Are Churches Making Disciples or Consumers? | Alastair Roberts & Rory Shiner

Is the modern church accidentally creating consumers instead of disciples? Theologian Alastair Roberts and pastor Rory Shiner reveal why churches are struggling to form committed followers of Jesus, how consumer culture has quietly reshaped Christian community, and why a local sports club may understand discipleship better than many Sunday services.

Alastair Roberts is an independent theologian working with the Theophilus Institute and Davenant Institute, known for his work in theology, church history, liturgy, and cultural criticism. Rory Shiner is a Perth-based pastor and author who has spent years doing the ordinary, difficult work of building a local church.

They explain:

◼ Why many churches have unintentionally trained people to be consumers instead of participants—and how worship shifted from something people do to something people watch

◼ Why “what you win them with is what you win them to” and how low expectations can create churches where commitment never grows

◼ Why Jesus formed people through practices, habits, and embodied action—and why our hearts often follow what we repeatedly do

◼ What a grass-roots sports club reveals about koinonia, sacrifice, and belonging—and why genuine community requires everyone to have “skin in the game”