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December 14, 2004
Big Church
Mega-Churches have been around for some time but the number of churches with over 2000 members has exploded in the last 10 years. There are now over 800 protestant churches of this size, with 30 now exceeding 10,000 attendees. I bring this up, not to pat these churches on the back, but because it's become popular in some circles is to criticize these churches and typically critics only think of a few select churches when they fire their barbs.
One of the top complaints that I hear of mega-churches is that they are too large to minister to their congregation. I'll admit I often wondered how one could be ministered to, even with a staff of pastors when the church numbered in the thousands - there's no possible way for the pastor to know who you are, much less know your problems. However, there's a problem with this line of reasoning - it's not the pastor's job to be the only minister. People, even pastors, are limited in the number of people that they can have a close relationship with - it's their job to teach these people to care and shepherd other people and so on - in other words multiply their ministry.
The other big issue is that the style of worship in mega churches allow people to attend worship services without actually participating. That really has nothing to do with the worship style, people attend services without actually worshiping in all sizes and styles of worship.
I've been to two different mega churches and they were as different as any two churches I've been to. In one, I felt welcome, I felt like people were growing (based on seeing and hearing about people serving), and the worship experience was incredible - beyond anything I've experienced. At the other I felt like just another one of the masses, saw little in the way of people serving, and the level of worship was nominal. In other words, mega-churches can't be balled into a group and called bad simply because they have a large number of people.
Finally, the Church would be much better off if we focused on our ministries and what God called us to do and stopped taking shots at other ministries and churches. In fact, Luke 9:49-50 advice us to avoid this practice. Taking shots at pastors and churches doesn't strengthen the Church, in fact, it divides and makes Christians look silly to those outside the Church. In John 7:24, Jesus told us not to judge on the basis of appearance.
By no means am I saying that we are to accept what we believe is wrong when it comes to Biblical teaching, however, Jesus gave us a model for addressing problems within the Church in Matthew 18, one that ensures that we are working to bring the Church together and build disciples. My point is that mega-churches are not wrong simply because of their size and that we should never judge any church or ministry from afar - remember to look for the beam in your own eye before clearing someone else's speck.
Posted by Jesse at December 14, 2004 9:31 PM
Comments
"Inspiration" is the key. What does it take to inspire. Probably harder to inspire when worshipers are one of 10000. I'm sure it can be done, it just takes a very skilled (& inspired) management.
Back where I come from there was the church's annual Green River Fair, and the junk food concession was called "The Grease of God"!
Posted by: LesB at December 17, 2004 7:49 PM
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