Reformed worship is not for everyone. I’ll admit that, but it is based on deep theological convictions and it has been thoughtfully developed over the past five hundred years. So please don’t come to our church and complain that we don’t offer Whoppers or Big Macs. 

Many articles have been written that lament the negative influence “consumerism” has had on the church. Its negative affects are usually considered from two different vantage points: (1) individuals with a consumer spirit and (2) the churches who cater to them.

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction

Individuals who choose a church because it seems to meet their “felt needs” are exercising poor spiritual discernment and will probably never be fully satisfied. Churches do not exist to meet personal needs and when they fail to do so, people eventually leave and go looking for another. The next church may satisfy them for a season, but in the end, the cycle typically continues. Plenty of articles have been written about the church-hopping consumer.

If You Build It, He Will Come

This is the flip-side of the consumerist coin. Many ministries seek to attract to those who are persistently “between churches” by appealing to their felt-needs. They are happy to accommodate the never-satisfied consumer in order to secure his patronage (at least for a season). Everything from the architecture, to the coffee bar, to the praise band, to the Pastor’s pre-ripped jeans are intentionally packaged into an experience that will have maximum consumer appeal. Plenty of articles have also written about these “seeker friendly” churches.

Brand Loyalty Explored

Essential to understanding consumer economics, and also going a step further than the evaluation of fleeting felt-needs, is the concept of “brand loyalty” which secures repeat purchases due to personal commitment to a product. Once such “loyalty” is secured, even pricing becomes irrelevant. The “brand” has become part of the person’s identity.

When I was a child, for example, we were a Coca-cola family. My cousin’s family preferred Pepsi. I never understood how he could drink such swill. Similarly, my parents preferred McDonald’s and his, Burger King. Thankfully, such differences never rose to the level of a family feud, but the differences were very real and deeply settled.

I will leave it to the psychologists and sociologists to explain the causes for such personal and familial proclivities. The scope of this article is limited to how such allegiances over-flow into the ecclesiastical realm and how that can actually be helpful when it comes to understanding how people choose churches.

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