As Americans, individualism is the water that we swim in. We might not actually know what it is. If we do know what it is, we are used to praising it. I myself, am a incurable individualist at times. I do not think that individualism is bad per se, but it certainly affects Christianity in the United States. Pictures, however, are worth a thousand words. Here are some images I dug up when googling "Worship."
Notice a pattern? The images are always of the lone person communing with the God up on high. That individual worships God all by himself, with no one around. Such an emphasis on the individualistic Christian worship is so strong that it was lampooned at Saddleback church
I didn't stop there. If you have ever been through a Bible bookstore you have also seen images of individualism. Like these:
Like the images of worship, these book covers privilege a spirituality that is "me and God." It is a belief in sola ego with sola scriptura. The Osteen book even has it in the title: ...a better you. Again, individualism shows itself better through images than words can express.
There is also another way to notice individualism in our churches and worship. Listen closely to words used in worship songs. Do they emphasis the singular pronouns (I/me) or the plural pronouns (We/us)? The former emphasizes individualism. For sake of contrast here are the lyrics from two songs. First an old hymn:
A mighty fortress is our God.
A bulwark never failing.
Our helper he a mid the flood,
of mortal ills prevailing.
-A Mighty Fortress
here is a more contemporary song:
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
-I will Rise by Chris Tomlin
Notice the pronouns I highlighted. The contemporary song uses individualistic language ("I will rise"), while the older hymn uses communal language ("our God"). Also, try reading both of the lyrics as if they were sentences in your second grade English class. If your teacher said "please underline the subject of this sentence," what would you underline in each of those songs?
Now again, I am not saying that individualism is bad per se, but it does affect American Christianity. This is something we need to be aware of, and evaluate our practices accordingly.
So what do "you" think? ;-)
