What is the Church's Cargo?

Dear Cargo Carriers:

This morning, I found myself re-reading an article by Dr. Deirdre McCloskey, currently of the Cato Institute, on her critique of mathematics currently employed by economists (History of Economic Ideas XIII (3, 2005): 85-102). In her conclusion, McCloskey laments how economic statistical models had become, in effect, cargo cults, which took the shape of analysis but failed to provide useful explanations of how human systems function in the lived world. Her cargo-cult analogy got me thinking about the state of the 21st century church. I fear we too have become obsessed with the forms and objects of Christianity, but in the end, we may have emptied our faith of a truly enlivening spirit.

Perhaps the most notable example of a cargo cult was the Melanesian Islanders who during World War II had their lives upended by modern equipment and appliances airlifted to first Japanese and then Allied soldiers stationed there. These foreign invaders shared their excess with the villagers, and at the conclusion of the war left acres of previously unknown trinkets behind. When the flow of sophisticated gifts stopped, charismatic spiritual leaders told the people they needed to build stations and develop rituals to coax the gods into restoring their bounty. As a result, dedicated believers determined to mimic all the activities and formations of the soldiers who had once made it rain goods from heaven. No detail was neglected, from marching in formation wearing uniforms left behind, to building runways and flight towers, complete with wood carved headphones and basket-thatch radar antennas, all in hope of restoring the bounty. Unaware of the global forces at work, the islanders struggled in vain without ever successfully enticing back the goods they had learned to desire.

My parallel understanding of the current cargo-cult church comes from reading way too many church growth articles. They break down into two major groups. The first set seeks to restore the lost glory, complete with instructions to undo modern trends in social morality. If we could only renew school prayer, homophobia, submissive women, etc. then folks would flock to our sanctuaries as they did just a half century ago. The values and forms of mid-century American Christianity are adopted, because back then we were flush with resources, back before the devastating culture wars.

The second cargo-cult church growth obsession emphasizes the adoption of modern technology. Lighting, texting, video production, apps, special effects and AI are all conduits to success. Few suggest substantive content; the buyer is assured the equipment alone will be enough. Like Melanesian villagers, we could carve microphones out of coconuts—if they look as good as the best podcast studio mics, they should do the trick.

At the core of McCloskey’s critique is her suggestion that economics should describe, even predict, human behavior. In the same way, I believe the measure of the church should not be its institutional or reputational success, but its ability to increase the human capacity to love one’s neighbor. That is, I believe, the true cargo of the church; anything else is likely to be just a cult.

Refusing to carve coconuts for Christ, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor