"McWorld" has become a kind of code-name for globalisation and the modern consumer culture. The bulk of Sine's book is devoted to an analysis and evaluation of this trend. Whole nations are jockeying for position in the new global economy, with cyber-space locking them into the system. They are not being manipulated by some sinister conspiracy for world domination - in fact, the really scary thing is that no-one is really in control. The all-encompassing vision of a McWorld future is short-sighted and naïve. People will have more things in McWorld, but they will have less happiness. More and more time will have to be invested in economic work, leaving less and less time (not to mention money) for God's work. The gap between rich and poor will continue to widen, but no-one will really be happy.
"...we permit modern culture… to define our notions of the good life and better future. As a consequence our lives are too often driven by the same manic aspirations that propel McWorld. No wonder we are exhausted. Modernity calls the tune and we dance." (p222)
"I am convinced that one of the main reasons why Western Christians aren't terribly effective in evangelism is that we are so much like the culture around us that we have very little to call people to." (p223)
I think Sine makes an excellent point when he talks about "dualistic discipleship" - giving lip-service to the claims of Christ, but still serving the claims of modernity, job, economic security, etc.
Tom writes in one of his excellent books, "Mustard Seed vs. McWorld":The American church, in its many expressions, seems to quietly accept the modern culture's demands on its members as a given and then content itself with whatever is left. Virtually all the Christian books I have seen on discipleship - or for that matter, on finances, time management, and career planning - also tend to accept the demands of modern culture as unquestioned givens, and then advise that we simply try to practice our discipleship over the top, as if it all goes together. And of course, it doesn't...
In spite of all the talk about Christ's lordship, everyone knows that the expectations of modern culture come first. Everyone knows that getting ahead in the job comes first. Getting ahead in the suburbs comes first. Getting the kids off to their activities comes first. And we tend to make decisions in these areas pretty much like everyone else does, based on our income, our professions, and our social status.
...following Christ is too often trivialized to little more than a devotional lubricant to keep us from stripping our gears as we charge up the mountain, trying to get ahead in our careers, the suburbs, and our kids' activities. In this dualistic discipleship model, following Christ is for too many of us reduced to a little more than fifteen minutes in the morning and two hours on Sunday. In this model, we wind up with a highly privatized and spiritualized piety that is often largely disconnected from the rest of our lives.
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