Consumerism, Oikos, and the Role of Women in the Church
Part One, New Article at Theopolis, Click the link to read
We do not understand the role of women in ministry because we do not understand the role of men in ministry. We do not understand the role of men in ministry because we do not understand the church. We do not understand the church because the consumer culture has eviscerated the familial category necessary to understand it.
Click to read the article, Consumerism, Oikos, and the Role of Women in the Church (< click) at Theopolis.
In consumerism, as the business axiom pithily puts it, “The customer is king.”
The term consumerism would pin the tag where it actually belongs – on Mr. Consumer, the real boss and beneficiary of the American system. — John S. Bugas, 1955
Our problem is that the values of consumerism, unless subservient to higher ideals, do not confine themselves to the market. Capitalism maybe a great way of making a living. It’s a horrible way to make a life. For more on consumerism, click the link (in green) above.
To the consumer the church is approached as a service provider, like the restaurant and the theater.
To the person shaped by consumerism — which is nearly everyone in our modern society — the church is intuitively approached as a service provider, like the restaurant and the theater. The consumer can’t imagine how the ministry could be determined in any other way other than what serves his immediate desires. “If the woman can preach better, then let her preach,” is the conclusion of the consumer.
To see how consumerism has shaped your view of the church, click on the Theopolis article above.
John B. Carpenter, Ph.D., is pastor of Covenant Reformed Baptist Church, in Danville, VA. and the author of Seven Pillars of a Biblical Church (Wipf and Stock, 2022) and the Covenant Caswell substack.