One of the areas of “Christian Narcissism” is the effort with which churches of America have taken to make their church or “yoke” look appealing.
What do I mean?
The American church today produces a massive amount of “Christian Narcissism” in the form of endless books on the same subject, banners, cd’s, bulletins, Sunday service, Children’s service. All of this “stuff” is made to try and convey one message, “Hey, we got it going on, come check us out.”
They are trying to compete with the constant onslaught of media messages and things clambering for peoples time, especially on Sunday’s. Sometimes it is done under the guise of trying to be relevant, expressive, connecting or even “true to culture”, but it ends up leaving the user empty handed.
There will always be another book, better musician, they will forget the banner you spent so much money on, and they will throw away the bulletin etc…
The one of the problem’s with narcissism is that there is no substance, only flash. No content, just a hook leaving the user searching for the next bigger better thing.
Church in America is at best a sloppy imitation of the world instead of being a Christ imitator. They settle for copying TV shows, movies and pop culture, all in order to make their church seem more appealing.
We need to stop peddling a “Look and Feel” and start focusing on the deeper issue. Jesus said it best with the story of the woman at the well. She was looking for some water to quench her thirst, but Jesus said he offered something far deeper and satisfying than mere water (flash). He cut straight to what she needed, without programs, sexy looking cd covers, He met her need not her want.
People today are smarter than the surface level of, “Please my eyes and the rest will follow.” They want substance, content even if they don’t realize it yet. They want something to chew on, mull over, examine, because it is in that that we find truth.
Take time to seriously evaluate whether your church is contributing to “Christian Narcissism” or are you putting forth something that pulls from a deeper well.
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