'Megachurches' draw big U.S. crowds

Reuters via Yahoo! ^ | 11-22-2005 | Joyce Kelly and Michael Conlon

[Warren_Piece]

Our former church had two deacons who were divorced from their spouses, and living with each other (one male and one female).

Unreal.

[The Big Swede]

Anyone know what ever happened to Larry Lea's Mega-church?

[Warren_Piece]

Not only is the divorce thing a problem, but having a woman deacon is definately out.

Getting out the popcorn...this should be good...

[bonfire]

I JUST now got the jest of your FR name! lol

[RightOnline]

It's not that I question the 'accuracy' or efficacy of Biblical teachings, but you must ask yourself how the 1st century churches......churches in place when the New Testament was written.......would be different if they were first set up in 21st century America. Churches reflect their societies and technologies as much as their core value systems. A simple thing like electricity makes a huge difference in how a church can operate.

What matters are the basics: Are the teachings Biblical? Are they truly scriptural? Are God and His Son glorified? Does the church believe in prayer.......I mean REAL prayer? Do they believe and practice in the gifts of the Spirit? Such things are what matter most, IMHO.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

And the kicker is that the pastor didn't want to say anything because the man was also the treasurer.

So, rather than fixing the open sin, he went to a Purpose-Driven Church seminar and came back transfixed on the idea of creating an "alternative" Saturday night service to reach the unchurched in town, and wanted to add more "congregation involvement" to the Sunday service. Skits, dramatic readings, etc.

[Sensei Ern]

Hey the megachurch discussion was dieing, as was the talent thing, so I thought I would throw in a bit about women leaders.

Someone bring the marshmellows!

[Eagle Eye]

Those who hear the word and accept it are the ones who produce fruit. The rest fall by the wayside.

First off, YOU are not the judge of the fruit.

Second, not all will produce the same volume and quality of fruit. Some are called to do more than others. Not all have the capacity to do the same.

Third, your understanding of the sower and seed is still shallow.

DO YOU DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE EVERYDAY TO ADVANCE THE WORK OF THE LORD WITHOUT ANY IDLE OR WASTED TIME OR EFFORT?

If not, you prove my point. We each have callings, capacities, and limits. Some limits may be self imposed.

Are we all eyes, ears, arms or feet? Do we all have the same position or the same mission? The new believer that is blessed to smile and pass out programs on Sunday may be fullfilling his calling just as adequately as the leader of a mega church.

Check out Jesus telling Peter to feed the flock. He's telling him to feed all the sheep, not just some of them.

[Warren_Piece]

What matters are the basics: Are the teachings Biblical? Are they truly scriptural? Are God and His Son glorified? Does the church believe in prayer.......I mean REAL prayer? Do they believe and practice in the gifts of the Spirit? Such things are what matter most, IMHO.

Yep, and all of our arguments over anything else are to the delight of satan.

[Eagle Eye]

...would be different if they were first set up in 21st century America.

Imagine the Corinthians with the internet! Ha!

[NormB]

I have not ever been to a "mega" church but I have been to some bigger evangelical churches.
They typically have great music and worship and rock the house, then a message that may or may not
be uplifting.
The problem is that noone knows anyone and many are just there for the feel-good music time revue.

I get into it with my wife because I don't like churches with "rock bands" leading the worship. I don't deny that the
music is *nice* but worship should not be more like a beauty contest talent show.

[Warren_Piece]

I don't deny that the music is *nice* but worship should not be more like a beauty contest talent show.

The two are not mutually exclusive. It's all in the heart of the worship leaders. We treat our entire service as a sacrifice to God, just as the burnt offerings of old. We are, ourselves (the musicians), worshipping, not performing.

AND we rock the house....

[Cecily]

I don't know the whole story about Charles Stanley's divorce, but as I recall, he did not seek or want a divorce. His wife left him and wouldn't reconcile with him.

[Xenalyte]

Were we to take away the special music and the high-tech stuff, this lapsed Anglican would find her way back.

