What I mean by “fast-food Church” is bumper-sticker phrases, Christianese language, and feel-good theology. Pre-packaged for the ease of the congregation, and I mean that quite literally. Just like fast-food restaurants, we know that it is not healthy for us, but we justify it to fit our busy lives and our more important schedules. To fit society’s standards instead of God’s standards.
The past two Sundays I attended the church I grew up in, just to see if it was the same as what I remembered or see how much it had changed since then, and I was disappointed, no, righteously angry by what it had become and how I have seen the same themes elsewhere.
You want communion? How about this sterilized and prepackaged version? We won’t spend time reviewing the reason for eating this cracker and drinking grape juice. We will just hurriedly give this to you as you enter the church, pray over it, and partake at the very beginning of service so that you can get your once a month communion out of the way.
(I thought they were handing me a disposable container of maple syrup.)
You want to be baptized? Show up just 15 minutes early to service and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the process so you can stand up before the congregation and declare your faith. Are you worried about the water? Don’t worry, it’s warm and comfortable so you are not put in discomfort. But that's not all, you'll also get a free t-shirt with the deal.
There is a lack of significance, a lack of community in the way churches are run now. Churches have become a building to run the business of Christianity, not a gathering place for the Body of Christ to come learn, grow, and fellowship together. Announcements look more like commercials and worship looks more like a performance. People have lost interest in the topic of God, so to draw more people, churches have become more concerned with trendiness and the cutting edge, in selling Christian books and merchandise.
Quantity of church attendees has become more important than the quality of disciples produced. The church gets the job done, but where reverence should be there is flippancy; where deep spiritual implications should be there is superficiality; where genuine compassion and community should be there is disingenuous chatter and plastered smiles. Where is the zeal and passion for furthering the Gospel and the hope of salvation and Christ’s sacrifice in worship of God?
"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord" (Romans 12:11)
"Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14)
"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27)
"I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:1-3)
"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10)
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand" (Psalm 95:1-7)
Service time is filled with anecdotes and quotations instead of Scripture and exegesis (Google definition: “critical explanation or interpretation of a text”). The more “church-y” the words sound and the more they can cram into a 50 minute period, the better. Scripture is not used as the basis of the message; it is used as supportive claims for what the pastor wants to say. The message is presented in quick, simple bullet points on a PowerPoint with easy fill-in-the-blanks handout notes. The lesson is softened to make the congregation feel better about themselves or remind them of all the soothing attributes of God—loving, counseling, comforting, etc.—but what about His jealousy, justice, and wrath, etc? These attributes are all true of Him, they are all inclusive. Where is the admonishing and teaching that we see in the New Testament? Is there conviction?
"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2)
"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them" (Romans 16:17)
"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back" (James 5:19)
"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all" (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16)
None of this is to say that all hope is lost in Christianity and that every church is this way, I am just upset by the ways I see Christ is being sold. I do hope that my sense of justice is disturbed and that I am frustrated beyond the point of knots in my chest, my heart racing, and hands shaking because there is something very wrong with this kind of church, and if I was not deeply bothered by it then I would rightly be concerned for myself as well.
Instead of contextualizing Christ within the current culture for people to better understand, He is being syncretized. This is so that Christianity agrees with the culture and doesn’t conflict with what the world tells us (which is not true; to live like Christ is to be countercultural). Christians are not perfect. The Church is not perfect. But these are not excuses for complacency, conformity, or the lost desire to be like Christ.
