Mistakes in Desiring the Megachurch
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This transcript has been provided by: "Technically, That's Illegal" on Amazon
Let me tell you, I’m a believer when it comes to life, your individual life, the church, or a number of other things, it is always good to have an idea of what you want for the future.
There’s an old Bible verse that I go back to quite often in my mind which says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Think of it this way: Think of yourself going out on vacation and let’s say you live on the east coast. Chances are you’re not going to start driving, get about halfway to California, and decide to go on vacation in New York.
Before you pack the very first item in your suitcase, before you do anything to actually execute the vacation plans, you’re going to make the plans. You’re going to decide exactly where you’re going and when you’re going. You’re going to plan for the future, and I believe that’s a very important thing that many many churches perhaps do not consider. We’re not thinking about the future or the life of the church five years down the road or ten years down the road.
If you’re being interviewed by a potential new employer, that employer will ask where you see yourself in five years. They want to get an idea of the vision you have. Maybe we should be asking ourselves that same question when it comes to the church.
One church pastor has been asking that question.
On Sunday morning at Horizon Christian Fellowship, a 15-member worship band cranks out praise songs and the pastor preaches with the aid of stadium lighting and jumbo-size screens. But the church, which is only eight months old, has an average attendance of just 28.
“If we build it, we believe they will come,” says pastor Rick Allen, 26, a recent Bible college graduate.
Ninety percent of the people who attend the church participate in the service somehow, either in short dramas, humorous video clips or in traditional roles like ushering. This means that at times there is virtually no audience.
“We sit and listen in shifts,” says one woman who is the lighting tech, third camera operator, head greeter and fifth grade Sunday school teacher.
Instead of starting a church in some “depressing little storefront,” Allen says he decided to rent the biggest space he could find.
“It reflects our confidence in where we’re headed,” he says.
Now, I do have a few remarks to make on the negative side of things but before I do that, let me just say that I do respect and appreciate this pastor’s enthusiasm and his vision for the future. I love the fact that he’s thinking that one day the Lord will bless them to grow. I would suspect that all of those twenty eight people that are participating in this church have that same vision. Otherwise, they probably would think it is kind of silly to have the majority of the congregation on the stage at any given time. Obviously these folks have to believe in what they’re doing. I can respect that.
I believe a couple of mistakes are being made here. The first mistake I see being made here is this desire of this pastor, Rick Allen, to look at the mega-church model and desire after that. It’s a very tempting thing to look at these mega-churches on TV and think to ourselves, “Man,look how many of God’s people from the community are pouring into those churches. I would love to have the same thing.”
This transcript has been provided by: "Technically, That's Illegal" on Amazon
The reality is, I believe, that the healthiest churches generally have slow growth. The Lord can greatly bless some congregations and a lot of people can start showing up out of the blue. I believe that can happen, and it’s something we saw in the days of the apostles. Of course, that was a slightly different time period. But, it’s something I believe can happen when we’re out in our communities turning the world upside down (as is put in Acts 13). I believe we can have a significant impact beyond what we might expect to happen.
However, in most cases, even in the Bible, it seems that the large gatherings of people – the thousands of people that came together all at once overnight had a tendency to not be quite as genuine and sincere as what they ought to be. It didn’t take much for those people to flee the scene.
To give you an example, the Lord fed the thousands with a few loaves of bread and some fish. As long as he was passing out that natural food, people were happy. As long as he was fulfilling their natural senses, people were content, and people stuck around. They followed him across the water. When he got off the ship on the other side, people joined him there. But, as soon as he started preaching, just raw, simple preaching of the truth, the the crowd disappeared. The only ones who remained were the original apostles that were with him before.
I’m not doubting the sincerity of people in mega-churches. However I’m more cautious about rapid growth and expansion of the church then a slow, but steady growth over time. I’m much more comfortable with that. Perhaps you can see my my reasoning there. Perhaps you can understand my perspective. The idea of starting as a mega-church even though the people aren’t there is a mistake.
