The Ugly Stain of Individualism

The pastor at Englewood used this phrase today in his sermon, and I thought that it's well worth the time to take a closer look at the ugly stain of individualism. The following thoughts have been gathered over a number of discussions with wiser people and through my reading and observations, so I highly doubt that any of these are original ideas. I'll just list them out and ask for your feedback. I'm finding that American consumerism and individualism go hand in hand (kissing cousins, if you will).

Effects of individualism/consumerism:
We have manipulated the gospel to be about private, personal holiness instead of the reconciliation and redemption of the world.
We're noncommittal in all sorts of relationships.
We constantly want to keep our doors open for better and bigger things.
Church-hopping, church shopping
Worship has become defined by what we get out of it.
Churches focus on increasing numbers and marketing.
A church gathering often looks like a well-rehearsed show to please the audience- we even sit in stadium-style seating looking at a stage of performers.
We become discontented and divisive over small particularities instead of focusing on our uniting factors.
There is an overabundance of "church models" designed for people looking for specific things.
We have made gods of ourselves.

The scary thing here is that all of these effects of individualism/consumerism point to one thing: idolatry. We have crafted idols of ourselves and much of what we do as churches revolves around what would most please people. American consumerism has so deeply impacted the church. Its values pervade all we do. The church has been undermined by the culture. How do we counteract the ugliness that individualism has brought to the church?

In humility, consider others better than yourself. I keep coming back to the importance of humility. It has been said that the root of all sin is pride and that it was pride that caused the fall of creation. The only way to resist the culture is to pray for humility and to practice putting all others before ourselves. Submit to your local body. Don't make important decisions isolated from the rest of the community. Seek out opportunities to serve, and don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Don't look for recognition or thanks or a return.

I appreciate your comments on this one (as well as the others). We need to figure this out in community, and I need your input to further develop my thoughts.