A friend recently posted this picture on Facebook.
I immediately burst out laughing, because I have this thought every time I see a large, overpriced church.
I think this is one of those controversial topics within the church. I am so mission minded that every time a church gets hung up on seemingly commercial items, I think, “Shouldn’t we give this money to the poor? Feed the hungry? Something Jesus would do?”
Years ago, when I still sung with the church choir, new choir robes were being purchased. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat every time the topic came up and they passed around a shiny catalog of choir robes going for $200 or more. I wanted to shout out, “WHY DO WE EVEN NEED THESE???” It seemed so frivolous. Was Jesus really going to care what I was singing in?
When this picture went up on Facebook, one person defended the megachurch, saying that her church fed and taught many people in the community. They were doing great things. This is true. We never really know what’s going on the rest of the week until we get involved. I ought not to be super critical.
Super expensive things in worship still make me uncomfortable. I know we need to love on Jesus and part of that is through His building that we worship in, but when is it too much?
I think of this story.
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Matthew 26:6-13
I so would have been one of the ones on the sideline yelling, “Hey! What gives? Why the waste?” And then I would have been shocked when Jesus criticized me.
It’s such a fine line. Where is it too much? What do you think? Do megachurches make you uncomfortable?
When Dad was still a pastor, we used to get coupon packs in the mail specifically for church stuff. There were choir robes, hymnal holders for the backs of chairs, cushioned pews, etc. The one that shocked me most was pre-filled communion cups with tear-off paper lids like coffee creamers.
The things I like about attending a megachurch:
1) Being annonymous. No one notices if I skip a week. Or four.
2) It wasn’t “mega” when I started attending, so I think of the size of the building like I think of a family that outgrew a small sedan and upgraded to a mini-van: as the family grows, so does the space you require. We outgrew the industrial pole building we used to meet in and renovated an old department store (but the picture you posted would be the equivalent to a family of six upgrading to a stretch limo).
3) The staff is big enough to do all the work. I’m not constantly being recruited to help out.
I think those are the same things I dislike about church:
1) Wish I was part of a community.
2) Sunday mornings feel like a trip to the mall.
3) I have no influence or input, I’m just an observer.
Uncomfortable. I don’t want to talk about it.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Coffee creamer communion. Wonder who had that brilliant idea.
Good points on good things about megachurches. There’s an up side and down side to everything I suppose.
I more than understand the discomfort with large churches and I’m with you, Jamie, on the choir robe thing. I don’t know, I think there is a place for all sizes. Big churches can do big things. Like you said, the building is sort of the facade that is immediately visible but you have no idea what’s happening behind the scenes unless you are intimately involved there.
In every church I’ve ever been to there have been sincere people and insincere people. The larger the church, the greater numbers there are of both.
“In every church I’ve ever been to there have been sincere people and insincere people. The larger the church, the greater numbers there are of both.”
Wow. Well said.
I don’t have much personal experience with megachurches, so I won’t comment on that (but I will say that almost all churches–even the tiny one I grew up in–manage to have people in them who have no issue with spending frivolously on items for appearance’s sake. Kind of makes me sick.). A side note about the paper communion cups, however–I hadn’t seen these until sometime in the past year, when I was stuck in the nursery on communion Sunday (yes, I did say stuck–I love kids, particularly my own, but at our church parents of young children are the only ones guilt-tripped into keeping the nursery. I bet megachurches pay sitters, or recruit their large singles groups for this purpose. But I digress.). Anyway, these little cups (with wafers conveniently shrink-wrapped to the lid!) were used to serve those of us who working in the nursery or children’s church. I think they may have actually used them in church once, but since then I haven’t seen them used in church, only for those who weren’t actually in the sanctuary. I would imagine that these might also be useful for bringing communion to shut-ins, so it might be convenient for churches to keep a supply on hand–just not enough to serve the entire congregation!
What a great take on the “coffee creamer communion cup.” As usual, my cynical side hears something like that and my eyes roll. But there’s a definite use for it. Thanks for sharing that!
And I think you’re right. In a lot of small churches, parents are guilt tripped into being nursery workers. That is one definite up side to bigger churches… having paid staff to do those sorts of things.