[af_vet_rr]

Rather they would teach that certain sins might make a divorce necessary, but, they would stop short of saying that the divorce itself is a sin. If they did so, of course, a large percentage of their congregation would be extremely offended.

There's also the cultural aspect as well - many churches reflect contemporary culture, and not necessarily what was taught in the Bible, either because it's inconvenient, "out of fashion", or whatever - it could be that different people view the Bible in different ways - I know that before I visited Israel and talked with some Biblical scholars who had read the Bible in some of the original lang that came to worship.uages, that I saw it in a different light.

Regardless, our society has slowly but surely impacted how we worship. I've been to ritzy churches where the members were well-off, and I've seen and heard them them look down upon those not as well off.

I remember going to one church one sunday that had a new pastor, and he had volunteered the church to help out at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter or something, and people were upset about it. It just blew my mind. I heard one lady comment afterwards "he could have just asked us all for $20 and then hired a bunch of high school kids to go do it", and that seemed to be the consensus among the other members.

I'm sure that if you could plot all of this, it would match up with our society becoming more materialistic, and with more and more parents wanting to be their childrens' friends, than be actual parents.

[Eagle Eye]

The two are not mutually exclusive

Right!

Kind of amazing that those who don't like mega churches/home churches/rock music/worship music/hymns/etc, etc, etc. don't seem to realize that those offerings aren't necessarily wrong, just not right for them.

If they don't fit in to that kind of setting them perhaps they should find one in which they do fit.

Like eating at a smorgasboard, nothing wrong with trying something new but if I don't like oakra why should I get upset if you do? Maybe I should be more concerned about my plate instead of yours?

Instead of griping about what others do, maybe we all should find out where we fit into the Body of Christ and do the best we can with that?

[Warren_Piece]

The Anglican church has high-tech stuff? I need to get out more...

I thought you couldn't get more traditional than the Anglicans (I mean the service; their teachings, of late, have been anything but traditional)

[ItsOurTimeNow]

>>First off, YOU are not the judge of the fruit.<<

I never said I was. However, we are commanded to exhort (1 Thess 2:11-12), encourage (Romans 1:12) and strengthen the weaker brother (Romans 14), stir up each other in good works (Hebrews 10:24), out do each other in honor (Romans 12:10), and correct Brothers who we see are falling by the way-side (2 Tim 4:2 and Jude 23). It's accountability towards each other as Christians.

We can't do any of that without making a sound judgement on the public behavior of the professed Brother.

>>Not all have the capacity to do the same.<<

I understand that, but it was you who said that some never do at all.

>>Third, your understanding of the sower and seed is still shallow.<<

No, it is not. The parable is quite clear. The truly regenerate will produce fruit. No good tree can produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

>>DO YOU DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE EVERYDAY TO ADVANCE THE WORK OF THE LORD WITHOUT ANY IDLE OR WASTED TIME OR EFFORT?<<

No, I don't. Because I'm still a sinner and I still live in a fallen and sinful world. However, when the Lord regenerated my heart, he produced in me a desire to perform His will, and a desire to seek His word, His truths and His precepts.

You claim that spiritual laziness is a-ok. I'm merely saying it isn't.

2 Peter 1:3-11

>>We each have callings, capacities, and limits.<<

If it's the Lord's will, you don't have limits. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

>>Some limits may be self imposed.<<

All the more reason to pray for them, and to work towards mortifying them. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

Work - did you catch that? Faith is not a spectator sport.

[NormB]

Why aren't they?

You don't think that the worship leader can have the best of intentions and yet still perform from "the flesh"?

Music is supposed to LEAD worship not replace it.
That is why the old hymns are so great because the words inspire and the music part is an adjunct.

In the modern rock worship the music is front and center.

Hey, to each his own. I am not dogmatic about this topic but I do think that the MAJORITY of Christians are not LEAD into worship in the purist sense of the word by these highly polished "shows".

[Eagle Eye]

A person can rob a bank and have his debt to society paid in 10-20 years.

Marry the wrong person and you have a life sentence.

Somehow it doesn't seem fair.

And, no, I've never been divorced.