Seth Thompson, Part 3: Consumerism vs. Kingdom
January 31, 2020
What keeps people from getting involved at churches like Fairview Church of the Nazarene? In this episode, Adam and Seth talk about preaching from the lectionary before exploring how a consumerist mentality influences how Christians and pastors view church and even their faith.
As Seth describes it, consumerism asks the question, “What’s in it for me?” When churchgoers have this mindset, they look for places with satisfying and exciting experiences and avoid churches like Fairview where opportunities to serve abound and rubbing elbows with messy people is guaranteed. And when Christians fail to choose a kingdom perspective over a consumerist one, they can make the mistakes of compartmentalizing their faith and putting themselves before others. Pastors aren’t exempt from this mentality: the pressure to focus on numbers and attendance instead of discipleship is something Seth and other leaders have to fight against.
Listen in to this episode to hear more about what a kingdom mindset looks like and learn why Seth preaches from the lectionary.
Jump Through the Conversation
[2:04] How and why Seth preaches from the lectionary
[6:11] Adam on filling up and flowing out
[7:13] Why consumerism keeps volunteers, donors, and exemplary families from flocking to churches like Fairview
[11:45] Judging churches by the wrong criteria
[14:22] Consumerism expressed in how we use our time
[16:20] Consumerist mindset vs a kingdom mindset
[18:24] How to get parents to let their kids mingle with “those” kids
[19:41] How consumerism affects a pastor’s definition of success
[22:10] Qualitatively vs quantitatively measuring success
[25:14] Focusing on making disciples
A resource of the Chattanooga House of Prayer