Mega Churches, Mega Problems

from The Patmos Paper E-magazine

Are churches getting too big! All around me I see churches growing but not in number, just in congregation size. In the past 10 year three mega churches have sprung up in my area! In the last few years they have gotten so large that they have opened up several “campuses” which are nothing more than other churches that follow them on wide screens.

I can see the reason unfortunately for the formation of so many Mega churches. A lot of small charismatic and non denomination churches have had splits or have dissolved over petty as well as some legitimate reasons. These have left many of the sheep shocked, wounded and wandering. Some have just given up on church and no longer attend. Others have joined these large churches to just sit awhile and not get involved. Some have put years of personal work and commitment to their old church and now are afraid to get involved so they just want to go to a large stadium atmosphere where they can be entertained and just get lost in the vastness of a huge congregation. After awhile, unfortunately many get too comfortable and fall into a luke warm routine.

Advantages And Disadvantage

There are of course some advantages as well as disadvantages of going to a Mega church! Many churches have every kind of program going on for the youth and kids of every age. I have heard many times people said they left their church because there was no Sunday school or youth program or nursery or what ever. Mega churches have the power of personnel! They can often draw from hundreds of people to fill in slots and create programs for every age group and gender. The disadvantage is that they can’t often vet or qualify these people. In a small church you can get to know everyone pretty well. You can see their character and have effective oversight over them in their ministry. In a large church it is much more difficult to get to know everyone, so volunteers often get placed in positions without proper vetting. Recently two churches merged near me and thus grew to a large congregation overnight. They were immersed in a new vision and the task of melding too different congregations and different church styles. As they were beginning to effect the community one of the youth pastors was caught up in a sex scandal that made its way to the local papers and TV stations. It was quite an embarrassment to the Pastors and leadership of the church as they had to deal with this issue.

Mega churches are like cruise ships. My wife and I love to take cruises for vacations (money permitting!) I always told people that cruises are great because you can be as busy as you want or as relaxed as you want. There is so much going on cruise ships with tons of food and dining and movies and shows and casinos and excursions, you can keep occupied as much as you want. But at the same time you can sit in your room and watch TV or sit on the balcony and listen to the ocean waves or stroll on deck and enjoy the sights or lounge in a chair by the pool and get some rays. When you want to be active you can and when you want to relax you can. That’s a mega church. You can be as involved as you want with dozens of programs and home groups and prayer meetings and bible studies and social events, etc or you can just sit back and find a soft chair and watch the show. Heck you can even be a member and watch most the sermons at home on TV or stream the messages to your iPad or phone!

Control, Control, Control

I know it isn’t always so but in most cases you can see that Mega churches are all about control! They don’t like to give up power readily otherwise you would see that when they get to a certain size they should divide and plant themselves in other places. More about that later. Even in small churches you have people with pastoral experience or at least a pastoral calling that could use cultivation. Pastors of mega churches often get caught up in the power. Look what I built. God has really blessed me and made me successful so I need to control everything. That’s why many of mega pastors live in mega houses (or mansions) and drive mega cars. The leadership often are nothing more than yes men or others that are reaping benefits at the expense of the sheep. Mega churches take in mega bucks. I was a Pastor of a very small church and lived fairly well so I can imagine these churches that are Ten times larger are overflowing with the people’s tithes and offerings and the Pastors are living like kings.

It is also no coincidence that many of these mega churches have been influenced by hyper-faith, prosperity gospel and kingdom dominion theology that all lend themselves to person prosperity wealth and abundance (but that is a topic for another discussion). Jesus said that we are to feed and lead the sheep but its sad that many Shepherds shear the sheep and eat mutton for dinner. When one gets use to a larger than life living than control is the key to self maintenance. Hierarchy sets in and the congregation is the means to success so they place only their likeness on the screens of their satellite churches and make sure only their worship lists are played exactly the same in all the worship teams. I was a part of the church where the youth pastor had to get the pastors sermon before Sunday and teach the youth the same thing. Sure he could do it in his own manner but what happen to the holy spirit leading.

I taught drums for many years and once went to put an ad on Craigslist for students. While I was browsing the musician area I was shocked to discover so many ads from churches looking to hire and pay professional musicians to lead or play in their worship groups. Further investigation found that it was quite common for many large churches to hire professional musicians regardless of faith to be apart of their worship teams so they could sound as professional as possible and be able to follow the direction of the worship elder or pastor. Control!

History Is Against You!

The reality is that mega churches have been around for along time and they simply do not work. If you think of the Catholic Church and British Anglican church you have two great examples. Ken Johnson, an expert on early church documents made an interesting discovery. He found out that prior to the age of Constantine and the emerging of the universal or Catholic church, the churches in the major cities of the middle east and Asia were actually almost all unified in belief and doctrine. Each city state had prominent church Bishops that taught the same doctrines that the reformed churches teach today. They taught against the same cults and fringe groups but the early church though often persecuted by Roman emperors held similar services, functioned similarly and held to the same doctrines and practices. They were Christ centered, biblically based (though having different cannons but nearly the same as today) and Spirit lead. In the new testament from the upper room we see Christianity spreading as they met in homes and small churches. With Constantine and his Church councils, though it seemed like it was do bring greater unity to the churches it brought greater control.

