How does this site feel about mega-churches?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
J

joefizz

Guest
#21
#21
wait you can call churches "mega" and that helps somehow???
alright my church is a mini mega church lol!(only about 10-20 people but somehow we manage,what a shocker,to think to accomplish this we give money offerings from the money we make from our "jobs",our pastor helps pay the main church bill with his check that he actually "works for" doing a truck job,gasp,and our pastor isn't paid by us,gasp again,somehow God "provides",somehow we all trust in "God" not our "money" or "multitude",how is this possible???
Simple,"with God all things are possible"!)
 
C

CaptainGoat

Guest
#22
#22
We often judge but we shouldn't as it is not our job. I guess if we looked we would find fault with everyone! Never forget as a teenager in my early 20's (Actually not a teenager but it writes well) I found myself on the recievi tend of harsh words from a pastor who was at fault for doing so... I forgive him as it was Gods way to get me to leave that church, as He had told me to leave before that and I didnt! (The church itself God later closed). Sorry, going off subject...
Yes, I like the mans teachings. There are also others. Haha. Yes. Very different from traditional Catholic church! Yes. I agree! Haha! :)
 
R

RBW8

Guest
#23
#23
Yeah he's all about prosperity. We also left Lakewood when it was becoming the same ol.

I think he is scared to lose audience members with scorn. I get not being judgemental and accepting all but there comes a time when a Christian leader has to say "what you're doing is wrong, you're not lost but you need to change your lifestyle".

It was a major atmosphere change when there were so many homosexuals and women looking like they were going to the club after service (super short dresses).

He has a good message to hear on occasion. It is uplifting but we needed more. We'll still go from time to time but as of 6+ months ago we started looking elsewhere.
 
C

CaptainGoat

Guest
#24
#24
Prosperity preaching sometimes forgets that it is God who chooses to bless or strip away.
The danger being is that if God strips away the believer and others assume the person is living in sin. Consider Job!
 
R

RBW8

Guest
#25
#25
joefizz said:
wait you can call churches "mega" and that helps somehow???
alright my church is a mini mega church lol!(only about 10-20 people but somehow we manage,what a shocker,to think to accomplish this we give money offerings from the money we make from our "jobs",our pastor helps pay the main church bill with his check that he actually "works for" doing a truck job,gasp,and our pastor isn't paid by us,gasp again,somehow God "provides",somehow we all trust in "God" not our "money" or "multitude",how is this possible???
Simple,"with God all things are possible"!)
Click to expand...
I say mega church simply bc of the amount of people that attend. 52k on average a week is pretty crazy if you think about it. I do not mean it's better than your (not you just in general) backwoods church with window units or no AC at all. I've heard good messages at those places too.
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#26
#26
Willie-T said:
Man, that Abraham! Shame on him for having all that money.
Click to expand...
Well, he could rebuke Solomon, since he was much poorer than he was. lol
 
C

CaptainGoat

Guest
#27
#27
RBW8 said:
I say mega church simply bc of the amount of people that attend. 52k on average a week is pretty crazy if you think about it. I do not mean it's better than your (not you just in general) backwoods church with window units or no AC at all. I've heard good messages at those places too.
Click to expand...
That's a whole city where I come from! Wow!
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#28
#28
joefizz said:
all church goers have cars???
shame on me for walking to churches...hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha!!!
Click to expand...
Yeah, you're missing what goes on in buses after service. lol
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#29
#29
RBW8 said:
I might be misinformed but my wife said he didn't take a salary from the church anymore. He has written a lot of books so I know that accounts for some of his wealth. I've been to his church a few times with my wife and I was honestly a little judgmental because of my general perception of millionaire preachers. But I do enjoy his message. I enjoy the praise and worship I never knew as a catholic. I know you have your crooked mega church leaders but I guess that's like grouping every catholic priest as a pedo. I guess you can't really judge until you hear them out.

