“On the opposite end of the spectrum, the 10 least religious countries studied include several with the world’s highest living standards, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hong Kong, and Japan. (Several other countries on this list are former Soviet republics, places where the state suppressed religious expression for decades.)”
Which just demonstrates the scale of the task ahead of us as well as the size of the opportunity!
This is an invitation to take part in the 2012 Lent Consumer Detox.
The Detox is attached and available here. It includes:
Would you be willing to help others know about this?
If yes, please forward this email to any churches near you, or to any small group leaders you know. Help us spread the word about the Detox, and join us on the journey this Lent if you can.
“Consumer Detox tackles one of the most important challenges facing Christian discipleship in the west today. If the church took this agenda seriously, it could make a big difference.”
Dr Graham Tomlin, Dean of St Mellitus College, author of The Provocative Church
We hope you can join in. It’s the journey through the wilderness that makes freedom possible. Or, if you like, ‘less stuff more life’.
If you hadn’t noticed it’s nearly Christmas, that time of year where we go slightly loco with money and stuff, and it’s a unique event. Rampant consumerism and the celebration of the birth of Christ in a stable, and it was combining those two things that led to this very clever advert. Of course in the race to condemn all this excess we may kill all the fun or so thinks Sarah Dunn. This chart shows Christmas spending by country.
Unsurprisingly, in America despite not having the most money they will spend nearly the most on gifts. This is because, as Eugene Peterson says in this short video, the most materialistic we have ever known and shows how to handle wealth! (Ht: Mark Meynell)
It was following a drive through America that Tim Challies began to seriously think about the issue of money. He found this prayer on stuff and contentment and then ways to think wrongly about money. He then asks the questions do I have to give? And if so how much do I give?
This all goes to show that we live in a consumer age and it’s a pressure not evenly felt. By that I mean, as this post says, ‘UK parents seem to find themselves under tremendous pressure to purchase a surfeit of material goods for their children. This compulsive consumption was almost completely absent in both Spain and Sweden.’ A thesis that our personal experience can anecdotally support.
The best antidote is to be generous and to cultivate gratitude and that takes some thought. It’s worth thinking about.
It’s why we at Breathe made this little video. Why not watch it, or better yet watch it with some friends and think through your response. For more resources on the video check out Conspiracy of Freedom.
Q: You argue at great length about the negative impact of consumerism on the Church. How has it influenced us?
A: In economies that depend upon people buying things, there is a need on the one hand to instill the notion that, in some sense, the meaning of life is to be found in the acquisition of goods, or, perhaps to be more precise, the process by which one acquires goods; on the other hand, there is a need to constantly recreate markets or find new ones. The impact of this is huge and I cannot give an exhaustive account here, but the following would be examples, in no particular order.
In society in general:
First, it fuels the the infantilisation of society. Youth is a huge market, and the selling of goods to such a market not only appears to have fostered a view among young people that they are of central importance and much wiser than their elders, it has also created a situation where the desire to be young and trendy percolates through all age brackets. That flies in the face of biblical teaching, where a premium is generally placed on age and experience.
Second, it encourages huge levels of personal debt. Economists know that a certain level of debt is good: it oils the wheels of the economy, fuels creativity, helps with social mobility, etc. But unsecured debt linked simply to purchasing can very quickly grow to a level where it is actually hindering all of those things. When the values of the culture link status to possessions, and when credit is easy to obtain, the recipe for bad debt is clear; and that, of course, is a large part of the economic problem, both macro and micro, with which we are facing today.
Third, and more subtly, it produces notions of truth and ethics that are as malleable as the market place. By placing individual purchasing power at the heart of the system, public morals are made dangerously vulnerable to all manner of transformation. The right of private choice, the centrality of consent, and the need to avoid hindering the economy are all related to consumerism. We see this in the arguments in California about how anti-gay marriage legislation is bad because it impacts the economy by discouraging gay tourism; similar arguments can be, and have been, made about abortion. If it makes my life better and does not hurt anybody else, how can it be wrong (see the current debate about the Columbia professor who had an incestuous relationship with his adult daughter)? And if it helps the economy as well, surely it must be right?
