Customer Reviews

The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book gives language to the sinking feeling many ministry folks have as we realize how enmeshed our churches have become with consumer culture. Skye Jethani provides the right balance of cultural analysis, clear insight, and gentle direction to show how the American church has often neglected our identity as the people of God for something more culturally relevant. To be clear, this is not a "how-to" manual; neither is it another book about all that is wrong with our churches. Like others of us, Skye has been tempted to walk away from the many frustrations of the local church but found himself unable to do so. His love for and commitment to the local church (Skye is also a pastor) is what allows us to receive the book's difficult truths.

The Divine Commodity is organized into nine chapters, each which observe an aspect of consumerism that has infiltrated the church. Filled with stories, cultural artifacts, and Biblical reflection these observations are easily connected to the reader's own context. Particularly compelling are Skye's reflections on the life and paintings of Vincent van Gogh as a foil to consumer Christianity. In the Dutch artist's life we encounter one whose commitment to Christ (he trained to be a pastor) led him to bitterly critique his experience with Christianity and the church. The addition of eleven of van Gogh's paintings helps us imagine a faith that is completely devoted to the narrow way of Jesus, one that consistently rejects the allure of self-centered faith.

It is the description of an alternative to consumer Christianity that is most commendable. In a chapter about the tendency to place institutions before relationships Skye writes,

"What may be needed is a fundamental rethinking of the church within the minds of the members, cultivating the imagination to conceive of the church as a relational community rather than an institutional organization. Beginning on the smallest end of the scale, this means relearning the lost art of friendship."

Analysis combined with imagination is why I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. My only gripe is that the book could be expanded (the 175 pages were easily read over a weekend). I am convinced that until we acknowledge the power our consumer culture holds over the church (and over me!), we will find our thirst unquenched by a faith diluted with consumer ideals. The Divine Commodity points out the primary issue for the church in our day, one that impacts our very identity and mission. Thankfully the book also prompts us to imagine a more satisfying and transforming alternative.

I did not have the same positive reaction to Divine Commodity that was expressed by other reviewers. On the plus side, the book is full of some excellent anecdotes, interesting Van Gogh analogies, and is thoughtfully written. Jethani also does warn against some attitudes and practices that water down the gospel or are otherwise harmful for churches. Consumerism - which I see as tailoring the *content* to what a me-centric person wants to hear - is something we should definitely avoid if we seek to be faithful to the gospel.

However... the book goes well beyond warning against unhealthy consumerism and attacks the motives and methods of several well-intentioned churches that have in fact seen powerful life transformation. The back cover begins with an observation that a key challenge faced by Christianity is a failure of imagination. Yet when churches get 'too' creative in trying to grab the attention of a world that has long since tuned out the church, it is blasted for being 'entertainment' or treating God as a consumable product. He charges the leaders of these churches with believing that "God changes lives through the commodification and consumption of experiences." This is a cheap shot, and not the only one in the book. This criticism is completely false for many large and innovative churches that are reaching people for Christ that no one else is. He also harshly criticizes the fact that tailoring an approach for one audience tends to lead to fairly homogeneous churches.

In the end the book makes a case to respond to the rise of consumerism by sowing seeds of silence, prayer, and fasting. I think these are important, and have their place, but good luck reaching consumeristic Americans with this approach alone. It boils down to this - culture today is flawed and the priorities of the majority of people are out of alignment. Fine, no argument there. But do we best reach these people by rejecting their culture, embracing it, leveraging it, or transforming it. The approach Jethani advocates is one approach, and it has its merits. But I wasn't enthusiastic about his approach of criticizing other approaches so strongly - isn't their room in outreach efforts to utilize different approaches to reach different people?

I can see why many would like this book, but I definitely don't see it as any kind of must-read, and would have preferred to see a more balanced and fair approach.

I picked this book up because in the past few years I've become painfully aware that the American church is plagued with consumerism. After reading it, the pain has intensified. It did nothing to soothe my fears. If the American church doesn't make some serious course correction, we're headed for shipwreck.

Chapter 8 was particularly moving--Around the Table. I appreciated the way the author was able to dissect and explain how sociological trends have fostered consumerism and individualism--that even the proliferation of suburbia is a by-product of our fallen nature's desire to be left alone, to have it our way, and to find pleasure and fulfillment in stuff rather than relationship.

I found myself thinking about Nicodemus, overwhelmed by the thought of taking it from the top, rethinking and restructuring so much. It's impossible to do such a thing--but with God all things are possible.