There was a visiting pastor from Dallas that had a mega church there. I did not care for him much as he came off as wanting to be a comedian and put on a show where I felt void of a message of any kind. I suppose its case by case. The good ones have a lot of money, yes but they do a lot for the community. I'm kind of split on it but there are some that donate a lot.
Click to expand...
I'm poor, but come from rich. I know my family. Most of them are good people, but many judge them because they're rich and should...? Should what? And who are we to judge unless we're doing what they should do too?

My family tithes. All my family, including us. (Strangely, I'm one of very few Christians in my family, but they all tithe anyway.) The only difference is in how much is tithed. And, frankly, if folks are going to rebuke for not giving a lot, that should come on my head, not my family's head.

Richness is in varying degrees. Some are rich enough to have a nice chunk of land with something between a house and a mansion on it. They can go on cruises or trips whenever they like.

And then there is the polo pony/charity balls set. They do live in mansions. (I'm still wowed that my great-uncle and great-aunt had 22 rooms for servants, two ranges with 8 burners on them and a walk-in freezer in one kitchen! And it rained that day when they wanted to have a picnic on their grounds, so we "got stuck" having the picnic in the library/arboretum. All 12 grandkids with assorted parents and grandparents. :eek:)

BUT you know how that area they lived in remembers them? That mansion is now part of the nearby college. And that hospital is twice the size from their money!

My family tends to become rich, not by the sweat of their parent's brows, but the sweat of their own brows. Sometimes that sweat affords the luxuries and sometimes it doesn't. They don't judge me for my lack of money, and I don't judge them for their wealth of money. We judge by the person, not the purse strings.

Still, nice to know someone still enjoys polo and charity balls. (And, boy! I'm glad I don't get stuck with either. Me in a dress? Naahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! lol)
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#30
#30
zeroturbulence said:
But Pharoah and Herod weren't speaking scriptures and turning people towards God.. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
No, they weren't. But all of them most certainly were or are teaching a different god.
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#31
#31
joefizz said:
wait you can call churches "mega" and that helps somehow???
alright my church is a mini mega church lol!(only about 10-20 people but somehow we manage,what a shocker,to think to accomplish this we give money offerings from the money we make from our "jobs",our pastor helps pay the main church bill with his check that he actually "works for" doing a truck job,gasp,and our pastor isn't paid by us,gasp again,somehow God "provides",somehow we all trust in "God" not our "money" or "multitude",how is this possible???
Simple,"with God all things are possible"!)
Click to expand...
A megachurch, by definition, is any church with 2000 or more members. My church qualifies, and yet it only holds 500 comfortable per service. They do that by having an early morning service and late morning service on Sundays, followed by a nighttime service. And a good chunk of the members can't go to any of the services because either they're missionaries or in the healthcare field, so have to work on Sundays. And then there are the disabled folks who can't go, but if we need it, they will come to our homes.

To make up for the gob-smack of humanity when entering the church any time on Sunday, they have something like mini-churches during the week. Five of them to accommodate the five sections of Philly -- South Philly, West Philly, Center City, Northeast, and I have no idea what other neighborhood they congregate in. (Each section has smaller sections, so no telling what they call the fifth one. lol) That's where people join in to edify, to figure out which ministry they want to help with, or to start their own, if they can get enough to agree to join in.

And when one of those groups is ready for a church planting, they start working on finding a place for a daughter church in that area. (Daughter churches, once they're established, stop being part of the "megachurch." Last heard, there are seven daughter churches, but the other five churches in my denomination in this city sprung from this central church decades ago.)

And the purpose for those churches is to feed the neighborhoods -- both literally, (when need be) and spiritually, (always need be.)

So, really? Is megachurch better or worse than your church? Because one of the keys, we believe is to pay our teaching elders, so they can spend the week studying and preparing for that message that week. And then the ruling elders volunteer until the church is big enough to pay them too. After all, they're supposed to maintain the church building, make sure everyone's needs are met, and make sure everyone is equipped to move out in the Lord.

I'm thinking if God is there, then our churches are equal.
 
