[P-Marlowe]

From the article: "We must raise the question of how large a congregation can be while still retaining a biblical ministry. If the God-ordained responsibility of church officers is to "watch out for your souls, as those who must give account" (Heb. 13:17), does there not come a point when the sheer size of a church makes such care difficult, if not impossible?"

When it comes down to brass tacks, the author of this article is preaching against God's sovereignty. If God can draw people to a church, he can certainly provide for their needs. What kind of heretical nonsense is this guy spewing? Is God so small and weak that he can't meet the spiritual needs of his children in a church which he caused to grow?

Amazing. I believe that if God grows a church, he will provide the means to feed his sheep. Sometimes I think I'm a more consistent Calvinist than the majority of the GRPL's.

[xzins]

Two things strike me.

1. The early Jerusalem Church was a mega-church and they managed quite well, and they practiced spiritual managment and shepherding.

2. The entire OT body of believers, if I remember correctly, were properly to worship in only one location -- the temple. Synagogues were not extensions of the temple.

[thePilgrim]

***Sometimes I think I'm a more consistent Calvinist than the majority of the GRPL's.***

Funny that I was given an unsolicited invitation and I never call myself a Calvinist. I'll now explain the reason why.

It doesn't matter what one calls himself. You can call yourself a Calvinist all day and it be no more true than if you were to call yourself a Martian. So, I usually leave such complimentary labels as being called a Calvinist to others. It saves me embarrassment for giving myself grand labels that don't apply.

Now, as to your accusations of heresy by the author. Note, that the goal and effect of most mega-churches is not a close community where everyone knows everyone else. This is from a recent article I posted here on FR:

Bill Hybels, founder of the Willow Creek Community Church, put the church growth principles into practice. When he decided to start his own church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, he conducted a door-to-door market survey to determine why suburbanites stayed away from church. On the basis of his survey he discovered that they were bored by church, that they were put off by traditional religious symbols, and that they preferred to remain anonymous when they attend church. Consequently, he designed a church to overcome their objections.

---

So, you see that the goal of these mega-churches is anonymity. I guess if God does actually take care of the spiritual needs of the flock when they prefer to remain anonymous then why bother going to church at all. If the only reason for going is so you can say that my butt warmed a pew that morning then you should probably stay home.

You have actually presumed without proving the case that God has caused the growth of these kinds of anonymous churches. To be quite honest, I find that more disturbing than the idea that the author puts forth when he says: "If the God-ordained responsibility of church officers is to "watch out for your souls, as those who must give account" (Heb. 13:17), does there not come a point when the sheer size of a church makes such care difficult, if not impossible?"

If the Lord has given men personal responsibility to watch over your souls, then the author is correct to assert that size will make that difficult or impossible, especially given that the goal of these churches in the first place is anonymity. That, by definition, makes it impossible for God's ordained method of overseeing of the souls of the elect to function.

But, such is the method of these mega-churches. They would rather bypass God's Word on such things for the sake of getting the pews warmed.

In the service of the Lord,
Christian.

[HarleyD]

You may want to take a look at Revelation. There were several churches there that God did not have kind words for. Or the list of false teachers Paul talks about to stay away from.

God is sovereign. That doesn't mean there aren't wolves out there and that every place that calls itself "Christian" is really so. And that's just the way He planned it.