Thanks, Jamie! And by the way, I have *no problem* with eye rolling and cynicism–they are possibly the biggest reasons I am too chicken to even write a blog. 🙂 I probably would have had the same reaction to the communion cups had I been first presented with them in church. In fact, speaking of cynicism and church, I’m about to leave to help with a church egg hunt–two hours before it starts. And the kids don’t even *hunt* the plastic eggs–we just basically lay them all over the ground so that they can pick up a basketful and say they “hunted” them, so I don’t see why we have to be there two hours early. 🙁 So, although it’s nowhere near a doctrinal issue, I’m feeling pretty cynical about church issues myself today!
I just always wonder if you don’t like a mega-church – how will you like heaven? Just ponder that for a couple minutes it is one mega church – every church no matter its size on earth has it faults (we are still on earth) but it isn’t the size that is the problem. If you think about the cost per person of attendance – small country churches of only 20 cost more to run and have less resources to give to the ‘poor’ if that is your concern. Either way – why do we as Christians want to put down other churches or Christians because it isn’t our style? We should be encouraging each other and pursuing Christ with our lives not pursuit our preferences.
Thanks for the interesting thought, Travis. Like I said in the post, there are some definite good things about megachurches.
My intent here is not to “put down” other churches or Christians. My intent is to process through things in my brain and ask some tough questions. I know that all my thoughts and ideas are not “right” and some of them don’t even make sense, but through sharing them, it helps the pieces fall into place. I have a lot of resentments toward church and this blog has helped me process through all that gunk.
I am trying to pursue Christ, but along the way, I am noticing things that just don’t make sense… at least to me.
I didn’t meant so much about your post as the picture. 🙂 I just get tired of the negativity about church from Christians – something I think you understand too.
Yeah, I agree. But sometimes tough questions need to be asked, and although the picture may have some negativity, I think it got some conversation started.
I have worshipped in both large and small churches, with all kinds of “trappings” and people. I have worshipped in huts in third-world countries and I can honestly say there are all sorts of people attending and things happening that maybe I don’t quite “get” but I’m reminded that God can use all sorts of people and things to bring about his plan. I, too, get upset with the mindset of “bigger is better,” but then I read God’s design and plan for the Tabernacle and the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem and I know that He will use any place and any group of people to His Glory when we submit to him first.
I appreciate the comment about when we get to Heaven, now that will be MEGA! I have read a wonderful book by David Platt called “Radical” and I highly recommend it to anyone. It deals with his own experience with his very large congregation in Birmingham, AL. He is very mission minded and community minded, made some enemies within his congregation when he suggested radical changes to what they did.
I, personally, love a fellowship where I can be a part of what is going on, not a “pew sitter” and I have found a place in that group where I can actually serve. Serving is the key…it’s what Jesus told us to do. I may not always like or agree with everything, but my Lord and I have a relationship that reminds me I’m serving Him and no one else.
I don’t see these mega-churches as a place where one can nurture faith and interact with God. When visiting a local church I mentioned to the pastor that we came to see the new church – he condescendingly responded “the Church is not a building, it’s a body” well, it went downhill from there and this one sure didn’t feel like a body- Often times I can feel the competition between clicks, who’s who, the weekly fashion show of which the pastor’s wife seemed to be vying for “most beautiful” in a tacit beauty contest. The snooty ladies group should have been called ‘Housewives of Calvary Chapel’ . The church fosters a demand for entertainment culminating in evangelistic, salvation-centric sermons. It appears that what the pastors of monoliths like these are actually up to is creating their ‘own’ businesses, with flexible schedules, they collect tithes and SET their(salaries) they are aiming for growth, they strive for a youth culture with their rock star image of the pastor and worship leaders in the way they do things, they have entertaining and pithy and sermonettes designed to promote larger churches and expand their ‘businesses’. They DON’T help those who are broken, disheartened, distraught, marginalized. They don’t offer SOLUTIONS toward education, job training, helping people restore their lives, in fact they do the opposite – they promote and create a mood of fear with slogans like “Die for Christ” Sounds good, who could argue ? in actuality it points members back to the church (business), to do more work, spend more time at the church, essentially training people to devote their free- time to God’s work- translation: UNPAID labor, they promote the dualistic thought process of a Sacred/Secular world view. Naturally, people want to be investing their time and effort into the “kingdom” {the Sacred realm} in favor of work – having a (career) or school (developing a career) {considered Secular} and so diminished and end up being relegated to the ‘worldly’ when in fact the leaders themselves are worldly. EITHER/OR driven perspectives or environments don’t add tangible value to the (local) community.
Thanks for sharing. I love the housewives of Calvary Chapel.