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From what I've seen, the problem with these non-denominational mega churches is lack of oversight! They hide finances, get political, and are run as for-profit businesses. My parents attend a megachurch that's on its way down due to these problems. The pastor (who doesn't even have a degree in anything) makes millions, teaches the prosperity doctrine, guilts members into giving and giving (such as insisting the 10% tithe be "pre-tax" and back tithing for times you weren't a member of his church) and then the entire executive staff is his own family. Now the IRS is investigating and members are fleeing. Probably not so "mega" anymore.
That is why I mentioned the two largest churches here in Dallas when I first moved to the area not even being in existence today. If there is error and it is being propped up by personality alone without biblical standards of oversight and accountability, it will not last. God is not mocked.
But let God be the one to do it. It is his church, it is his bride, it is his place to perfect her. Knowing of bad examples and then accusing all churches that are large of the same error is just plain ignorant. I could site specific examples of awesome, well rounded bible preaching, soul winning megas, but don't want the thread to turn into a personal attack against specific churches and pastors, as I am sure some would have to weigh in with their unfounded opinions.
Find a good church, be excited and proud to be a part of it, but don't feel the need to degrade other churches. We are all one body and we will all spend eternity together in heaven and there aren't going to be separate sections based on what organized church we attended while down here.
I could site specific examples of awesome, well rounded bible preaching, soul winning megas, but don't want the thread to turn into a personal attack against specific churches and pastors, as I am sure some would have to weigh in with their unfounded opinions.
Find a good church, be excited and proud to be a part of it, but don't feel the need to degrade other churches. We are all one body and we will all spend eternity together in heaven and there aren't going to be separate sections based on what organized church we attended while down here.
Blessings on you all.........
These are all great points...I agree, there are some great Bible-based megachurches that do tremendous things in their communities; unfortunately, the one's that get caught up in scandals get all the press. Agreed though, if I were to name a few of them, I'm sure there would be someone who would rip into them about how they don't like such and
such about the pastor or the church. It's just a reminder that there is no 'perfect church' this side of heaven b/c like every other entity, the church is run by imperfect people. That's why the ones that remain and last are the ones who stay true to the Word and let God do the work of converting souls and changing lives.
Why are Christians so critical of other Christians? Why make such blanket statements? If a church is not for you, don't go there, if it isn't your "style" go find one that is.
I'm not even going to bother reading the rest of your post, because you just proved my point right there. Christians these days are much more concerned about finding a church that caters to comforting and entertaining them, rather than the truth. They want the church to fit "their style", as opposed to changing their lives so that they conform to truth. They want to "shop around" for a church that meets their needs.
Jesus told us to enter through the narrow gate. He said there is a wide gate and broad way that leads to destruction and there would be many that go that way. But there is a small gate and narrow road that leads to life, and few would find it.
I'm not judging....at least I'm not trying to do, though you may feel I am....but I personally do not find a narrow road that leads to a small gate in a megachurch that doesn't even preach the gospel while it's marketing itself to the world via cutesy cartoons, handing out sodas to people in SUVs and Cadillacs at intersections without telling them about the gospel, and all the while catering to, and molding the church around, the desires of people who want to make sure the church fits their "style".
I have my opinion and I'm entitled to it. Sorry if that gets your "dander" up.
You have to be kidding me. This is a discussion board. If I say that I don't believe in them, it requires me to provide substantive information why.
Further, I love how you bandy about the term "non/growing" church as if all churches outside the realm of megachurches fall into that classification. Our church has doubled in size over the past five years. Not by building gymnasiums or investing in cheap theatrics. Not by promising performance-centered Christianity Lite. But by challenging the congregation to reach out in a quiet way to the unchurched and those unfulfilled with their present churches. By provided a Christian education program that does not offer shallow bromides, but instead challenging study into the rich and often conflict-laden development of Christian theology. Christianity grew one convert at a time, not by entertaining people but by offering a difficult road to faith.
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to cpg35223 again.
I didn't say you couldn't state your opinion if you didn't like them, I was just saying that this thread wasn't solely about the negative aspects of megachurches - simply what do you think about them, whether you like them or not.
I didn't mean it to come across either that if you're not a mega-church you're not growing - I apologize if that's how you read it. However, if you are consistently growing, isn't it logical that at some point in the future your church would eventually grow to be defined as a mega-church? If you start at 50 members and grow by 50% each year, in a few years you will have hundreds, and a few more year after that, thousands. The one exception to this is if your church as it grows, constantly branches off new church plants which is also a great route to go.
The thing you need to consider is that church growth doesn't mean anything. A church may grow simply because it's popular. It caters to the desires of those who are looking for something that fits their "style" - a social club, of sorts, that gives them what they are looking for. Why else are they called "seeker sensitive"? Just because a church may be popular does NOT mean it's teaching proper doctrine.
A long time ago there was a pastor of a church in London that said when a church starts focusing on our needs instead of glorifying God, it's unscriptural. Isn't that basically what a "seeker-sensitive" church does?
All I can say Aquila, is, is... God bless you. (biting tongue, praying for the tongue to be subject to the Spirit. Or the fingers in this case, lol........)
I have to disagree with you just a bit because while I agree that a church needs to be about glorifying God and about preaching the truth, I don't agree that if it is meeting the needs of it's community or congregation through a fitting of their style for example, this makes it unscriptural.
