Real Life, Real Community, Real Discipleship

I've always been suspicious of people trying to "sell" me religion and after studying in seminary, I'm even more annoyed by "marketed Christianity".  Christian faith should be about real life, real community, and real discipleship.  Now all three of these things can and should look a little different in different places at different times in the lives of different people.  I am not a one size fits all kind of guy and I really don't mind too much how different people do different things to form Christ-centered community.  As long as the decisions which are made by those in church leadership are made in good conscience with much prayer and reflection, and as long as the decisions don't obviously contradict the rule of faith found in scripture, I can be at peace with many ways of doing things, even if my whims and wishes aren't always met.  However, when the good news of Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected is compromised by our bowing down to Western consumer driven culture, then I get flat out annoyed.  I expressed this frustration a few years ago in a poem I wrote called Seeker Sensitive.

Seeker Sensitive 

The customer is always right; you don't want to be wrong. 
Make worship an experience, but don't make it too long.
Make me feel something special; make me feel something new...
Just don't bore me with doctrines, whatever else you may do.

I want a church that looks just like a big shopping mall.
I want a variety to choose from, bigger is better than small.
I want a cafe and an ATM machine; make mine a latte, non-fat.
I want a preacher who makes me feel good, can you handle that?

I need my needs met, even if I don't know what I really need.
But if you can meet the needs I feel, you'll succeed.
So give me your best shot, convince me church is for me...
I'll give it a try, but as for commitment, let's just wait and see.

User-friendly faith usually just ends up with a lot of people getting used. - Shay