05/24/2026
“Many churches today unintentionally train people to approach Christianity like consumers.
Find the church with the best music.
Best kids ministry.
Best coffee.
Best preacher.
Best atmosphere.
Best experience.
And once the experience no longer satisfies them, they move on to the next option.
But the New Testament never speaks to believers as consumers shopping for religious goods and services.
It speaks to them as citizens of a kingdom.
Servants of a King.
Members of a body.
Living stones in a temple.
Brothers and sisters in a covenant family.
Consumers ask:
“What am I getting?”
Citizens ask:
“What am I building?”
Consumers leave when preferences are not met.
Citizens stay because they belong to something larger than themselves.
The church was never supposed to function like a religious marketplace competing for attention in the economy of preferences.
The church was meant to be an outpost of the kingdom of God in the middle of a fallen world.”
-James Bell