Up to then churches were autonomous but united. Constantine gathered the bishops to influence them, control doctrine and ultimately set what was to be accepted and discarded in the church. From there the Church in Rome grew in power until it lorded over all the other churches and ultimately fell into corruption and hypocrisy. It was a force of fear not faith and then the reformation came. At this time The catholic church was the ultimate mega church and it controlled thousands of other mega churches called cathedrals all across Europe and Asia. Martin Luther was not trying to change the church but was trying to simply reform it, that is bring it back to the first tenets of the faith. Because they refused he and others formed small groups which soon turned into many reformed churches and the Spirit of God was able to move again away from man made traditions and back to the simplicity of Christ and His word. The Reformation brought us out of the dark ages. Now thousands gathered in small groups and churches again and the power of God was moving.

But even some protestant church became mega churches and fell into the same trap. The Church in England in defiance against Catholicism became the State church and got so powerful they started persecuting their own counterpart protestant brethren. The pattern has occurred in many places and in many countries. Yes churches can get to0 big. There may be some exceptions but for the most part, large congregations tend to become self absorbed and spiritually blighted. They go from being spiritual to being simply religious.

The Lesson Of The Two Churches In Revelations

I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine on this subject and he brought out a great point. In the book of revelations it talks about Jesus and the seven churches. He stands in the middle of 7 candlesticks which represent the 7 churches and both commends then and rebukes them and threatens to take away their candlestick from his presence if they do not repent. Some had grown luke warm, others had compromised while others had grown wealthy and famous.

Yet there were two churches that Jesus had nothing to speak bad about. One of the churches was Smyrna. It was a very poor church. Jesus said He knew their affliction and poverty. He called them rich spiritually but said they would be persecuted but honored if faithful. The other was the church of Philadelphia in Asia minor. Jesus said to them “I know that you have no strength!” They obviously were not a mega church. They were probably small and not very powerful or influential. It was to them that He said they had an open door. They had kept his word and were faithful. God was so pleased with them He said He would keep and preserve them from terrible things that were to come.

These two churches stand out against the large corrupt churches who were indicted for leaving their first love, compromising with false teachers and doctrine, becoming luke warm and being deceived into thinking they are not in need of anything. The analogies of these two small faithful churches are quite thought provoking. Mega churches can too easily fall into the category of the five churches but Jesus said that even in these there were a few that were doing right but they need to repent or the candlestick would be removed from their presence.

Following The Bread And Fish

Unfortunately this is what has happened to many mega churches. They have lost the presence of the Lord. The have replaced it with programs and great worship and even insightful sermons but ultimately they are bringing people to themselves and not Jesus. The sad thing is that many Christians have come for the church meal and not the spiritual manna. Jesus sat on a hill and multitudes of people gathered as he taught them about His Father and the kingdom of God. The hour had grown late and Jesus saw that they were hungry and he had compassion on them so he had them sit down and took a boys lunch and multiplied fish and loaves of bread till they were all full. He performed a miracle to confirm his words with signs following and displayed the loving heart of God in providing for them. Many people are quite familiar with the story. What many are not aware of is the story that follows. Jesus sent his disciple across the sea of Galilee and went up too the mountain to pray. Later we read the story of Jesus walking on the water and they arrived at the other side of the lake. The next day many of the multitude saw Jesus wasn’t there so they crossed over and found Him but Jesus said an interesting thing. He said:

“Very truly I tell you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” John 6:26

They were no longer seeking Jesus but the free hand out. They wanted more free food. They just wanted bread and fish not the one who breaks bread and makes fisher of men. It is sad that many Christians are after what they can get from Jesus rather than after the Savior himself.

When pastoring a small church I remember people knocking on the church doors with wife and kids in hand with a sob story about Christian husband loosing his job and being evicted and children starving and if I would give them enough money for them to get on their feet they would be so grateful. When I told them initially I would not give them money but would go with them to buy them groceries they acted all excited But when I told them to follow me in their car to the grocery store they would follow for a bit then high-tail out of there never to be seen. I would find out later from other pastors that con artist pretending to be Christians were hitting them up too.

In a mega church you certainly have sincere, dedicated Christians but you also have nominal and fake Christians as well as wolves who come in to infiltrate and disrupt. Even in the bad churches of Revelations Jesus said there were some among them that had kept their garments clean, yet they were guilty of letting in false doctrines and teachers (Nicolaitans, Balaam and Jezabel). Certain people must of come in and began teaching this stuff and it took root in these churches. I have seen so many times where an elder, guest speaker or church member began getting the ear of the pastor an sway them in a certain direction. This is what happened to these mega churches in revelation. Because of the hierarchy power and control issues it is nearly impossible to uproot!

The Temple And The Synagogue

Mega churches can cause mega problems. Small churches have their own but they also can be more conducive to more intimacy, greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, better oversight and better receptivity to the Lords direction than mans. Jesus dealt with the Mega church and the small church in a sense. He taught in the temple often and usually encountered resistance from the Priests, Pharisees and Sadducees and religious leaders. It was the temple that had become so corrupt that He had to drive out the money changers and greedy peddlers trying to take advantage of the people. Jesus mostly preoccupied himself by going into small villages and entering the synagogues to preach.

