The Bible speaks not of a marketplace but of a kingdom. We seem to have assumed and be practising a false paradigm. Is it true that the day of the ordinary local church is coming to an end? Or is the problem that the majority of Christians are running with an idea which is from the world not the Word of God?

The marketplace mentality is working against ordinary congregations.

A man walked into an auction and there he saw something he had always wanted. It was a parrot. He decided to bid for it. The price escalated. He would make a bid and then someone else in the room would top him. Eventually he secured the bird for £100. Then suddenly he realised he had not found out the most important thing. ‘Does the parrot talk?’ he asked the auctioneer. The man replied, ‘Who do you think has been bidding against you all this time?’

That silly story reminds us that a most widely held and influential picture of the modern world is that of a marketplace. Our contemporaries tend to see the world generally in terms of commerce. The whole of consumer society is predicated upon marketplace ideas. Shops have their sales. The internet has its offers. The workplace thinks in terms of a ‘jobs market’. The name of the game is competition in the context of personal choice.

The Marketplace of Churches

The truth is that there is now a marketplace of churches. This marketplace stretches across denominations and church ‘brands’. People are quite willing to switch and travel long distances. Churches are in competition for members.

Market forces are in play and that being the case, sadly, it seems that a number of those forces are working towards the destruction of local churches—churches where people live in fairly close proximity, where the congregation is intentionally aiming at being a family, and where every member has a responsible part to play in the life of the church. Such churches are finding things increasingly difficult to attract members. Many are fragile and dwindling. Thankfully that is not the case everywhere. But it is happening.

As I have contact with pastors around the country, repeatedly I hear the story of visitors who look at a church but don’t return, or of those who decide to come fairly regularly but hang loose and won’t get too involved. It would be wrong and foolish to dismiss churches where this happens as ‘bad churches’. In NT terms, many of them are in good spiritual health in terms of faith and love. But it seems that is not good enough. ‘I can’t find people who will take up responsibilities.’ ‘We need workers. At present we can’t really do any outreach.’ Those are just two recent cries from good gospel men.

So, what is going on? The answer is that the market and the market mindset is against them. The cards which make for the choices of Christian people are stacked against the ordinary local church.

The Christian Consumer

Think about the wider UK landscape. We live in an affluent society where there are many options for people. We can buy an amazing variety of goods and services from houses to hotdogs, from haircuts to holidays and more. The heart of consumer culture, which distinguishes it from say a communist society, is personal choice. With almost boundless scope, we can have precisely what we want (so long as we can pay). The dominant thought in people’s minds is, ‘where can I get the best deal for myself?’ Unconsciously that same mindset of personal choice has infiltrated the picking and choosing of many Christians regarding churches.

When it comes to preferences, what influences the choices of today’s people? Years ago, Francis Schaeffer explained that the direction of the secular consumer society is towards personal peace and prosperity. The whole of our technology is geared towards making things easier for us. The line of least resistance beckons powerfully to our contemporaries.

Does this same attitude express itself when it comes down to choice of church? Many of the population, including Christians, are under a great deal of pressure at work. They are likely to have a large mortgage to pay and a family to feed. They have to put in long hours during the week. So, when it comes to the weekend and to church what are they looking for? They are looking for an easy option. They are looking not so much to be challenged as to be uplifted and looked after.

I know I’m simplifying here, but that often boils down to four things. They are looking for: 1. A fun Sunday School which will mean that they won’t have to fight their kids to get them to church; 2. A gifted music group which gives splendid and uplifting performances; 3. A preacher who expounds a passage of Scripture in a lively and entertaining way, reassuring them of the love of God and not expecting too much by way of sacrifice; 4. A congregation with people similar to themselves where they can find a comfortable friendship group. This quartet meets their needs.

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