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Consumer or Consumed
118 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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March 2, 2018
This book uses Psalm 69:9 as its premise which states “...zeal for your house consumed me…” It then asks if the attendee of God’s House is a consumer of God’s House or is consumed by God’s House? (Note: God's House is never called “the church.”) The title question was the best part of the book - it caused me to reflect on the signs of a healthy church community and my own involvement in my local church. I would recommend everyone consider that important title question and then not read the rest of the book.
Why not?
First and most importantly, there is a big difference in being consumed by God’s House and being consumed by God himself - this book focuses on the former without even mentioning the latter. If implemented as this book suggests, your church will end up with a lot of busy people doing lots of noble, self-sacrificial things for the House and the community but who may or may not actually be improving in personal holiness or their relationship with the Lord.
Second, this book fails to address that burnout is a real thing among leadership and volunteers. Some might take the principles of this book to mean that if leaders are on sabbatical or congregants are unable to volunteer at this stage in their lives then they are not “consumed with zeal.” Many people are involved in the less visible aspects of the church - praying, mentoring, etc - without being involved in the “doing” part of the church - participating in outreach programs, volunteering at the church’s coffee shop, etc. Scanlon-Gambill chose to hire a nanny and continue working in the church instead of staying home with her children; that may not be what works for every family, yet she seems to present this as evidence of one’s zeal.
Third, this book has no clear gospel presentation (I hope she wrote it for people who are already professing believers), no real theology about who God is (but a lot of ideas about what the House should be), and no real advice except “Get involved!” (and make sure you do it with laughter, thanksgiving, and praise).
That leads me to the final point that nothing ever seems to go wrong for the people in this book, whether that be Scanlon-Gambill herself or the testimonies included at the end of each chapter. This book makes it seem that Christians (or at least attendees of God’s House) will gain ease, friendship, prosperity, and the solution to all their problems by being involved in the House. Instead, Christians should be willing to LOSE their reputation, financial standing, friendships, and even lives and to pursue personal holiness and submission to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Why not?
First and most importantly, there is a big difference in being consumed by God’s House and being consumed by God himself - this book focuses on the former without even mentioning the latter. If implemented as this book suggests, your church will end up with a lot of busy people doing lots of noble, self-sacrificial things for the House and the community but who may or may not actually be improving in personal holiness or their relationship with the Lord.
Second, this book fails to address that burnout is a real thing among leadership and volunteers. Some might take the principles of this book to mean that if leaders are on sabbatical or congregants are unable to volunteer at this stage in their lives then they are not “consumed with zeal.” Many people are involved in the less visible aspects of the church - praying, mentoring, etc - without being involved in the “doing” part of the church - participating in outreach programs, volunteering at the church’s coffee shop, etc. Scanlon-Gambill chose to hire a nanny and continue working in the church instead of staying home with her children; that may not be what works for every family, yet she seems to present this as evidence of one’s zeal.
Third, this book has no clear gospel presentation (I hope she wrote it for people who are already professing believers), no real theology about who God is (but a lot of ideas about what the House should be), and no real advice except “Get involved!” (and make sure you do it with laughter, thanksgiving, and praise).
That leads me to the final point that nothing ever seems to go wrong for the people in this book, whether that be Scanlon-Gambill herself or the testimonies included at the end of each chapter. This book makes it seem that Christians (or at least attendees of God’s House) will gain ease, friendship, prosperity, and the solution to all their problems by being involved in the House. Instead, Christians should be willing to LOSE their reputation, financial standing, friendships, and even lives and to pursue personal holiness and submission to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
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