In the church all this is evident in a number of phenomena: the obsession with youth culture; a model of ministry that judges success in terms of numbers, not faithfulness; a culture which disregards the past; a dislike of anything approaching discipline, as the church is there for my needs, to scratch where I am itching. When church is just one more product to buy or leave on the shelf, then marketing, not theology, become the driving forces in her life.
“There is a danger that in pushing radical sacrifice you leave everyone behind, and those that come with you end up exhausted…”
Then today I read an article by Skye Jethani where he says,
‘“How radical do I have to be?” the suburban mom asked. She had recently read a number of Christian books decrying the self-centered nature of much of the American church. The authors had apparently had enough of the consumer orientation of their congregations. As a remedy, each of the books calls readers to live a counter-cultural life of radical sacrifice and mission. The books, while inspiring, left this woman feeling “exhausted.”’
Jethani then goes on to make some excellent observations that we avoid turning consumer Christians into activist Christians.
“We pastors have a tendency to over-correct the error of consumer faith and instead make evangelism or justice the center of our life rather than Christ. We essentially exchanging one error for another, albeit a more admirable one. As Tim Keller says, idols are “good things turned into ultimate things.” When presented this way missional activism can lead to the kind of exhaustion expressed by the suburban mom, and it robs us and our people of the joy Christ intends for his children.”
His conclusion
“Consumer Christianity is a pandemic in the American church, on that I agree. But a prescription of radical activism is not the remedy. It robs people of their joy, burdens them with guilt, and fails to draw people into a passionate communion with Christ.”
Hear, hear.
So in this recent Elephant Room discussion MacDonald and Platt argue about the nature of radical sacrifice. I’m basing all this off some notes made (with appropriate caution added)and the helpful reflection by Trevin Wax. So there’s a chance that a third person could be wrong about all this and that would be me.
“Another key theme to the book is the danger of (especially the Christian Right) buying into the idea that Capitalism is the most theologically appropriate system. I don’t know many, if any, in the UK who have bought into this line – but it is clearly a big deal in the USA. And while he is pretty sure that there is no real viable alternative in a globalised world (some will no doubt dispute that – I’m not really in a position to argue either way), his case for a more nuanced and discerning approach is undeniably strong. Capitalism simply does not lead inevitably to the characteristics commonly identified as Christian virtue. This is because it presents many underlying challenges to virtue – here is my potted summary of his list (in pp71-77):
- Economic prosperity can never necessarily be identified with divine blessing.
- Capitalism requires a lack of contentment and degree of disaffection with the world in order to make it work. It also breeds a form of idolatry: “ascribing of divine power to things that in themselves do not possess such power, and, we might add, that can be done to systems such as capitalism just as easily as possessions such as golf clubs” (p74). Personal selfishness and acquisitiveness actually then morphs into a social virtue because you are upholding society and the system through your wallet (or credit).
- What we could call financial Pelagianism: “the problem is not simply the gospel of salvation by consumption that they preach; it is also the idea that I am in control of my own destiny, that I hold the answer to my problems, that this lies in the creaturely realm… It is a form of Pelagianism, built on the idea that I am my own god who can work the miracle of my own happiness by what I do with my cash” (p74)
- The fixation on rights of all kinds that a consumer mentality breeds (and this can be found on both Left (eg abortion rights) and Right (eg gun owners’ rights)) – and this is something that we see manifesting in church as well as society.
- The market inevitably determines values and virtues: “Where consumer is king, ultimately taste and profit margins will triumph” (p75)
In summary of this point, then, Trueman states:
Christians must realize that capitalism has brought great goods in its wake; but it is not an unmixed blessing, and some of the things about which Christians become most hot under the collar, from the reshaping of the family to the ease of access to abortion, are not unconnected to the system that they often admire with so little critical reflection. (p77)
Well said… It seems so obvious – but so rarely articulated – perhaps because we have too many vested interests…”
It’s helpful to appreciate the benefits that capitalism has brought but unlike say Wayne Grudem in this book I think it’s necessary to realise it is not all good and that we have consumerism because (at least in part) we have capitalism.
“Why the obsession with the commercials? Yes, some of them are funny; but is it not sad that it appears that the cleverest minds, and so much money, are focused on such things? And that the population spend so much time talking about them? Do these people have no lives? No homes and families to go to? We worry (or at least some of us still do) about explicit violence and pornography on television — but what about the pornography of acquisition, the million brain-changing signals from the flat screen in the corner that tell us that we are what we buy, and that happiness is just one or two purchases away?”
