The Makings of a Mega Church: Commentary
For those of you who read the article yesterday in the New York Times about mega-churches, and one in particular – Radiant in Surprise, AZ, (go here for the link), I promised you some comments. First of all, I feel very inadequate passing any sort of judgment on mega-churches or even forming any kind of solid opinion, having no experience whatsoever with them. However, I asked a mega-church attendee, Chad Hamilton of Plaidberry, to share his thoughts with you about the article, and he so graciously conceded. My two-cents are thrown in for good measure as well.
Chad: Very interesting article. As someone who is typically quite skeptical of the New York Times when it comes to anything remotely political or religious, I found the article to be quite fair.
Me: The article pointed out some of the positives of mega-churches, as well as painting a sincere, committed picture of Pastor MacFarland.
Chad: Of course, I've had some personal experience in attending mega-churches, particularly one here in Denver (Heritage Christian Center). Basically, I have mixed feelings about Pastor MacFarland's approach. One thing I like about the guy is he seems very determined to bring new people into the fold. I certainly can't fault him for that. And I do think he has a valid point with regard to providing different "entry points." It is admirable that he could bring folks to a spiritual awakening after being introduced through a basketball league, a charter school, or AAA classes.
Me: I don’t have a problem with bringing people in through a "side door" whether it be because of counseling, aerobics classes, a church school or even free donuts. When Paul said, "I have become all things to all men that I might save some," he was the first to realize that appealing to the masses will result in the salvation of at least a few of them.
Chad: As a corollary to that, I love the small groups idea. This gets back to the feel of the early, 1st century church I think. I think MacFarland is right when he asserts that these groups can be a great opportunity for spiritual growth. These have the potential to provide the primary outlet for one's faith to mature. Forming these types of small communities should be a big priority for all churches I think.
Me: A concept that’s beginning to catch on with Apostolics as well . . . However, I found it interesting that less than a quarter of the population of Radiant participates in small group sessions.
Chad: My concerns are twofold. The big one is the message itself. I am concerned that the message is too watered-down in preaching the feel-good, prosperity type message while ignoring the struggles and sacrifices that are so readily apparent in the gospels. This type of selectivity at its root concerns me even more because of its inherent focus. It's all about me and not about God and that seems like the wrong message. The church should be offering an attractive alternative to the message our culture is teaching us, not merely echoing it.
[Editor’s Note: Chad does a great job of detailing his thoughts on the subject of "me-focused doctrine" in his blog entries, "SuperSize Me . . . and My Church" and even further in "Take Two."]
Me: I found it interesting that the author believes Radiant’s core message to be that you will be happier if you accept Jesus’s message into every compartment of your life. While that’s true, your personal happiness isn’t the message of the gospel, nor is it guaranteed anywhere in the scriptures. God seems less concerned with our happiness and more with our salvation.
Chad: My other concern is that these types of churches are swinging too far to the "God-as-buddy" side of the divine pendulum, if you will. While I believe the personal relationship offered through Jesus Christ is a glorious and unique facet of Christianity, we need to keep a balance, since this is the Almighty Creator after all. The other end of the spectrum, which is seemingly completely ignored here is the aspect of holiness and mystery in the deity. Being overly casual in our treatment of God is not consistent with New Testament teachings that often speak of God as being reverent and transcendent. Somehow the shopping mall feel just doesn't seem as though it would capture that.
Me: Awhile back, ninetyandnine.com featured a series of articles on the fear of the Lord, and their author, Shana Blunt, once told me that she believes such a vitally important topic is rarely taught in our churches today. (Read the articles here, here and here.) I wonder if perhaps that could be the reason why so many people feel as though the proper reverence and awe of God is missing from their services.
Chad: As an adjunct to the overfamiliarity idea, I am concerned with the "check a box on the card" approach to salvation. This decision should represent a fundamental change of heart not merely a formula to follow that will provide you with eternal life. A more reverent attitude might help here by ensuring that congregants not take this type of decision so lightly.
Me: Ditto.
Me again, and muchas gracias to Chad! Now go thank him for sharing his thoughts with you by checking out his blog. I am a faithful reader, and when you check him out you’ll know why.
One more point I’d like to make: The article stated that Pastor MacFarland’s hero is Joel Osteen, who pastors one of the largest churches in America with 16,000 members. That made me think of Christians’ disturbing tendency to determine success by looking at numbers. I have nothing against numbers, because behind every number there’s a soul; however, numbers are a highly inaccurate way of determining success. Give me quality, not quantity. There’s a reason why millions of people shop at Wal-Mart, but only thousands shop at Neiman Marcus. Success, in my humble opinion, is determined in less tangible ways, but that’s another blog for another time.
Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.
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