Posted on 11/22/2005 7:11:21 AM PST by nckerr
'Megachurches' draw big U.S. crowds
By Joyce Kelly and Michael Conlon
CHICAGO (Reuters) - On a recent Sunday at Willow Creek Community Church, a Christian rock band joined by dancing children powered up in the cavernous main hall, their images ablaze on several gigantic screens.
Thousands of worshipers from the main floor to the balcony and mezzanine levels were on their feet rocking to a powerful sound system. Outside cars filled a parking lot fit for a shopping mall. Inside some people drifted into small Bible study groups or a bookstore and Internet cafe for lattes, cappuccinos and seats by a fireplace.
This church near Chicago and others like it number their congregations in the thousands on any given Sunday in stadium-size sanctuaries; but in the end a major appeal of America's megachurches may be the chance to get small.
Institutions like California's Saddleback Church, Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois and Houston's Lakewood Church, each drawing 20,000 or more on a weekend, offer not just a vast, shared attraction but a path that tries to link individuals on a faith-sustaining one-to-one level beyond the crowd, observers and worshipers said.
Rick Warren, founder of California's Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life," told a seminar held earlier this year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that about 20 churches in America have more than 10,000 in weekend attendance.
"These churches can do a ton of things that smaller churches can't," said Nancy Ammerman, professor of the sociology of religion at the Boston University School of Theology.
"They have the resources to produce a professional-quality production every weekend, with music (often specially composed for the occasion and backed by a professional ensemble) and video and lighting and computer graphics and a preacher who knows how to work a crowd," she said.
But they also support "dozens or even hundreds of specialized opportunities for people to get involved in doing things with a small group of others. If you want someone to talk to who really understands what it is like to parent an autistic child, you may find a whole support group in a megachurch," she added.
MORE CHOICE
"Or if you really love stock car racing, but hate being surrounded by drunken rowdies, you can go with a busload of your church friends. I wouldn't say that there are fewer rules in most of these churches. Most of them really expect people to get involved in ways that can have a profound impact on their lives. It's just that there are so many paths into involvement that a smaller church just can't match," Ammerman said.
That's part of what Richard and Nancy Sauser of Schaumburg, Ill., said they found at Willow Creek where they have been members for more than 10 years. They attend regularly with their daughters, ages 5 and 7. The 30-year-old church draws 20,000 weekend worshipers.
"Anything they put their minds to, they can pretty much do," he said, marveling at the power inherent in size. But he added, "Willow Creek has the resources to effectively execute on multiple facets of church life," through more than 100 different ministries.
Sauser said he does not attend Willow Creek for its size but for the teaching and the ministry.
When the thousands at Willow Creek break into smaller groups for Bible study, the men's ministry, the special needs ministry and the adult ministry, a lot of life change occurs. "In the small groups, that is where it really gets good," Sauser said.
When the crowds head for Willow Creek's parking lot, attendants in orange vests direct processions of cars into smoothly paved parking lots ahead of the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services. Inside, the throng moves through the hallways and up and down escalators and stairs, welcomed by smiling greeters.
Some drop off children at Sunday school.
On the first floor Danielle Jackola of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a mother of two who recently moved to the area from California, has come in search of a church. After listening to dynamic lead pastor Gene Appel speak on family and passing the baton of faith from one generation to the next, she liked the message -- and the entertainment.
"I had never been to something like that. I think that is one of the ways of getting your numbers up ... to get the message across but to keep it fun and upbeat. And more contemporary to get more young families involved," she said a few days later -- after deciding to join the church.
SEARCH FOR MEANING
Scott Thuma, a sociologist of religion at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, said his research indicates there are at least 1,200 U.S. Protestant churches which claim more than 2,000 weekly attendees.
Megachurches are addressing the needs of Americans who are disinterested in "traditional church" yet want to deepen a sense of meaning in their lives. Classes and volunteer ministry opportunities lead to a deeper commitment, he said.
"They have opened worship to the seeker and the unsaved rather than reserving Sunday worship for the saved and sanctified," Thuma added.
The three largest churches are Saddleback, Willow Creek and Houston's Lakewood. But Warren said the world has far larger churches, pointing to mammoth Christian congregations in Nigeria, South Korea and elsewhere.
Warren said U.S. Protestants have returned to the 19th century roots of the evangelical movement, emphasizing social issues such as caring for the sick, the poor and the powerless, and not just concentrating on personal salvation.