I help my husband pastor a large congregation. (I hate the word megachurch!) But we are a church, a community of believers, who are struggling with God's help to get free of the grip of consumer Christianity and rediscover the life God intended for us. "The Divine Commodity" is one more stepping stone toward that end. Don't read it if you're unwilling to change. This book will slap you upside the head, but not in a mean-spirited or arrogant way. Mr. Jethani appears to genuinely love the church, the Bride of Christ, and understands that it is the world's last best hope.

I toured a church sanctuary with my cousin recently. She looked up at the stage with the new, multiple, rear-projected, high definition screens. "You've got to be kidding me," she said. "What in the hell does a church need with these?" I tried playing defense to her accusations, explaining how the older people don't like sitting too near the stage because the new speakers hurt their ears, but when they sit at the rear of the sanctuary they can't see anymore. In response she just stared at me, shaking her head. I felt uneasy.

When Skye Jethani's book, The Divine Commodity, opens with him walking out of a mammoth church auditorium equipped with all of the latest technology, I remembered that uncomfortable feeling I had with my cousin. All the audio/visual equipment makes for a spectacular production, but how much of it is really necessary for discipleship? What have we created by staying up to date with our culture's entertainment norms? Are we truly relevant or do we look like every other weekend concert? Are we distinguishable from the rest of society in our methods of communication or do we look just like them just with a different branding initiative?

Jethani doesn't pull any punches. He thinks we have lost our imagination, our creativity and our faith for the miraculous. Our God is boxed and franchised and our people find their identity in the institutions we have created for them. Jethani's critique comes from a unique perspective. He is the managing editor of Leadership Journal and has observed churches, leadership and Christianity from all over the country. He is also a teaching pastor himself and draws on his own experiences.

What surprised me was the direction the book takes. Once Jethani gets to solving the problem of consumer Christianity he walks away from the corporate structure and addresses the issues at an individual level. That he sees hope in the personal area of discipleship resonates with me.

The way he tells his story is a work of art. Jethani paints a backdrop for his story by using the life and art of Vincent van Gogh. It is exceptionally creative and thought provoking. In his own words, "My intent is for the reader's imagination, and not merely his or her intellect, to be awakened and nourished with an alternative vision of faith from the one we've inherited from our consumer formation."

Who should read this book?
* Leaders in any church that have been struggling to keep up with the mega-church down the block.
* Leaders in a mega-church that have been successful with gathering numbers but question their relevance in disciple making.
* Anyone who regularly goes to church but often finds themselves critiquing the services and programs.
* Anyone who has given up on church, but they can't quite figure out why they no longer were getting filled up from the inside out.
* Anyone who wants to read a beautifully thought out and crafted book, presented from the heart.

I can say with conviction that this is the best book I've read yet this year. In 'The Divine Commodity,' Skye Jethani analyzes the way that consumerism has creeped (and sometimes shoved) its way into the church. Rather than standing as a kingdom witness against the age, the church all too often has simply reflected the culture, accomodating Christian faith with commercialism and consumerism. This syncretism, while making the church more palatable to some in our day, has cost the church its distinctiveness, and indeed some of the very qualities that make the church a visible sign of a new kingdom, a new order, a new way of life. In many cases, the church's adoption of market principles has cost it its very identity.

There are several books about the effects of consumerism on the church. What makes Jethani's book different, however, is its tone and approach. The temper of the book is not that of a jeremiad. Jethani avoids the pitfalls of the angry denunciator to which so many succomb. Most cultural critics, while often successful at rallying the troops, do little but annoy those not already convinced of their propositions. In contrast, 'The Divine Commodity,' while forceful and persuasive, is not abrasive, and therefore will gain a wider audience and perhaps will actually change the perspectives of some.

Jethani's book also is of a different quality in that his prescriptions for combating consumerism in the church are not aimed at top-down organizational changes. So many cultural critiques leave the reader with nothing to do but bicker and complain at the institutional church and the wickedness of those in authority. 'The Divine Commodity' focuses rather on personal disciplines -- silence, prayer, fasting, love, hospitality, and friendship -- as a means of loosening consumerism's grip on the individual reader. Only the most obtuse of readers could finish Jethani's book not thinking about their own complicity in the church's debacle. And Jethani offers plenty of encouragement of how to reverse this trend in your own life.