J

joefizz

Guest
#32
#32
CaptainGoat said:
Get one of those cassette player things for you walking back and fore to church that have headphones... Walkmans! Remembered the name. Record a tape that says
"LEFT RIGHT LEFT.......LEFT.......LEFT......"
(Often thought people wearing headphones walking along could be listening to such things to help them walk.... New ones seem very small these days so must have tiny cassettes in them!)
Click to expand...
sorry to disappoint you but I never walk while wearing headphones!
 
J

joefizz

Guest
#34
#34
Depleted said:
A megachurch, by definition, is any church with 2000 or more members. My church qualifies, and yet it only holds 500 comfortable per service. They do that by having an early morning service and late morning service on Sundays, followed by a nighttime service. And a good chunk of the members can't go to any of the services because either they're missionaries or in the healthcare field, so have to work on Sundays. And then there are the disabled folks who can't go, but if we need it, they will come to our homes.

To make up for the gob-smack of humanity when entering the church any time on Sunday, they have something like mini-churches during the week. Five of them to accommodate the five sections of Philly -- South Philly, West Philly, Center City, Northeast, and I have no idea what other neighborhood they congregate in. (Each section has smaller sections, so no telling what they call the fifth one. lol) That's where people join in to edify, to figure out which ministry they want to help with, or to start their own, if they can get enough to agree to join in.

And when one of those groups is ready for a church planting, they start working on finding a place for a daughter church in that area. (Daughter churches, once they're established, stop being part of the "megachurch." Last heard, there are seven daughter churches, but the other five churches in my denomination in this city sprung from this central church decades ago.)

And the purpose for those churches is to feed the neighborhoods -- both literally, (when need be) and spiritually, (always need be.)

So, really? Is megachurch better or worse than your church? Because one of the keys, we believe is to pay our teaching elders, so they can spend the week studying and preparing for that message that week. And then the ruling elders volunteer until the church is big enough to pay them too. After all, they're supposed to maintain the church building, make sure everyone's needs are met, and make sure everyone is equipped to move out in the Lord.

I'm thinking if God is there, then our churches are equal.
Click to expand...
well if we are going to talk on "paying elders" as I understand it God is our "elder" and he is wiser than any elder at any church so why not just stick to having pastors and deacons,considering that God is three elders in one,seems a bit as ugly says "redundant" if God is really in these churches then why the need to put mere people's values higher than God's values?
because it is clear in the bible that God has no need of people in high seats nor anyone who hath alot of money,what he really desires is for people to have "true" faith in him,as in trust God for what "needs" people have that God knows that they "actually need" for God already knows everyone's hearts,desires,and needs,now I understand voting on certain business of the church but that is the job of the entire congregation as a whole as in the pastor,deacons,and members in the congregation,"elders" choosing what is to happen is really irrelevant because is anything too hard for God that he needeth anyone to take his place as the governor of his household?
Nay because "as for God's way his way is perfect" so it is better to believe on God than any mere person,as a matter of fact the time of priests and elders is long since past if one reads the bible to realize that Jesus is both the mediator(speaker for us to God) and high priest(elder who decides what is to be done concerning the church and one whom we can confess our sins to and ask for forgiveness) so it would seem this mega church deal overshadows the fact that God already has a just priest and speaker for him to us....Jesus,so how people can still accept the grace plan and yet choose to overlook that God already has all whom he needs for just decision making and for a true report,ye make things too hard on your own selves,thinking that any can do now what God has already made clear we are not to do once accepting Jesus as saviour and being saved and baptized willingly,what use is ignorance to God?
Alas many are they who do what they "feel" is right,not what is written nor what God asks of us,I can only pray that people will come to realize this and stop troubling themselves with matters that are God's not ours to handle,and that they will "Trust" God for their "needs" and "Let" God be their "Just Leader"!
 
O

oldethennew

Banned
#35
Feb 28, 2016
11,311
2,972
113
#35
in some ways, 'mega' means over the top, excess, way to much, not relatable
but of course, we realize, for some, the attraction if irresistible,,,

both of us feel real comfort in relatable, real circumstances that we can grab ahold of...
maybe we're just different, but we are flexible when we are led to be...
with Jesus, there's always the real challenge, for He never stops testing our mettle...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.