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August 8, 2008
Corporate or Christian
This thought has settled in my brain of late. In a visit to a church last year, by the end of the service, all I could think was, "McChurch". There wasn't anything particularly problematic with the teaching that day. I just had the sense that I was being presented with something that resembled a menu, and much like a fast food menu HILIGHTS the selections, presenting their positive qualities, I somehow sensed that sort of presentation. Moreover, the drive-thru quality of the experience existed. It wasn't an atmosphere that warmly invited one to stay and bond and grow in relationship. More like that fastfood experience, get it done and move on, but please, come again.
In many a message, I've heard reference to "corporate worship", and I've started to wonder if that "corporate" has become more "corporation" some places. The business mindset that involves managing well the affairs of the institution seems to take priority over developing meaningful relationships that impact lives. I wouldn't broadbrush and say that this is across the board taking place. But I've run into it more than a few times. When the corporation comes to church, does management become a top priority? Putting on a good public image? Attracting masses and moving them through effectively and efficiently? Then on to the next service, the next study, the next event?
The result in the realm of fast food is easy to see. DH loves to joke with cashiers and window workers at drive-thru restaurants. It may be a silly question, such as, "Do you accept pesos?" The reactions of the workers are so often, blank stare. The mode they are in is very impersonal, just moving customers quickly through a line according to company guidelines. Very rarely, for example, is there any apology offered when a large order leads to the customer being directed to a parking space to wait while other customers are served...often times, the direction is communicated as an order or command, impolitely. And the customer is expected to quietly comply, not disrupt the operation, tolerating the impersonal attention. Still, most will eventually return, if not to that store, still to another in the chain. Our tastes groomed to want and crave what is offered on the menu, we look for another source for the same.
Hearing statistics referenced regarding much church growth taking place due to "church hopping", I wonder if it isn't the same phenomena: look for another place to supply the same menu items you've been conditioned to crave. When the inconsiderate is met with apathy and disdain, one is often left to find another locale to meet the need. A wandering in search of something equivalent in taste and appeal. I've seen many friends wander for years, trying to find something equivalent to a former church, and experienced the same. Conditioned to believe that church must contain certain elements, yet the same (corporate?) mentality causes the impersonal and business like to surface...moreso in some than in others. Another menu, another list of good works and study opportunities and events and activities. Another drive-thru moment. Is the commitment of the "institution" one to satisfying the craving of the "customer" or to satisfying its own craving for success? Mutual satisfaction does not necessarily imply good spiritual health. Perhaps good corporate health. But the spiritual environment is somehow dry and empty. That Big Mac goes down quick, yet oftentimes, it leaves a heavy yucky feeling, moreso if it was part of a super-sized meal.
On the other hand, what happens when Jesus invades the corporation? When the mind of Christ through the lives of believers is allowed to act and impact the cold business world? I don't mean the printing of scriptures of the bottoms of cups and cartons. Maybe that touches a customer's life here or there, but it's meaningless when the employee delivering such does so in the most rude manner. What happens when a relationship is more important than a successful business deal? What happens when relationships are tended and groomed so that when conflicts arise with someone involved in a business dealing, the end result doesn't leave a bitterness between the parties, and they can still joke around and chat about the family, talk about deeper issues if time permits, make time for those deeper issues and real needs and troubles? What happens when a kindness is bestowed upon a business partner who one has previously had to dealy with firmly? What happens when relationship is a priority to the worker delivering the shake and fries to the driver through? Repeat business based on a craving for kindness and compassion?
In the shopping world, I balance my business based on budget oftentimes. I shop the sales and attempt to get the most bang for my buck, and with a family of 10 to feed, that is a challenge of great magnitude...at least in my center of being. The most cost efficient place, however, is often the most cold when it comes to worker morale and interaction. The less cost effective (on the surface) drugstore, however, has a pleasant environment and workers who will walk with you to find that elusive item. A manager who will substitute without even being asked when sales items are out. A friendly greeting when they recognize you are out shopping kid-free for a change. A sincere apology when you return a scooter two hours after the purchase because it fell apart. An effort to recognize and acknowledge the consumer on a personal level.
While these examples are not necessarily Christian people in action, the relational Christ is more exemplified in the relational approach than in the businesslike. The business that defined the outer courts of the temple angered Him so much, that tables were flying! The people He viewed as sheep without a shepherd...upon them, He had compassion. He spent time with and among them. Not ordering about and moving them along, but nurturing, knowing, instructing, touching. The account of Mary and Martha testifies to what is more noble. Perhaps an institution here or there could stand to reconsider. Perhaps a church here or there could stand to reexamine. Perhaps? |
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