Mega-Church Vs Small Church

[notmywillbuthine]

The number of those who ate was five thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 14:21

In the preceding scripture, we are given only the number of men, who were the heads of the households. The number of women and children is not given, but we can safely say, that men plus women and children, made the number more than ten thousand people.
Ten thousand people is a mega-crowd, which in our time, would equal a mega-church. So, if Jesus preached to mega-crowds, many centuries ago, when the world population was much smaller, why should anyone hold negative opinions of every mega-church, in our time, when the human population is much bigger?

If you are going to attempt to use Jesus' feeding of the five thousand men as a justification for megachurches, then you need to tell the whole story.

Per John 6:2, the great multitude was initially following Jesus because they saw the miracles he performed on those who were diseased. Are megachurches providing the same healing today? Per John 6:26-27, many of that multitude sought to find Jesus after he had fed them, but for the wrong reason. Jesus told them they were seeking him because he had fed them, and not because they saw the miracle that he had performed. IOW, their initial motivation of following him because of his miracles had been replaced with a desire to be fed natural food. Per John 6:66, after Jesus preached a sermon to these people, many of them went back and walked no more with him. Per John 6:67-68, that prompted Jesus to ask his twelve disciples if they were going to go away as well. Peter answered, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Large crowds, in and of themselves, mean nothing if the motivation for the gathering is wrong. I don't seek to blanketly condemn all megachurches, but let's not kid ourselves, some of them are just social clubs that are bent on catering to the desires of the people while watering down or even totally corrupting the word of God. I heavily suspect that if the true, unfiltered word of God was preached in such places, then the crowd sizes would dwindle considerably.

 

[tablet123]

I attend a mega-church, but I am always surprised by the large number of people, including many fellow Christians, who hold very strong negative views, about any mega-church, without having any knowledge of how any particular mega-church is run or operated.
This is not to defend every mega-church, because we have all heard of scandalous behavior from some of them, either through the media or word of mouth, but that same scandalous behavior has also taken place in small churches, but because they are small and less well known, very few get hear of their misdeeds. Mega-churches, because of their size, tend to be well-known, therefore the news of any wrong that may happen in them, spreads wide and further, as opposed to a small church.
There is no perfect church and no church is bad or good, just because of its size.

The number of those who ate was five thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 14:21

In the preceding scripture, we are given only the number of men, who were the heads of the households. The number of women and children is not given, but we can safely say, that men plus women and children, made the number more than ten thousand people.
Ten thousand people is a mega-crowd, which in our time, would equal a mega-church. So, if Jesus preached to mega-crowds, many centuries ago, when the world population was much smaller, why should anyone hold negative opinions of every mega-church, in our time, when the human population is much bigger?

Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 15:38

Here again, if you add the four thousand men plus women and children, the number of people will be almost or over ten thousand. Jesus preached to mega-church size crowds. And if we lived in a perfect world, every church today would be a mega-church, because there are more people today,than when Jesus preached to mega-crowds, in the past.
Furthermore, we have mega this and mega that in our time, like mega-stores and mega-farms, because small stores or small farms are not enough to meet the needs of a growing population.

It is not wrong to be in a large group of people at a Church.

But the preachers will get caught up in greed because of all the money flowing in.

Which we see happen to the mega Churches and with television evangelists and I have not seen one different which they justify themselves that God is blessing them.

But the Bible says that the early Church sold all the things that were not a necessity and the disciples distributed to those that had need.

And Paul said he coveted no man's gold or silver and only ministered to his needs, and worked to supply his needs.

The love of money is the root of all evil for it neglects the poor and needy, and love is the fulfilling of the law.

God only blesses with our needs not our wants.

God said He wants equality among the saints.

The preacher is not to be in the ministry for the money.

Because of greed setting in they will then become worldly, not pushing holiness, and giving them entertainment, to please the people so they can keep the people coming back and more people will come.

Especially in a time where the majority of people claiming Christianity are being worldly so they capitalize on that.

Which God told us of the last Church age which is now which is popular at this time.