"The small group structure is the structure of renewal in every facet of Christianity, including Catholicism," Warren told the Pew forum. He said his church has 9,200 lay ministers leading more than 200 different ministries all over southern California with 2,600 small groups in 83 cities.
On this we will agree. It's just too easy to "fall away" otherwise. (Although I don't believe God's standing in heaven with chalk in one hand and an eraser in the other) ;)
I was raised urban Southern Baptist and Davis is Pentecostal....and I am ignorant of what that means exactly. Pentecost versus Southern Baptist
He preaches scripture and how it relates to our lives and he is fearless about issues and behavior....Islam for example.
He catches a lot of heat from the media and the feel good apostates.
Lib trick...to use that passage.....
Read in context....it basically say's IF...YOU are currently involved in the SAME sin...you have NO business pointing THAT sin out in another.
Many times people who have BEEN THERE ( but no longer practice that particular sin...) can see the signs and symtoms of it...one heck of a lot easier than others. And many times become the best to counsel others in that regard.....
Does that make sense? Hope so....
FREgards,
But I can't find in Scripture where we are counseled to make a service attractive. Nor can I find where Paul says to bring non-believers into the meetings of believers. Obviously we all know that in fact he says precisely the opposite.
we don't have to make it attractive, but there's nothing wrong with making it fun. and you probably know, that you usually have to spend a lot of time witnessing to a person to get them to come to a church. most problems i had getting people to come to church was that church is "boring." making it fun is usually how you get them to keep coming after they've made the decision.
as far as outreach, that's a big advantage of the megachurch. having the monetary backing to do some serious outreach ministries. sending people to other countries, to the inner cities, to operate food banks, etc. not to mention, as you're speaking of paul, is reaching out to people where they are. how many of the megachurches broadcast nationwide, sometime of them internationally? with a society that is largely glued to the TV, television outreach can be a huge ministry.
megachurches definately have their place.
Most of the time when people say "Pentecostal", they mean Church of God, dancing in the aisles, speaking in tongues kind of worship.
In my experience, this kind of worship is all "spirit", neglecting "truth". Many other churches go the other way, they usually have little or no music and it's no more than a glorified bible study.
But like I said, God is infinite, and I have no doubt there are an infinite number of ways to praise his Holy Name.
"Let me get this straight. Let's say a man loses his wife to cancer. He's not a Christian. He's lost, he knows he's lost, and he can't see any purpose in life. He's borderline suicidal.
He has some vague idea that the church down the street might give him some answers. He comes to the front door.
Do you:
1) Open the doors, hug him , tell him you love him, and ask him to come into the House of the Lord and calm his trouble mind in His presence - or
2) Tell him he must first be saved before he can come in. We'll be evangelising on 21st ave next Wednesday."
Sigh.
This isn't that hard.
Obviously you do everything you can to reach the lost and the hurting and your example is a great opportunity to give benevolence and ministry and all that. And obviously if the church was connected to their community locally (unlike megachurches), they would know about the guy down the street well before this point of crisis.
And I have never said that non-believers are not welcome to attend on Sunday. Of course they are. But the message should not be tapered or compromised to try to meet the needs of the "seeker." Nor should we engage in theological fiction (ie that non-believers actually do "worship") in order to fulfill our Biblical duties of ministering to the lost, the poor, the orphans and the widows (which must happen regardless of whether they are believers or not).
In terms of programming what happens on Sunday, let's say that your guy attends the worship service and it doesn't meet his needs because he is not yet a believer. I would think then that it would be entirely appropriate to announce at that service (and at every service) something like, "if today's message seemed a bit foreign to you, then perhaps you would like to attend our service at XYZ time and place" and that service would be full-throated evangelization and evangelization specifically for the lost. (The only caveat I would say is that every expository sermon on Scripture must contain the full gospel, as that is its meaning...so this example is still rather hypothetical).
This way of doing church is what Spurgeon did. If you want to look into it a bit more, read one of the many excellent biographies of him. He understood that evangelism properly speaking is for the lost, and discipleship is for the believers (so that they can in turn reach the lost). What he did programattically was quite ingenius and very taxing on him as he ended up preaching sometimes 20 times a week.
And of course Metropolitan Tabernacle routinely drew 10,000 on Sunday. Now THAT is a megachurch which seems to me to be along Biblical lines.