See? Nailed.
For the sake of full disclosure I should come clean that the author of this book is a friend of mine and we’re involved in Breathe together so it’s a privilege to review his first book and it’s a project I’ve been involved in from it’s earliest drafts.
In a recent article on ‘The Tyranny of Choice’ the author of The Economist article devotes a paragraph to the ‘voluntary simplicity’ movement which must surely include Breathe of which Mark was one of the founders. The Economist says this movement ‘promises to help people shed the distractions and stresses of the consumerist world and journey towards their inner wholeness’ which is exactly what Mark attempts in Consumer Detox.
However The Economist says the wisdom of this movement amounts to, ‘advice to shopping less often, keeping less stuff, watching less TV and sending fewer e-mails.’ So is that it? Is that the best that we have to offer?
Thankfully, the answer is no. The Christian response is completely different,
“Simplicity isn’t about getting by on ‘what you need’ instead of having ‘what you want’ (such a hard distinction to make anyway), simplicity is about wanting something else. We’re not being asked to limit our desire; we’re being asked to tether our desire to the wild vision of God….In other words, simplicity isn’t about having a smaller life, it’s about having a bigger vision.” (p224 – original emphasis)
And that’s the heart of this book, detoxing our souls from the effects of consumerism in order that we catch and live for this bigger vision. The book is in three parts: first coming to terms with what consumerism is and how it works; second identifying some pathways to a resistance and hope and thirdly adventures in a new way of living.
This is down to earth, real life and funny but with plenty of sharp thinking and enough theological depth to satisfy at a number of levels. Mark does an expert job of both calling out consumerism for the shallowness of its offer but also in pointing us towards something deeper and richer. It’s also practical as at the end of the book it offers a ‘consumer detox diary’ with some suggestions of steps to take, talk about and take further.
Even though I’d read the manuscript several times already I still found reading it again helpful (surely a good sign about a book’s usefulness and worth) especially about resting and stopping. In short this is now the book that I would recommend and give to anyone beginning the journey to a deeper discipleship in our materialistic and consumer driven society. Ironically given the subject matter this is a must buy.
The Gospel is not a product
The challenge for the church, as always, remains to demonstrate through its life how the kingdom of heaven gives something far greater than anything the world can offer. Martin Robinson in his book, Planting Mission-shaped Churches Today says, “Christianity packaged as a consumer message can’t compete. There will always be a more seductive package awaiting the consumer than a faith that makes some demands on the consumer’s time, concentration and allegiance.”
Instead the church (especially in the West) needs to rediscover the antidote to consumerism – generous giving, joyful sharing and simple living as an essential part of our discipleship. Every time we give away to care for the poor or to plant churches we win a victory. We win when we choose to share what we have with others and when we sacrifice our comfort for the joy of bringing love to the broken, safety to the vulnerable and delight to the downcast.
By choosing to live more simply we can also live more generously, releasing time, energy and financial resources into the kingdom of God. By cultivating generosity instead of consuming church we cultivate Christ-likeness (2 Corinthians 8:7-9).
A church that becomes a consumer product, full of consumers will inevitably slow down in its nation-reaching, church-planting, leadership-raising, money-giving and poor-embracing mission because we will only give what time, money and energy we can spare after our comfort has been maintained.
The church of Christ needs disciples whose identity is in Christ and not in the logos they wear, whose treasures are in heaven and whose home is wherever God calls them. The church of Christ needs people who value eternal security more than financial security and spiritual gifts more than Christmas gifts who have discovered that it is truly more blessed to give than it is to receive (Acts 20:35) and so take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Tim 6:16).
The promise of life
What does it mean to be truly alive? If you spend any time watching TV you may well conclude that being truly alive involves being on holiday. This is slightly unfortunate because that means most people in the UK only have four or five weeks a year when they can be truly alive.
We seem to live for the annual vacation but within a day or so of returning from vacation we rapidly discover that what we really need is another one. There must surely be a problem if we merely exist for 48 weeks of the year and only spring into life when we go on holiday! I have to wonder if when Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10) this is really what He had in mind?