The key is not whether a church seeks to be sensitive to the needs of its congregation, the key is that it doesn't lose its focus being on God and glorifying God through all they do. This goes for small churches or for mega churches.
I mean lets face it, meeting the needs of the congregation and of the community is what ministries is all about. The homeless outreach is about meeting a physical and spiritual need in the homeless community. A youth group is about meeting the needs of youth. A children's church or children's programs is about meeting the needs of the children and the parents. And if in looking for a church that has these kind's of ministries or outreaches means that one is finding a church that meets their style, meets their needs, how is that unbiblical.
Honestly, people have different tastes. It doesn't mean that God is not the same for all of them, but for example, simply in worship music, you have those that love the old hymns and really have no taste for the newer more contemporary praise and worship songs. Likewise, you have those that prefer the more contemporary worship style and don't really like the older hymns. So are you saying that someone that likes contemporary worship is wrong for seeking a church that offers that versus seeking a church that doesn't.
The point is being in a church that you just know beyond knowing God has called you to be at. A church that does teach the word, does teach truth and does seek to glorify God. All the rest of the stuff can be and a lot of times is just tools available to reach the unchurched.
Now I'm not saying there aren't bad churches out there that absolutely have lost their focus and it is no longer about glorifying God, but you know what, I have seen that in some mega-churches, BUT, I have also seen it in smaller churches, even very small ones that started out really good but suddenly it became the gospel according to so and so rather than the gospel according to God.
In the 12+ years that I have been a Christian, I have been a member of 4 churches. Not because of church hopping either. The first one was the one I went to when I first got saved. It was the church the person that led me and my family to the Lord attended. After close to a year, we ended up changing churches, as did several others, including the person that led us to the Lord, because it was becoming the gospel according to the pastor and not according to God. Our spirits were troubled being there and we knew it was time to move on.
The next church that I was a member of I was there for nearly 8 years and I knew from the moment that I walked into that church that this is where God was calling me and my family to be. We went back a couple of times just to obtain confirmation and we did. This was a mid-size church and had many programs available to reach out to the community. It is a missions oriented church and very much about preaching the truth.
After my divorce, I relocated, and this brought me to another church that I attended for 3 years. Again, very annointed church. Programs in place as well that met the needs of the community. Also involved in missions. And again, a confirmation in my heart that this is where God wanted me at.
3 months ago when I got married, this called for a relocation again. Therefore I am now in a new church, I feel God has called me to be there. This too is an annointed church and I have already seen much growth in especially my son since being there. This chruch preaches truth. Also involved in missions and outreaches. It is a growing church so not as many programs as I am accustomed to but there are some in prayer and like I said, it is an established, but still growing church.
I said all that to say this. Each church, including the first one at the beginning before the change, was a little different from one another, yet very similar in the important aspect. Teaching God's word. Truth being preached. Reaching outside the church building to the unchurched and being involved in missions.
of the 3 that I really considered home and was at the longest, the three pastors were slightly different in how they delivered the message, however, the message was the same. The word of God. Each had different programs, but they all had a similarity in their programs, they were to reach the lost, bringing healing to the hurting, and serving the needs of their community.
Each of these churches was completely biblical. The point is that a person seeking a church that meets the needs of their family, fits in with their style (i.e. preference in worship music, family oriented with programs for their kids, casual atmosphere as in attending in jeans will not be frowned about as not being your sunday best, etc.) doesn't mean this christian is more concerned with seeking their comfort and entertainment than they are about seeking truth.
On the subject of "style" in church services: If a church is preaching sound doctrine, people are coming to the Lord and lives are being changed, the differences then from one church to another is "style." Every church has a particular style. Sorry if I can't think of a more biblical sounding term so as not to be offensive, but God is the author of creativity and uniqueness, gave each of us an individual fingerprint and DNA, made all the colors and variety in animals, plant life, geography, etc that we find in creation, He is an artist!
When a group of individuals come together to birth a new body of believers, the collected gifts gathered there will spark a unique expression of the body of Christ. It will have its own flavor when worship is expressed. If the foundational truths of God's word is proclaimed, if He is worshipped in Spirit and truth, if people are coming into a deeper relationship with the Lord, who should give a flip what "style" that church is? If some find these "extracurriculars" too distracting, then they should find a church that fits them better (even though I know the Lord is not adverse to kicking us out of our comfort zones to make us in a place to draw closer to him),
The biblical example that comes to me is 1 Cor 12:12-27. Not gonna post it here, encourage anyone to read it, tho. In summary, we are all one body but each have a unique part and place where God has placed us, none of us are to be exalted in our opinion of our place and look down on another, none of us are to feel ashamed of our place and feel inferior to another.
What I have been reading in these posts is exactly what Paul here has instructed us not to do. Do you like a mega church? Maybe not. Do you like a more traditional service instead of a more contemporary one? Maybe so. But do not show disdain to those who are different from you. If their method is different, but the result is God's kingdom coming and God's will being done, who are any of us to critique? According to God's word thru Paul in this passage, you are on dangerous ground if you do. You might have freedom by the rules of this website to do so, but I would not stand in God's presence with this critical heart about His church, His bride.
One last thought. If the gymnasium, coffee bar, bookstore, jumbo screen, or whatever it is about a mega church that offends so, if just ONE person, just ONE PERSON was touched in a way that this was how they came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, is it not worth every penny spent?
Megachurches have lots of hot women, especially the Barbie type. Young, and old (+ cosmetic enhancements).
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