. Culturally, much of our population is caught up in consumerism … so the tidal wave we’re fighting is huge.
Adding to that, I believe the predominant culture among churches over the past 20 years has driven towards church growth as the most prized statistic. As churches get bigger, programs get bigger and more staff is required. Once you have a person on staff, it’s good stewardship to make sure that they are productive. So more and more responsibility is laid on their shoulders. Before long, the church leader feels the pressure to “do it all” which essentially robs church members of their responsibility and opportunity to minister. Tragically, church programs can become more about feeding overfed people rather than equipping and launching people back into the world prepared to represent Christ in all we do.
So it’s a bit of the chicken and egg scenario. Did the church members drive church leaders to be more consumer focused? Or did church leaders create an environment where church members would feel comfortable outsourcing their faith to the professional Christians? Ultimately the source of the problem doesn’t matter. The question is how to turn things around?
HOW DO YOU AND I TURN THINGS AROUND?
There are no easy or quick solutions, but here are a few things I am encouraged by:
1. The recent economic plight of our country is helping people to evaluate their “consumer-driven” lifestyle. I believe God can use those circumstances to wake people up. We are reminded that our faith is about giving and serving … not taking and consuming.
2. There seems to be a lot of discussion among church leaders about the effectiveness of their programs. It’s encouraging hear so many leaders who are willing to look at sacred cow-type programs and ask hard questions. How many of our programs are effectively equipping people to live out their faith in the natural flow of life? How are we encouraging people to be salt and light at work, at school, in the PTA meeting, in the Board room? Shouldn’t we try to measure our programs by the impact we have beyond the walls of the church?
3. I think the “celebrity” voices in the church are really leading the charge towards a more outward-focused future. Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Erwin McManus, Ed Stetzer, Andy Stanley, Mark Batterson, Rick and Kay Warren and many other Christian leaders are preaching and teaching a very Biblical and mission-centric message. By the way, I hate even using the word “celebrity” but unfortunately — part of our consumer culture says that it takes a “celebrity” to sell me a car, pair of shoes or even bring attention to a Biblical message.
I am hopeful. Like so many things … leadership is the key. We can help people trade in the pursuit of the American Dream (where the focus is on me) for a world that desperately needs Christ (where the focus is on Christ and others).
YOUR THOUGHTS …
- Why do you think people are outsourcing their faith?
- What is holding people back from feeling confident enough to minister beyond the walls of the church?
- What gives you hope that this ship could be turning?
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Danny