It’s not just in travel that we see this mix of longing and discontent because every industry uses the same techniques from TVs to cars, mobile phones to beauty products the pattern is repeated; create dissatisfaction, add in some longing and present the solution – our new product! These companies aren’t simply trying to sell you their products but a certain kind of life, a cool, happy, fulfilled life. Fulfilled at least until the next thing comes along.
The end result however is not fulfilment but discontentment (otherwise we wouldn’t want anything new right?) and that is the opposite to the life of a follower of Christ. In Philippians 4:12, Paul talks of having discovered the secret of both plenty and abundance as well as hunger and need, the secret to living life to the full, the key to contentment. What is this secret? In Luke 18 Jesus reverses the wisdom of the world and says the key to a full life is finding something greater. If you find something worth giving up homes and families for, something worth selling possessions for then you have found something worth living for, that by giving up you gain, by losing your life you will find it. Life in this age and in the age to come eternal, resurrected life. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is that greater thing, the rule and reign of God changing this world. This is the pearl of great price that is worth giving up everything for.
The promise of a new you
What do you do if you’ve made a mistake and need a fresh start? Where would you turn and who would you go to? How about Gok Wan? If you don’t know who he is, Gok Wan has made a TV career in Britain out of hosting a makeover show. During every episode the same story is played out with different women. At the beginning in come the tired, the ugly and unhappy and by the end they leave renewed, beautiful and fulfilled. It’s the incredible power of the fashion makeover. It is a moving journey with all the classic elements of a good testimony, what my sad life was like before, the discovery of something new and what my life has now become. There are inevitably tears, pain, struggle and sacrifice along the way but in the end these women are reborn.
You can move to a new place and start over or you can get a new look and rediscover your dignity, self-worth and value. In order to distinguish between the mostly indistinguishable, companies try and associate their products with values that they hope their customers will see as desirable. Those values are often expressed in spiritual language, so for example, if you use the right hygiene products you don’t just wash but instead enjoy ‘deep cleansing’ and emerge ‘pure’ and ‘spotless’ and ‘clean.’
The problem with this offer is that it is a message of law. If I choose this path then a whole new set of rules emerge because I must buy the right products, wear the right colours, have acceptable clothes to the people I want to be accepted by and I must spend more time at the gym. I must because my identity depends on it. I must make new sacrifices every year and the older I get the greater the sacrifices! In the end in my search for happiness and acceptance, I have become a slave to self worth through consumption.
The Gospel however is not one of self improvement but of God’s gift of grace. His offer of a fresh start through Jesus Christ rests on His work of re-creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2Cor 5:17-18). When God makes us clean we are clean, when God acts we are made new, beautiful, spotless, clean and freed to enjoy Him, it is the glorious liberation of grace.
“In 2008 Charles Tate was being interviewed by a national newspaper and he was clearly very excited. He was a witness to an event he thought was historic, in describing the occasion he said, “Now I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren that I was here on the first day…” So what was this historic event that deserved passing on to future generations? It was the opening of the Westfield Shopping Centre in London. As I read it I double-checked for irony but couldn’t find any.
Now Westfield is an impressive shopping centre with 4000 parking spaces, 285 shops, 49 cafes and restaurants plus a 14 screen cinema spread over 43 acres in London; but at the end of the day it is still just a shopping centre.
What we hope to pass on to our children says much about our values and our worldview; the values expressed by Mr Tate were the values of the consumer. No heroic war stories, no stories of exploration or great achievement instead he will pass on his thrill at the opening of some shops. If this was an isolated incident then you might be justified in shrugging it off as exaggeration but the truth is that consumer values (or consumerism) shape much of how western society functions.
Consumerism goes further than simple materialistic delight in gadgets and expensive toys; it shapes our thinking, our dreams and our sense of identity. It’s easy to think this is just the sort of dead end that non-Christians fall into but be careful because the values of consumerism surround us everyday, it is the cultural air that we breathe and it poses a huge challenge to the church. Author Skye Jethani writes, “Many Christians believe the greatest threat to the church today is post-modernity. Others zero in on relativism. Some believe the enemy is secular humanism. Others think it’s Islam. I disagree with all of these. In my view, the greatest challenge facing the contemporary church is consumerism.”