Often it was here that he did miracles and was more effective in teaching and demonstrating the power of God. The apostle Paul also was effective in spreading the gospel by going into synagogues and sharing the messiah. It was when he later went into the temple that they nearly rioted and had him arrested. The temple had become more “religious” and thus less tolerant and opened to Jesus and his disciples. Mega churches can easily become more religious that Christian. Tradition had replaced the power of Gods word in the temple and the parallel today is just as true.

The synagogues had mainly come about after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews were scattered to all the nations as predicted by the prophets. Since the Temple was now destroyed the Jews gathered first in homes and then started meeting in small buildings like many of our small churches. To keep their faith alive they built these small synagogues in towns and set in “Rabbis” or teachers to keep the people schooled in their faith. Synagog means “ Assembly” in greek or ‘house of Assembly” in Hebrew and the early church was patterned after it.

Biblical Expansion And Growth

The great commission of Jesus was to go to the world and preach the gospel thus small churches sprung up in towns across Asia and Europe. The church was never intended to be centralized. It was never intended to have a central headquarters like the Vatican or most our denominations. Churches were to be independent and autonomous adhering to the word of God yet collaborating and supporting one another. This is why Paul traveled back and forth from these churches. This is why each church was unique from each other and yet unified in the mutual edification of one another. God wants church growth but not centralized growth. This is where the mega church really fails.

Grass covers a lot of area not because it bundles itself in one area but because it sends out shoots that take root nearby. Than that root sends out shoots and so forth until a large are is covered. Often after it sends out shoots and forms a base interestingly called crowns from which the grass grows after it takes root. It is fascinating that even after it sends out its shoots and that shoot grows, it keeps its connection to that new grass with a branch called a stolen. Churches need to operate this way. Instead of growing upwardly and centrally, when they get to a moderate size, they should grow outwardly and plant themselves in other places while connecting (not controlling) the new congregation till it gets on its feet. It is sad that Mega churches just want to get bigger in one place and even if they make campus churches they are still one church controlled by one man or group of elders.

Remember the tower of Babel? Noah was told to go and replenish the earth not to stay in one place but Nimrod defied God and built a city and tried to centralize his power. Gods answer was to confuse their language so they could no longer work together and the bible says from there the people and their descendants migrated to different parts of the earth. Many believe that God allowed persecution in the early church because they were forgetting their mandate to go spread the gospel to all the world. The Jerusalem church was starting to centralize with James and the Apostles becoming so popular and Peter’s fame growing (raising the dead and shadow healing people). We do know that right after Stephen was stoned and persecution began, many of the disciple and followers were forced to leave town and carry the message to other cities.

Come Follow Then Go Preach

Jesus first told his disciples to come. He said come follow me. They were disciples, that is apprentices. The greek word means learner or pupil. Jesus had them observe his life and he taught them and when they were ready he gave them some practice runs. He sent them out to heal the sick and cast out demons. They came back amazed. This was all preparation for his resurrection and ascension when they would continue his work on earth.

After His resurrection they were no longer disciples, but Apostles. Apostle means one sent forth or messenger. Now they were no longer to come follow but go preach and take the message of the gospel to the world. No doubt there may be many large churches that do focus on Jesus and preach His word. But there are also many that neglect the great commission or the spiritual discipline of Gods people and are no longer going out but are staying in and having a good time. Many Mega churches have often become clubs or inbred communities that make church exciting or fun. They preoccupy the people with events and programs and worship has often become entertainment with plays and skits and gimmicks, etc. They preach a social gospel or worse a false gospel. Some preach a cursory message of Christ, and make some efforts to feed the poor but in all their structure, religious liturgy and pomp, they have failed to make room for the Holy Spirit to move, the prophetic to come forth, and the giftings to be utilized.

People are looking for a revival. God in times past shook the great foundations of powerful church structures and megalithic religious strongholds and often decimated the embodiment of so called Christian system. Cathedrals have their beauty but are often empty of spiritual power. Christian love often has been replaced by Christian lifestyle and Christian labor by outward works. Paul said :

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Cor. 13 :1-3

Perhaps we don’t need revival. Perhaps we need another reformation. When Catholicism held sway and controlled empires and a religious institution had become so corrupt and had drifted so far from its moorings it seemed like there was no hope of breaking its control or getting free from its power. But a priest named Luther read the word of God and his eyes were opened and he defiantly walked over to the cathedral door and nailed his 95 theses of indictment to it. From there a movement broke a return to the New testament standards ensued. Mega churches have become the cathedrals of our day.

Not all are corrupt or religious or spiritually lacking, but there is a danger that lurks in the kind of system it breeds. It is not contentment for the masses through tickled ears or external excitement by Christian entertainment that will build up and edify the saint. It is when the simplicity of the gospel prevails, the word of God takes forefront, the focus on Christ shifts and the release of the Holy spirit begins … then we will see the heart of God in our midst not the hand of man. Saints… pray!