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

It could be that was their intention all along to make money and greed did not set in later on.

Do the television evangelists believe or did they get in to it for an easy way to make money.

For how do they miss the truth of the Bible while they say they are knowledgeable in the word of God.

It is probably the intention of the mega Churches to make money from the start of the ministry.

Of course in a big city with more people they could have a large Church but usually people go to a large Church for it does not teach the strictness of the Bible.

And preachers that preach the prosperity Gospel that godliness is gain but God said withdraw yourself from them having food and clothing be content.

Which they say that to justify themself that God is blessing them with an abundance of money and tell them if they give money that God will bless them with money.

Like Joel Osteen preaching the prosperity Gospel having 40 million dollars.

It seems as if all the mega Churches preach godliness is gain and are interested in money neglecting the poor.

 

[homwardbound]

I love your long answer but I will refrain from attaching a heart. I especially appreciate your realization that nature is the primary miracle that will be bookended by the recreation. This is why the Big Bang is evidence for God. I also like your recognition that moral free will explains how God is loving and just. HAND

As, we each grow and learn from everything, instead of getting angered over anything. I in past had, especially in adversities I never thought to expect, Now I see to have no unrealistic expectations.
Got them, got angered and then learned and saw to accept all, then saw contentment in all things eventually as Paul saw in his letter Epistles. Saw there are those sincere and those misusing the Gospel. He said he will glory in both, since Jesus is preached whether in sincerity or for self gain, mattered not to him. I see he saw to remain content in all things happening, God he remained in trust, has a plan. Then he heard from the jail help, that came to belief too. Them seeing him still praising God, while in Jail. Not complaining about it, counting it all as good, even though it was not good.
Amazing grace, seen to glory in, even if in adversities as well. That floors me, the same as Jesus who went to a cross willingly without a flesh fight back, amazing. Then risen and seen by them that got him killed, thinking they got rid of him and saw they did not (Col 2)
How, evil has been fighting back with attitudes of, you better behave or God is gong to get you, attitude of people wanting control of people. The same that went on back then, that Jesus exposed them with only doing good, that they got him crucified for doing good, and people not going to them for help anymore (Job security)
As Jesus said, they would not have known their sin, if he had not come here to show them, and they fought, and we still have that going on the same today, people wanting to control other people and use good to get others under them only to one day reveal their evil too.
Me, I am no good, I need God to love through me daily, every day 24/7, anyone else? I am accountable, I am not qualified, yet God is, so I thank God and trust God as God says to us all, I, God just love you too. To me, God wants the best for us all. And hates it whenever anyone of us fight in the flesh to I am right and you are wrong attitudes, you think I think thanks

 

[GWH]

I concur with you, that as Christians, we should study and know the scriptures well enough to be able rebut any contrary arguments made by non-believers

Yes and the Scripture supporting our view might begin with 1 Peter 3:15.

 

[GWH]

It is not wrong to be in a large group of people at a Church.

But the preachers will get caught up in greed because of all the money flowing in.

Which we see happen to the mega Churches and with television evangelists and I have not seen one different which they justify themselves that God is blessing them.

But the Bible says that the early Church sold all the things that were not a necessity and the disciples distributed to those that had need.

And Paul said he coveted no man's gold or silver and only ministered to his needs, and worked to supply his needs.

The love of money is the root of all evil for it neglects the poor and needy, and love is the fulfilling of the law.

God only blesses with our needs not our wants.

God said He wants equality among the saints.

The preacher is not to be in the ministry for the money.

Because of greed setting in they will then become worldly, not pushing holiness, and giving them entertainment, to please the people so they can keep the people coming back and more people will come.

Especially in a time where the majority of people claiming Christianity are being worldly so they capitalize on that.

Which God told us of the last Church age which is now which is popular at this time.

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

It could be that was their intention all along to make money and greed did not set in later on.

Do the television evangelists believe or did they get in to it for an easy way to make money.

For how do they miss the truth of the Bible while they say they are knowledgeable in the word of God.

It is probably the intention of the mega Churches to make money from the start of the ministry.

