Category Archives: Consumerism

Jesus vs the gods

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

I just finished a sermon series on Jesus vs the gods. The “gods” I referred to in the messages were names from the ancient world: Greco-Roman names plus one, Mammon, from the Semitic world. Those their names aren’t as much … Continue reading →

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Jesus vs. Mammon

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

Mammon (an ancient god of money/wealth) says, “You are somebody based on on your wealth or capacity for gaining wealth.” Jesus says, “I love you and bought you with my blood.” Though rarely mentioned by name these days, Mammon is … Continue reading →

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Hauerwas – Beyond “Friendly” Church

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

We continued working through Stanley Hauerwas’s essay, “Discipleship as a Craft, Church as Disciplined Community.” (Link to audio) We began with a quick return to the second paragraph which we’d started on last week: That the church has difficulty being … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Consumerism, Culture, Discipleship, Secularization, Stanley Hauerwas | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Kind of Thing is Christianity?

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Richard Heyduck

I’m about to finish a sermon series on Christianity and other religions. It was a difficult series for a few reasons. First, it was difficult because I’m not sure the category of religion is all that helpful  – or as … Continue reading →

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Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Richard Heyduck

I believe there are some useful ideas for United Methodists in Albert Hirschman’s Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. We know we have decline in the United Methodist Church. We have fewer members in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumerism, Current events, Ecclesiology, Hirschman, United Methodism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What’s the Price?

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

Theologian Roger Olson turns to a non-theological subject, the way prices are computed in contemporary markets. He observes, For example, many city newspapers are basing subscription rates on: length of time a subscription has been steady, zip code and income … Continue reading →

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Great Devaluation?

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Richard Heyduck

I could be all wrong, but… We’ve been raised to call that socio-economic event of the 1930s the “Great Depression.” So what do we call our recent (current) socio-economic event? It’s clearly not been as bad as the “Great Depression.” … Continue reading →

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Real estate & the economy

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Richard Heyduck

Feel free to take the comments below with a grain of salt. I am not in the real estate business. I have never owned real estate. I have never studied real estate, and have had only one course in economics. … Continue reading →

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Social Deviance

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Richard Heyduck

One of the courses offered at my undergraduate institution was in Social Deviance. I didn’t take the course, but had many friends who took it. Since I haven’t taken the course, what I say here is not based on any … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumerism, Culture, Ecclesiology | 1 Comment

Dangerous Places

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Richard Heyduck

What should we make of this story? Apparently a school district in Indiana planned to hold its graduation ceremonies at a local church. I’m sure the church was thinking, “This is a way we can be generous and share with … Continue reading →

Posted in Church & State, Consumerism, Culture, Current events, Ecclesiology, Public Schools | Leave a comment