There is a lot that could be said about Jethani's specific analysis of consumerism's hold on the church (bigger is better, staging experiences, marketing the gospel, programs as the be-all-end-all of ministry, felt needs over missional service, customization versus community, etc), but I'll leave that for you to read yourself.

Perhaps the thing that makes this book most enjoyable is Jethani's use of anecdotes, both personal and historical. Jethani tells you much of his own life, his struggles and victories, throughout the book. The only character who appears more often is that of Vincent Van Gogh. Jethani masterfully uses the life of the artist to tie together themes throughout. Not only is this effective in illustrating points, the use of Van Gogh's story makes 'The Divine Commodity' a very interesting read.

This book recognizes that consuming is a fact of life, but that consumerism can rob your faith of its vitality and ultimately prevent the church from being "salt and light" before a watching world. Like Van Gogh before him, Jethani takes up the task of "re-imagining reality, representing reality by uncovering the truth that is not apparent to the naked eye." This, 'The Divine Commodity' does very well. I highly recommend it.

An interesting, enjoyable blend of biography (of Vincent van Gogh) and critique (of contemporary church strategies).

Jethani's observation of consumerism's grip on the church is accurate (bigger = better, branding the church, felt needs over missional service, customization versus community, etc), but his proposed remedies (silence, prayer, fasting, love, hospitality, and friendship) - though good and needed in their own right - don't seem to match the magnitude of the problem.

If you've read any critiques of the contemporary - and there are plenty - then you probably don't need to read this one - much of the same stuff here. But if you haven't, then I recommend starting here to stimulate some thoughts of your own!

[...]

I am a product of the church. I grew up in the church. I've worked in the church. I've produced services, graphics, signed off on expensive technology projects, and have had my brain filled with every method or motif the church has attempted in the last half decade or so.

Something has always caused me a tension. An unexplainable, but always present tension. I've had questions, and questioned my own answers. I've wrestled with scripture, with context, with culture.

Skye Jethani does an amazing job at boldly asking the tough questions I was afraid to ask. He does it in a way that is not divisive, nor questioning of others' motives. He does it in a unifying, Scriptural way, and at the same time, weaves themes of grace and love through each chapter.

Most pastors won't like this book. Most pastors, I've come to learn, are afraid of real risk, and real change. Not to overgeneralize, as there are certainly leaders who are less concerned about a paycheck and more concerned about being Christ into a world. But most pastors NEED to read this book. In fact, I dare you to read this book. It might cause you to get defensive about some things. But let it. Allow yourself the experience of wrestling with the provocative and truthful ideas Jethani presents in Divine Commodity.

The Divine Commodity reads very differently than most contemporary Christian books. It's filled with funny and poignant stories and interspersed with reflections on the artist, Vincent Van Gogh, an unlikely model for contemporary Christians, but it works. Go figure. At times, the language is almost poetic. There are no 7 or 10 steps to follow. Just an honest, vulnerable look at an important subject. When Christians start waking up to the insidious influence of consumerism on the church, they'll have writers like Skye to thank.

I picked up Skye Jethani's book, The Divine Commodity, at this years National Pastor's Convention in San Diego. Frankly, what caught my attention was the cover art. Along with Scot McKnight's "The Blue Parakeet", it was the best cover art by far on display. When I saw Divine Commodity, I just had to pick it up; and when I saw the full color pictures inside of Vincent van Gogh's art I knew I had to buy it. I love van Gogh. Does this make me a consumer? I am feeling guilty right now.

Skye's book is an incisive, well-written, and interesting critique of how the church has sold its soul to consumerism, in part, to be relevant and evangelistic. In the process, it may have grown big, but has shrunk in regards real impact, the true transformation of individuals, the creation of radical community, and the impact of the culture around us. In fact, the more consumerist the church becomes, the more it tumbles into irrelevance. Skye not only assesses the problem well but he lays out seven prescriptions for a return to genuine faith. It is a powerful and exciting vision for what the church can be. Skye is a fabulous writer--clear, compelling and interesting. Divine Commodity is well worth the time to read and absorb. And beside, the cover art and Van Gogh pictures make it worth the purchase!

Outstanding. I have been asking myself for sometime now whether someone would publish a book that tells American Christians what we need to hear. This book wasn't written to sell copies, but to help us face the white elephant in the room. Skye shows us what is wrong with the church by showing us what is wrong with us as individuals and how we've let our culture influence us more than Christ.