Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Megachurch
43,500 weekly attendance
Posted on 08/27/2013 11:53:37 AM PDT by NYer
Megachurch. Two young ladies. Both had left the Catholic Church. Both were now attending “megachurches.” We had a good chat together. I wanted to understand their reasons for why they left the Catholic Church for a megachurch.
Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Megachurch
43,500 weekly attendance
I was at the bank and somehow I got into a spiritual conversation with two Hispanic executives that worked there.
When I asked why they exchanged the Catholic Church for the megachurch, they gave me a number of reasons:
Although these two ladies didn’t articulate it explicitly to me, I could tell that they were very proud of their new churches. I could also discern in them a surprise that I am so “spiritual” and yet I am very excited about being Catholic. They assumed the “with it” people were leaving Catholicism for the bigger and better and deal.
I asked them what they miss about being Catholic. They replied with two answers:
I asked both about the Eucharist: “Don’t you miss the Eucharist?”
This question didn’t phase them one bit. “Oh we still have communion. They pass out little crackers and cups of juice. I like this better because I thought drinking from one big cup is icky. Spreads germs.”
“But in the Catholic Church,” I replied, “we believe that the Eucharist is the real Body and Blood of Jesus?”
I may as well have said, “Don’t you know that there are Martians in my back pocket.” She was unaware that the Catholic Church taught this. No idea.
This, my brothers and sisters, is the crux of the problem. These girls were raised as Catholics, but did not know about the Eucharist. They did not know that the Eucharist is God. They did not understand the Holy Eucharist is the center of the Catholic tradition.
So when they compare our ho-hum Catholic music and pedestrian sermons to snazzy well produced musical productions and highly polished bulleted sermons from handsome professional speakers…where are they going to go?
If they had believed that the Holy Eucharist is truly the Lord Jesus Christ, then they would have stayed. This is the task of the New Evangelization if there is going to be one. Can we communicate the mystery of Eucharist. If we fail in that, everyone is leaving the building.
Godspeed,
Taylor
PS: I don’t mean to suggest that having the Holy Eucharist is an excuse for bad music, bad vestments, bad architecture, and bad sermons. The Eucharist is like a precious diamond. It deserves a platinum setting…not a plastic setting. We can’t say, “Well, we have the Eucharist – so you’re forced to stay and have a miserable experience every Sunday.” We can’t keep the sacraments hostage to mediocracy.
PPS: With 1 billion strong, the Catholic Church is the real megachurch!
Pope Francis at Rio de Janeiro
3 million people
I agree. Gnosticism is a false teachng.
You are confusing the words. Prayer can be worship but etymologically, prayer can be the asking of any favor of anyone, spiritual or physical.
Worship IS worship whether through prayer, through song, through the Mass, through actions that glorify God.
*Discernment Quotient
I have several Catholic apps on my iPad and my parish has a website, what more does one need?
Joel Osteen obviously is not enough to keep thousands of people showing up every week...Apparently they have a lot of activity going on...Smaller groups where bible teaching takes place...Get togethers where families can bond with each other...You, know, like a real bible church...
LOLOLOL...They always say one thing...And they always do another...
Are these pictures photoshopped? Do you seriously believe that these acts are not repeated thousands of times on a daily basis?
Very good pictures of very good things.
Where have you ever read in the bible that you can sacrifice the Son to the Father???
The Father sacrificed the Son for me, and you if you will accept it...
And people wonder how the Church has been subverted today. Not from without, but from within. Scaling the walls and taking over was a cake-walk for the pagans.
Similar scenes no doubt appear daily but none of them illustrate worshiping preachers, statues, floats in parades, or whatever it is you’re claiming.
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Yep. I have friends from Latin American countries who tell me that Evangelical Churches are making HUGE inroads into these traditionally Catholic countries. Mainly because they speak to young people in a way our Church is failing to do.
'Course here in my town, we have an Asbury Methodist Church, named for Francis Asbury, an 18th century frontier missionary bishop who is worshipped by Methodists.
Oh! And! You'll never guess what I saw at the Baptist church last Christmas:
I am happy that the exercise of mentally translating arcane language deepens your faith.
What I am saying is that this is not the case for the vast majority of young people.
The Marian prayers extant in Catholic literature are, on their own, evidence of idolatry. Never mind the scenes depicted.
I think Miley Cyrus the other night was speaking to (some) of our young people in a way the Church fails to do also. Thank God the Church fails on that score!
Sorry, Mrs. Don-o. There is absolutely no parallel between what these statures represent and how Catholics view these images of Mary.
If anyone did to a public statue of an historic figure, or a nativity scene what Catholics do to statues of Mary on a regular basis, I would condemn these acts just as vigorously.
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