We are living at a time when churches are finding it increasingly difficult to encourage people on the fringe to become members of the local church, and for existing members to be mobilised for service to the Lord. Undoubtedly, the reasons are partly internal, e.g. lack of spiritual vitality in a local church.
However, I think in many cases the significant explanatory factors are external. We are living in a low-commitment society in which it is no longer fashionable to commit yourself for the long-term. Traditional commitments (like marriage) are in decline. Increased flexibility in labour markets means people are less tied to their employers and to their local communities, including the local church. Many people now see places of work and local communities as staging posts for the next big thing.
Another way to describe all of this is that we are now a consumerist society. By ‘consumerism’ I am not just speaking of materialism but rather a way of life where all relationships are seen as transactional. This consumerism is joined at the hip with individualism: people are increasingly prioritising personal freedom and self-expression over collective responsibility. Technology and economic prosperity have played a key role in all of this by expanding the choice sets of people in their private quests to be sovereigns of their lives.
