For what it's worth, my in-laws attend North Point Community Church (mentioned in the article, in the 'burbs north of Atlanta) and I've gone there a few times. It looks more like a community college campus than a church, and yes, it's huge (three services a day, each split into two 2000-person halls by the first letter of your last name--"A-L go to the west hall, M-Z and visitors go to the east hall"), and yes, it's got just about everything. Every service is videotaped professionally. The sound system, video, all of it, is state-of-the-art. The halls have giant video screens, each hall has its own praise band (loud rock praise music)...you name it, they've got it. And it all runs with the smooth efficiency of a megacorporation with a large paid staff and literally hundreds of volunteers every Sunday.
From what I've heard while there, however, the preaching and teaching is pretty sound. I found Christ while attending a conservative Presbyterian Church in America congregation in South Carolina, and I never heard anything at North Point that contradicted the teaching I received from the PCA, which is a VERY conservative denomination. The pastor at North Point is Andy Stanley, son of Rev. Charles Stanley, familiar to many from TV and as the head of Atlanta's First Baptist Church, which itself is pretty gigantic.
Personally I like smaller churches. But not all of the megachurches are as shallow as some make them out to be. They're just...well..."mega."
}:-)4
I went there a few times and just left a bad taste in my mouth. I generally like Andy Stanley but it was weird as he's nearing the end of his sermon you can see people heading for the doors so they can beat the traffic. If I had tried that as a kid m mother would have put the fear of God in me. LOL!
What seems odd is that many of these sermon will make only a passing reference to the Bible which previously used to be a thing that only liberals did.
Northpoint struck me as a kind of church that you kinda had to know someone there before you could ever be a real part of it. You couldn't just show up cold turkey and ever become a real part of anytinng. If there was ever anyone in Atlanta that reminded me of John MacArthur I would definetely join that church however here its all rick warren rick warren rick warren everywhere you go. IMHO!!
One caution I see of mega-churches is that there is so much going on, the focus can be on things other than the Gospel.