First of all, this post is a look at what inspired the mini-movie Shoppers. It’s not intended to be a “what’s wrong with the world” rambling, rather a lighthearted commentary. Before you read further, it’s important that you watch the mini-movie Shoppers.
This is certainly not the first mini-movie about consumerism in the Church, but hopefully it will cause people to smile and think at the same time. Shoppers is the result of an observation I made a few months back when I was shopping for a car: churches and car dealerships have a lot in common. Remember, this is just for fun.
1. Both churches and car dealerships claim they do things differently.
“We’re not like the guys down the street: we won’t hassle you. We won’t take advantage of you. You can trust us.” Sound familiar?
2. It’s not about the money, it’s about the relationship.
Both churches and dealerships are constantly fighting the public opinion (whether deserved or not) that they only exist to get as much money as possible from each person who walks through the doors.
3. Most websites look the same.
It seems like a few years back someone decided what car dealership websites should look like, because about 95% of them all look the same. It’s a very similar situation with church websites. There seems to be about four templates out there, and most churches are using one of them.
4. Both churches and dealerships are trying to convince people they are in need of something they don’t currently have.
While you may need a car, dealerships seem to have a habit of trying to convince you that you need to spend as much money as possible (and then some) to get the most expensive car you can (or can’t) afford. Their job is to convince you that your life will be unfulfilled if you don’t get the nicest car. This one may seem harsh, but if you think about it, that’s what churches do, right? Churches help people realize that their lives are unfulfilled without God, while a lot of people think they can go through life on their own.
Remember, for fun.
While the mission of the church is far more eternal than that of a car dealership, it was an interesting observation and hopefully one that can challenge us in our decisions about what we do and why we do it.
