Aside from the fact that non-believers can't worship, these pastors need to check out Romans 3:11 to see what the Bible says about "seekers."
i used to attend a smaller "megachurch" we only had 6000 or so in sunday morning's attendance. i was part of our orchestra, and the worship service was just awesome. it was quite dedicated, yet it was still was at the level of a performance. the opening worship service is as much to draw the faithful to worship, as it is to minister to those who are unsaved. those who have walked in off the street or those that have been invited, many are impressed with what they see as a performance. its nothing like the "boring hymns" they remember as a child. all that performance that makes the service "fun" often does more ministering than the sermon.
"all that performance that makes the service "fun" often does more ministering than the sermon"
That about says it all for me.
At my church, we worship "in spirit and in truth" (imagine that) . The praise band really whips the "spirit" of the congregation up, and the preacher outlines the week's "truth", ALWAYS based on a verse from the Bible.
Jesus seemed to imply to the woman at the well that this was ideal. I know it's ideal for me and my family. But I believe God isn't so narrow that that's the ONLY way he wants us to worship. But we all want to put God in a box. We all try to remake God in our own image. Powerful, authoritarian Jesus. "Peace and Justice", hippy Jesus . Name it and Claim it Jesus. King James Only Jesus. Non-judgemental Jesus.
At times, Jesus showed EACH of these attributes, and more. I try to remember that he's bigger than the universe itself, perhaps there are infinite "correct" ways to worship him - and we'll spend eternity doing them all.
"the opening worship service is as much to draw the faithful to worship, as it is to minister to those who are unsaved. those who have walked in off the street or those that have been invited, many are impressed with what they see as a performance. its nothing like the "boring hymns" they remember as a child. all that performance that makes the service "fun" often does more ministering than the sermon. "
I don't doubt that these services are thrilling. I have sat through thousands of them myself, as a former megachurch member.
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.
What I find in Scripture is that Peter preached in the streets at Pentecost, Philip preached on the road, Paul preached everywhere including in prison and often caused riots. He even preached in court.
I think the Biblical methodology is the better one. Do church as it says how to do it in the Bible...start with Acts 2 and you will see the basic elements. They are simple (fellowship, teaching, breaking break, prayer, sharing of possessions, etc.). If we do that right, that is more than enough.
Then we all are to evangelize. All the time. Then there are those who have the spiritual gift of evangelism and we are to support those. We are to go on mission trips, etc.
That seems to me to be the way that the early church functioned and I think we do well to follow it. For decades, I was attracted by the megachurch for all of the reasons stated on this thread. But what I found is that cities with megachurches have as much pornography, prostitution, abortion, social decay and drug abuse as those that don't. Surely a church of 30,000 should make a better mark on a city? That led me to wondering what Scripture said about "doing church" which led me to where I am today.