I have no use for the "name it and claim it" crowd (and 1 or 2 of these pastors who have a tendency towards this have been mentioned on this thread) but most of the "mega-chuches" and "seeker churches" here in Dallas are bringing in people who otherwise would never step foot into a traditional church. Not that there's anything wrong with traditional churches either.
When I was young, those whom I met in church usually had grown up in church. Now, I'm just as likely to find people who have served time in prison, who have struggled with drugs, and even one saintly lady I know who used to sew pull-off clothing for strippers. I've seen lives tremendously changed by God.
There's nothing wrong with having churches whose main mission is to evangelize people to the point where they can attend another church where the teaching is deeper. There's nothing wrong with churches who minister to a specific group of people like convicts, prostitutes, middle-class men with a football addiction, or lepers in New Delhi. All of these people need to hear the Good News. Some people like being part of a big church while others like being part of a small church. As long as a church preach the gospel, it has my support.
"we don't have to make it attractive, but there's nothing wrong with making it fun. and you probably know, that you usually have to spend a lot of time witnessing to a person to get them to come to a church. most problems i had getting people to come to church was that church is "boring." making it fun is usually how you get them to keep coming after they've made the decision.
as far as outreach, that's a big advantage of the megachurch. having the monetary backing to do some serious outreach ministries. sending people to other countries, to the inner cities, to operate food banks, etc. not to mention, as you're speaking of paul, is reaching out to people where they are. how many of the megachurches broadcast nationwide, sometime of them internationally? with a society that is largely glued to the TV, television outreach can be a huge ministry.
megachurches definately have their place."
I used to agree with everything you wrote. I don't anymore because I don't find these patterns in Scripture. I don't find any evangelist in Scripture doing anything except calling people to repentance...I am not sure that is the same thing as reaching people where they are. It is true that Peter spoke to thousands at Pentecost, but I think the analog to that is open air preaching such as done by George Whitefield, not broadcast. I might be convinced by that if the content were truly hard core, but that seems not to be the case most often nowadays.
In terms of making church fun, I don't think the early church was "fun" at all. I don't think it was fun to listen to Jonathan Edwards. I think it would have been terrifying, as indeed, most of Scripture is terrifying. But I think it also leads to sanctification for believers.
Certainly attending church and having fellowship ala Acts 2 is "fun" but I think the fun we are talking about is things like rock bands, smoke machines, film clips, lots of pop culture references, etc. I think that is grossly unbiblical. The first century analog would be having gladiator fights at church because well, you know, a good gladiator fight always brings out the crowds.
A final point is being lost on all this, and it is the most important one.
Church is not really about us and our needs anyway. It is about bringing glory and honor to the Lamb. If we keep our eyes on that, and not focus on ourselves or the seekers, we would do a much better job.
Your posts are right on, and I am blessed for having read them.
The mega churches from my experience seem to want the best of both worlds. They want to feel good and "spiritual", but they also want to be entertained. Christ travelled with 12 disciples, not 12 entertainers and musicians.
Feed the sheep, don't amuse the goats.
I wonder how many of these churches are in the suburbs? And how many are in downtown areas?
Exactly. I play in a praise band (not an orchestra - boy would that be cool), and what you said is true; nowhere else do I feel such a closeness to God as when I take the gifts he's given me, and lay them at his feet.
I'm still trying to figure out the "Jesus is my boyfriend" thing. Maybe "Draw Me Close", or maybe "I Can Only Imagine".
Can we not declare our love for our Lord ?
Anytime the term "mega-church" is posted, you can expect the same Pavlovian response.
It's one of many hot-button phrases like "purpose driven" that are just irresistable to some.
>>Jesus-Is-My-Boyfriend songs.<<
LOL...classic - I'll have to remember that. I've been using "God as my non-judgemental psychiatrist" to describe the I'm-ok-you're-ok teaching of many.
You are kind. Thank you.
It's all grace, you know. Even when He deems it worthwhile to reveal Scriptural truths to us, it's all about Him not us. No glory, no credit, just grace.
yes!
LOL
Interestingly, the objections here aren't to size (which is the reason I wouldn't attend a mega-church), but to the idea of seeker churches. I think they have their place. Some people don't trust God enough to believe that he will guide them to a church with deeper teaching when the time is right.
I trust God.
Seriously, can you please give me some examples? It was such a funny thing to say, I'm dying to find out if my praise band is playing "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs.
You can't just leave something like that hanging...
If you have to ask, you probably are playing them :)
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