In his book Marketing the Church, written back in the late eighties, George Barna argued that “the number one principle of Christian communication is that the audience, not the message, is sovereign.” So what has been the result of this philosophy as it has been implemented over the past few decades? If the audience is sovereign, what is to stop churches from “accumulating for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Tim. 4:3). In short, what are the effects of an increasingly-narcissistic culture on contemporary Christian faith and practice? On this episode, Shane Rosenthal continues his conversation with Dean Inserra, author of Getting Over Yourself: Trading Believe-in-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity.
Show Quote:
The biggest area where I see today’s me-centered gospel affecting the way people live is that they never seem to be satisfied. If they are satisfied, they believe this is a problem because they’re regularly told this means they’re “settling for less.” In some cases, I’ve seen this lead to dissatisfaction in marriage, and even divorce. Similarly, many churches with this mindset think they have to have a big budget and lots of notoriety in order to be happy and successful. I am not sure that these people could ever really make it in a small town or attending a small church.
Dean Inserra
Recommended:
Getting Over Yourself
Author: Dean Inserra
Is trying to be “the best you” actually ruining you? From “living your best life” to “self-actualizing,” “finding your destiny,” and “waiting on the best to come,” the contemporary messages of the world exhort us to believe that we are promised and entitled the biggest and best life can possibly offer. But is that actually what Jesus promises? Is that even close to the message of the gospel?
Christless Christianity
Author: Michael Horton
Christians have always had their differences, but never in church history have there been so many statistics indicating that many Christians today are practicing what can only be described as “Christless Christianity.” Christless Christianity guides the reader to a greater understanding of a big problem within the American religious setting, namely the creeping fog of countless sermons in churches across the country that focus on moralistic concerns and personal transformation rather than the theology of the cross. Michael Horton’s analysis of the contemporary church points believers back to the power of a gospel that should never be assumed.
