Consumer-based church | Rapp Report Daily 0168 | Striving for Eternity

Welcome to The Rapid Bull, daily edition, where we provide a quick biblical interpretations and applications. This is a ministry of striving for eternity.

The Church as a Place of Service, Not Consumption

As we continue to look at some of the ways that the Western culture has been influencing the church, we can see this even in the reason some people pick to go to which church. In the first century people didn't have a choice of going to the Baptist Church down the street or the Baptist Church up another block or the Lutheran Church or Presbyterian Church.

Now in the first century you went to the Church of Ephesus or the Church of Corinth because there was only one church in the town. Now what we end up seeing as Western culture has changed and influenced the church, people come to church for what they can get out of it and not what they can give to it.

Spiritual Gifts Are Given to Serve the Body

When you look at 1st Corinthians chapter 12, you see that God gives us spiritual gifts for the explicit purpose of serving the church, not to try to get from the church. In other words, we should be going to church to serve others, not going to say, well, they got a really good youth program, they got a great children's program, they have a WANA, they have this that program, whatever program, or that it fits into your schedule the best.

Rejecting a Consumer Mindset in Church Attendance

The reality is people are going to church looking with a consumer mindset, which is not a biblical mindset. No, we should be going to church, maybe not even if we agree with everything they teach, but we go to church for the simple fact that we are commanded by God to assemble together and serve the body of Christ with the gifts that he has given us.

This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org.