The challenge comes because consumerism is more than credit card debt and social inequality, it’s a false religion. It seeks to give people what they have always wanted – beauty, life, happiness, purity, contentment and belonging but always at a price. Thankfully the gospel makes a counter-offer, meeting the same needs much more abundantly and by gift of grace alone. Here are just two of the many ways consumerism shapes lives and how the Gospel makes a better offer.
But even if it is legitimate to not apply Jesus’ instruction in Mt 19:21 it’s quite a bit harder to avoid Luke 12:33 where Jesus repeats the instruction (not suggestion or advice) but this time to his disciples, the ones who will inherit the kingdom (Lk 12:32).
And yet, at least for me, it remains an incredibly difficult thing to do. Yet because this is genuinely difficult I think that reveals something to me about my heart so perhaps I need to do it. In the next 6 months or so we’ll move countries and it’s a perfect opportunity to put this into practice. But it’s hard. Right now it’s a position of compromise. There’s plenty of stuff we’ll simply give away to anyone who’ll take it. So it might not go to the poor or needy. Some stuff we’ll give to charity who will sell it and give the money to the poor (close enough). Today they received around 100 books (barely made a dent in the shelves) from us as a start.
But then there are things like the car, the motorbike which we’ll sell and then keep the cash. We will after all by going to Sweden become poor or at least poorer (ie with no source of income and dependant on others generosity) so that feels like good stewardship. Or is it living by sight? I can easily give away those things of little value but something that to me amounts to some serious cash is much much harder. But why should that be the case? Perhaps because I am of little faith, perhaps because I am afraid.
Perhaps the point, though, is not necessarily what answer I come up with (after I genuinely do believe in God’s grace and freedom in this) but that I actually wrestle with the question. Am I being obedient to Jesus’ in this instruction, am I trusting and living by faith here? After all a disciple is one who obeys all he commanded (Mt 28: 20).
Of course if this becomes a law which we must follow to become righteous then we’re in trouble. My only chance is to sell and keep on selling, I find my righteousness in my lack of things but 1 Cor 13:3 warns me against such folly. Instead Jesus (and Paul) say something very different. If we have love and I’d argue that means we have received God’s love (1 Jn 4:10) then we need not fear, for God has already given. We give because He has already given. We don’t give to get, we give because we have. Although what we have requires faith, because we have a promise. A promise that giving away now means eternal reward. Giving becomes an opportunity to put my treasure and my heart in a beautiful place – in the kingdom of Jesus.
“Microsoft is acknowledging in their advertising that we depend upon our phones and that these phones call us to depend upon them. The slave has become the master; we’ve become tools of our tools.”
and
“On the one hand we have become dependent upon our mobile phones. After all, they bring us great benefits. We are not ready to give them up. But on the other hand, we must honestly face the truth that these devices are prone to draw us away from the important things in life…including the people who are closest to us.”
Finally,
“The only solution I know of is to be very disciplined in our use of such technology, to be willing to carve times in which the phone is set aside so we can focus on what truly matters most.”
Read the whole thing
Opening with the bruising,
“Millions of Americans live in the shadow of churches that have become consumer Christian centres, but pastors are ruined and the mission of God is cheated when consumers enjoy goods and services from their local church.”
to the equally timid,
“God cannot receive glory in the church when pastors are always up front receiving the credit and doing the things that their consumerist congregants should be doing.”
and finally,
“These are serious issues in our faith communities if we truly believe that God desires to work through His church. We risk more than the implementation of poor practices. The very mission of God is at stake.”
Read the whole thing
I admit I often tend to end up doing more listening to the world than the Word but I’m working on it. Anyway, what does it tell you about the world when you come across something like this.
Swipely is a new social network (like we need another one) or perhaps more accurately something we can add into Facebook. Here’s the gist,
‘Essentially, with the swipe or a card or a simple mention, you can share with your network (or the world) what you just bought with your piece of plastic. After sharing it with the swipe of a card, you can talk about it, rate it, discuss the overall buying experience with anyone.’ - The Social Capitalist
Now maybe this is just me, but I’ve almost never talked about a buying experience – it’s never really been an experience at all. Our level of conversation is reduced to our purchases, the level of our relationships is reduced to where we shopped and what we bought. Not what we read or what we thought but what we bought. Don’t do it.