I just imagine myself walking into this auditorium on it any given Sunday and seeing that most of the people that are present are participating in the stage show in some way or another and not really a part of the congregation or audience (as it is referred to in the article. I’ll address that in a minute. I don’t think the church should have an audience. There is a congregation, but not an audience, and there is a difference. Again, I’ll talk about that moment). I think if I was a visitor to this church, I would be a little put off by it. I’d just feel out of place. It would seem strange to me to walk into this church and to see them set up like it is some huge mega-church but the vast majority of the seats are empty. I don’t know if the article says, but it looks from the picture that this auditorium holds a lot of people. But, we see just a few people in there and it seems kind of awkward.
He’s taking the approach that I’m starting to see more and more across the internet. What you have now are a lot of book authors and a lot of websites that are offering churches and pastors help on marketing the church. I’ve said multiple times before that the best form of marketing a church can do is simply doing what they’re supposed to. Successful church marketing doesn’t come through ad campaigns or renting billboards and these types of things. All of that is okay, but the most effective form of marketing in the Bible is just talking to people and, more importantly, showing people love and being an example to them. That’s the best form of marketing we can do.
It goes back to what the Lord said in the sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter five, “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify the father thereby.” So when people see that light shining from you, and when they see the joy you have in your life, they’re going to start to wonder where you get your joy from. They are going to think they want a part of that. It works, it really does. It doesn’t bring in large crowds of people overnight. Hundreds of people are not necessarily going to come flooding into the church, but it’s effective. What you are going to do is that you’re going to draw in the most sincere and genuine people. I believe that. I truly do.
This pastor is following a lot of the marketing tips that are out there for churches, and it seems to me that church marketing professionals are advocating the same thing – if you build it they will come. In fact, that’s exactly what the pastor said. I admire his enthusiasm. I admire his hope for the future. I admire his vision. However, I think maybe he’s going a little overboard, and I think that can actually be damaging.
This transcript has been provided by: "Technically, That's Illegal" on Amazon
Another thing that I am concerned about when it comes to the story and Rick Allen’s approach at Horizon Christian Fellowship Church, is following this mega-church model. There are some things that I don’t like about the typical mega-church. Smaller churches are really guilty of the same thing and that is turning a worship service into a spectator event.
I don’t like attending those churches where there is a sort of Christian-themed production put on a stage. You have videos. You have performances from choirs and bands. You have the preaching, of course. All of these things are done and you’re supposed to sit there as though you just bought a ticket to Broadway and you’re going to enjoy the show. I don’t like that.
I believe everyone should be a participant in the worship service. Rather than having an audience in the church, there should be a congregation. The congregation should be joining in the singing together, the praying together, and the discussion of God s Word (if there’s an occasion for that).
Of course, the closest you come to having an audience is in the teaching that is presented by the church pastor. At that time, of course, the congregation sits and listens and essentially is an audience. But, I think you might know what I mean if you’ve had enough experience going from one church to another and noticing that sometimes, worship services are turned into spectator events. Worship is not a spectator event. It’s something you should be actively engaged in while you’re there with your brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s very tempting. I understand Rick Allen’s position to look at these mega-churches on TV and say, “Just look how big they are! Look how many of God’s people are there! I want that.”
I’m not going to assume Rick Allen just wants to be the next pastor in the long line of celebrity preachers from these mega-churches that are on TV, have book deals, are on the radio, and have these congregations of ten thousand people plus. It’s my impulse to say that he just wants to be one of those guys. He wants to be famous. He wants to be well-liked, and he wants the money that comes with it. That’s my impulse, but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt and I’m going to assume in a small congregation of twenty-eight people that his only desire is to see the church grow.
Unfortunately, like I said, I believe he’s taking the wrong approach here. I believe he’s gone a little bit overboard in his vision. Vision is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be a proper, wise vision. Something to think about, anyway.
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http://www.larknews.com/archives/709
About The Author
Jeremy Sarber
I'm the pastor of one of the most blessed churches in all the world. I'm married to the most wonderful woman to walk the face of the earth. I'm host of possibly the most unconventional podcast on the Internet. I am thankful because I deserve none of it. Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email
