Dr Paul Allen

The flight attendant made announcements about some special programs when the plane landed. There were banners in the luggage hall. Billboards lined the road. Signs peeked out of the corners of the hotel lobby. Leaflets waited to be noticed on the desk in the room. Brochures were placed in my hand out on the street. Stickers stuck to the rubbish bins. Logos were everywhere. And what about the internet? Of course, all of this is white noise to those of us who live in media-saturated environments, but coming from a culture that is rather minimalist in marketing, I was overwhelmed. How do we discern which invitation to accept? Which to ignore? Whom do we allow to tell us what we need? Do we even make these choices for ourselves anymore? The Deadly Drama of Consumerism Invitations to participate in the drama of consumerism are extended to all of us. Consumerism, the idolatrous pursuit of pleasure through stuff, can be worshiped by both the lavish  and  the simple. Lik...

There are a lot of enemies to community out there, but maybe none greater than the consumer mentality .  Consumerism is a supremely narcissistic worldview in which everything’s value is determined by it’s usefulness to me.  I stand at the center while everything and everyone orbits around me. Sound familiar to you at all?  While the consumer mentality may fuel our economy it doesn’t do anything positive for the community God wants to form in our life. Consumerism in our relationship can look like this: When my husband no longer meets my needs I discard him and get a new relationship. When my friends no longer stroke my ego I discard them and get a new group of friends. When my church doesn’t meet my needs I’ll leave it and find a new church to attend. When my wife isn’t meeting my immediate needs for intimacy I will just engage is disposable intimacy called pornography. When someone get’s in the way of my agenda, I’ll run over them with no regard to their...