Firstly, the simple acknowledgement that the US ‘economy rests on consumption’ and its the same here in the UK. If we can agree on that, it just makes discussion of consumerism much easier. I’ve led seminars or workshops and have been asked often enough whether or not we should consume less if that means someone somewhere is going to end up unemployed. The thinking is that because we have a consumer based economy wouldn’t it be nationally irresponsible if all the Christians started buying less.
If we unpack that a little bit, there’s first at least the implicit agreement that Christians are probably spending their money pretty much like everyone else. Secondly, that our first responsibility is towards our national government (it’s not) and thirdly that giving isn’t actually a form of ‘spending’ (it is).
The article then reminds of the addictive nature of shopping, finding a ‘bargain’ triggers all the same nerve centres in the brain as drug addiction of compulsive behaviour. The shops know it just not all the shoppers. The paragraph ends with this telling line, ‘And it’s not even the material good that necessarily brings the joy—it’s often simply the anticipation of the find.’
Which is true, the actual item isn’t always the point of shopping, it’s the anticipation, the hope, the dreams that it fuels and the expectation that a little slice of happiness can be found with a swipe of the visa. Of course this is therapy we’re talking about not grocery shopping. We need therapy when we’re sad, when we’re sad we’re more self-centred and when we’re more self-centred we spend more on ourselves. In a consumer society then it’s in the national interest for us all to be slightly depressed.
Then a professor from the US says that in the run up to Christmas ‘shopping can act as a balm for those suffering from depression, anxiety, and loneliness during the holidays.’ But not a long-lasting balm, just one to get you through to January.
If the church is to be salt and light and is going to influence culture at all we must learn how to be an alternative community in a consumer society and not just a slightly less consumerist one.
Read the Mint post here
“There are glimmers of clarity in the article – for example, the opening paragraphs discuss a couple’s journey of downsizing their income, consumption and debts, in order to get the life and jobs they want. It ends with the wise observation from one partner ‘I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness’.”
And ends with this:
“Perhaps it is asking too much of the business section of a mainstream publication to question the pursuit of wealth and consumption, but it is a shame to see an article start so promisingly and then miss the point so spectacularly.”
Read the whole thing
Here’s what he says at the end of the paragraph on slavery.
“Our culture of consumption, our sheer greed seems to fly in the face of God’s commands that we live free from the captivity of possessions. How will history judge us when they see the homes of North American Christians bursting at the seams with stuff—with clothes and electronics and furniture—manufactured by impoverished brothers and sisters a continent or two away?”
Read the whole thing
This 3 minute video gives the motivation
This one gives you the song
Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
From my unhealthy lust of material things
I built myself a happy home
In my palace on my own
My castle falling in the sand
Pull me out, please grab my hand
I just forgot where I came from
Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
From my unhealthy lust of material things
I rob myself of innocence
With the poison of indifference
I buy my stuff at any cost
A couple of clicks and I pay the price
Coz what I gain is someone else’s loss
Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
From my unhealthy lust of material things
Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
To this kingdom of heaven where you are king
“For the TV channel and its advertisers, really there’s no choice in lifestyle – everyone should be pushing for materialism.”
Which is why as Christians we need to exercise discernment when we watch the box. And why it’s good when Christians all over the world think about things like this
“I was particularly struck by this simple point which came up more than once in the series: every time we give, we take one more step in the process of releasing the grip of materialism”
Have a listen
“Many Christians believe the greatest threat to the church today is postmodernity. Others zero in on relativism. Some believe the enemy is secular humanism. Others think it’s Islam. I disagree with all of these. In my view, the greatest challenge facing the contemporary church is consumerism.”
And
“Without question one of the most potent brands in America today is Apple, and new research has shown that Apple has achieved the same impact on the human brain as religion.”
And
“But if people, including Christians, are constructing their identities and lives around consumer brands like Apple, is the church fighting the wrong battle? And perhaps more disturbing, are we unknowingly contributing to the problem by encouraging Christians to construct and express their identities via Christ-branded merchandise rather than through characters transformed to reflect the values of Christ himself?”
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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