The other thing that I find troubling is the how the term Mega Church has become so derogatory even among Christians. If the Church is preaching the word and not 'Fluff and Puff' then I would hope that it is packing them in!
I know that you have applied the appropriate "if" to your comment, to which I agree.
However, "Most" of the derogatory comments I have heard and read about Mega Churches ARE about the content (or perceived lack thereof) in the sermons/preaching/etc. However, if a Mega Church is preaching the Gospel Truth, more power (and people) to them.
Well I like a small church some say, so what are you going to do put a limit on attendance? Stand outside and when your chosen threshold is met stop anyone else from coming in and lock the door? Or when one more person starts attending your church then you deem right quit and mover to another? I wonder if these types if they had lived in the time of Jesus would have put up a rope barer to limit attendance to the Sermon on the Mount? I personally, do like a small church. But I would never imagine my desire would lead me to take any of the actions you propose.
I can't speak to anywhere else, but here in Southern Mississippi, there must be at least a gazillion small Southern Baptist Churches, so any single church locking anyone out or using rope barriers doesn't seem to be a likely scenario.
As to moving to another church, if the one you attend has grown beyond what you are comfortable with, and that fact is impeding YOUR focus on, and walk with the LORD, then I fail to see how that is treating anyone else (who wants to attend your current church) negatively.
There might also be other reasons that some folks don't want to be part of a "large" church. My wife's parents (years ago) attended a small church at which the Pastor, the Deacons, and some "key" members decided that the church needed to "grow" and "expand". As it turned out that meant that Her parents and every other member were supposed to mortgage their home to provide the necessary funds for that grand vision of growth. They didn't feel that what was being proposed was for anything other than the self-aggrandizement of the Pastor, Deacons and the "key" members, so they declined and subsequently left that church because of the continuing pressure they were getting.
Sadly, their experience was so bitter that they left, but never sought out another church to attend and support GOD's work at.
May GOD bless you and yours on this beautiful day He made for us.
Maybe I wasn’t clear, but the lock the door and rope barrier was meant figuratively. Yet there are many churches who once they get comfortable with there size do little or nothing to welcome new people in fact they almost resent new comers and spoiling the comfortable smallness of their church and especially young people are often not welcome or recruited as it would upset the status quo. At least one post on this thread talks about such an experience. I have been on threads where people have admitted they changed churches because they felt the church was getting to big, Even some Christians suffer from not wanting to be a small fish in a big pond.
One of your primary duty as a Christian is the Great Commission if your church isn’t growing then you are clearly failing to preform the work set out for you, in other words you are not producing fruit and sooner or later you get pruned.
One of the things I like about my church is there are street people and leading business movers and shakers, their are biker dudes and housewives. there are black, white, brown, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Asian all attending the same church. Pastor is so proud as he says there isn’t hard a more segregated time of the week in America than Sunday mornings and yet visiting pastors marvel at the mix.
As Pastor Steve says if you leave Service feeling totally comfortable with yourself then he hasn’t done his job.