What is a christian.?...
What is a church.?...
Isn't that how the Fabian Society got started?
Nothing wrong with good works...they are essential.
Personal salvation...the whole goal.
However, there's got to be something in there about discipleship or the thing peters out after a short time. IMO the pastor's main job is prayer and preaching of the Word.
A few observations from a Mega church (app 43,000 members) goer:
1. The Mega churches, in general, are strongly Biblical, the churches that aren't don't become Mega churches.
2. Much of the success of the Mega churches is due to their ability to create a Christian subculture. The effect on the individual congregant is difficult to describe in a few words, but it changes people's lives dramatically.
3. People come to church for many different reasons. As Dennis Raney says: "When your 16 yar old son suddenly insists on going to the Bible study at a local church, it probably is due to the fact that there a bunch of really good looking girls who also attend. Take him. People come to Jesus for different reasons". In my case, it was the music that brought me to Jesus. I had visited many other churches in the area, but when our choir started to sing it simply turned my life upside down. When they started swaying and clapping to the music it was almost unbearable, I felt as if I had been blown out of my seat and turned end over end. Others have been brought to Jesus in much the same way. Others through reason. It just seems to depend on the person and their stage in life.
4. Jeans and more casual clothing are more a reflection of a lifestyle of worship rather than any rebellion in attire or any disrepect for God.
5. I know who was at church last Sunday and who wasn't. Them that wasn't will be receiving a card. "Is everything OK?"
6. Worship Vs entertainment. Those of us who play instruments at church or who sing are more aware of this problem than most others. We aren't singing and playing to perform, we are doing so to lead Worship. Our rehearsals are also worship meetings, frequently they are really intense.
7. Bible studies are the key to the Mega churches. It is likely that you know everyone in your study or will very shortly. They are basically mini churches, about 60 to 200 people in size.
8. Whatever you think of Lakewood (Joel Osteen), it is just one church and others should not be judged using it as a global example. It is somewhat different from most other Mega churches.
9. Many people go to different churches at different times of their lives. Seekers go to one church and as they mature in their journey they will migrate to another. There is noting at all wrong with that approach.
10. The Mega churches are not cults but many of them are very enthusiastic in their Worship. This, I think, is a reflection of a need in people to connect with Jesus through their heart. It is also a relection of the most recent "Awakening" (the fifth in our history) that was set off by 9/11. It is extremely conservative and very Charismatic in feel, if not in detail.
11. In my own Mega church, a very large portion of revenue flows out of the church for Evangelical projects. A really large portion.
Crowds of what? So does the Superbowl. So does WWF Wrestling. It most often means they're entertaining, not teaching.
Anyone know what ever happened to Larry Lea's Mega-church?
mark