Of course in a big city with more people they could have a large Church but usually people go to a large Church for it does not teach the strictness of the Bible.

And preachers that preach the prosperity Gospel that godliness is gain but God said withdraw yourself from them having food and clothing be content.

Which they say that to justify themself that God is blessing them with an abundance of money and tell them if they give money that God will bless them with money.

Like Joel Osteen preaching the prosperity Gospel having 40 million dollars.

It seems as if all the mega Churches preach godliness is gain and are interested in money neglecting the poor.

Yes and a parameter for discerning whether a mega church is helping or hindering the body of Christ is does it aid or compete with smaller churches. Is it more like Walmart in a small town or does it endeavor to multiply ministries by starting missions or at least satellite churches?

 

[lrs68]

We tend to blame the Preacher when the church is bigger than we believe it should be by claiming his/her message is ungodly.

But what about the people that go there?

People just don't leave their homes, give time and money to a cause because they are forced to do so.

I know people that choose bigger churches because they feel like no one knows them and it's refreshing to go somewhere and hear about God without having everyone know them.

I know people who won't even go shopping during peak hours because too many people are there and they love a small church because it's not a big group of people.

I know people that simply go to small churches because everyone knows everyone there.

Oddly enough, the same message is being preached in both settings bigger and smaller churches but people go based upon what makes them feel more comfortable.

I blame people more than preacher's because I know why they go to where they go.

 

[GWH]

We tend to blame the Preacher when the church is bigger than we believe it should be by claiming his/her message is ungodly.

But what about the people that go there?

People just don't leave their homes, give time and money to a cause because they are forced to do so.

I know people that choose bigger churches because they feel like no one knows them and it's refreshing to go somewhere and hear about God without having everyone know them.

I know people who won't even go shopping during peak hours because too many people are there and they love a small church because it's not a big group of people.

I know people that simply go to small churches because everyone knows everyone there.

Oddly enough, the same message is being preached in both settings bigger and smaller churches but people go based upon what makes them feel more comfortable.

I blame people more than preacher's because I know why they go to where they go.

Well variety is the spice of life except regarding spouses and saviors and I have attended different churches for diverse reasons including because my parents did, I was a minister there, it had a good youth program for my kids, it had a good pastor-teacher and it was closest.
I have belonged to small missions, large churches and sizes in between so the main thing is to pray for God’s will to be done every where and in all situations.

 

[Mouse_Cheeks]

I attend a mega-church, but I am always surprised by the large number of people, including many fellow Christians, who hold very strong negative views, about any mega-church, without having any knowledge of how any particular mega-church is run or operated.
This is not to defend every mega-church, because we have all heard of scandalous behavior from some of them, either through the media or word of mouth, but that same scandalous behavior has also taken place in small churches, but because they are small and less well known, very few get hear of their misdeeds. Mega-churches, because of their size, tend to be well-known, therefore the news of any wrong that may happen in them, spreads wide and further, as opposed to a small church.
There is no perfect church and no church is bad or good, just because of its size.

The number of those who ate was five thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 14:21

In the preceding scripture, we are given only the number of men, who were the heads of the households. The number of women and children is not given, but we can safely say, that men plus women and children, made the number more than ten thousand people.
Ten thousand people is a mega-crowd, which in our time, would equal a mega-church. So, if Jesus preached to mega-crowds, many centuries ago, when the world population was much smaller, why should anyone hold negative opinions of every mega-church, in our time, when the human population is much bigger?

Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 15:38

Here again, if you add the four thousand men plus women and children, the number of people will be almost or over ten thousand. Jesus preached to mega-church size crowds. And if we lived in a perfect world, every church today would be a mega-church, because there are more people today,than when Jesus preached to mega-crowds, in the past.
Furthermore, we have mega this and mega that in our time, like mega-stores and mega-farms, because small stores or small farms are not enough to meet the needs of a growing population.

I've seen a couple of so called mega churches on TV.

The issue I think they have is ,with thousands of members pastoral counseling is impossible.

 

[lrs68]

Well variety is the spice of life except regarding spouses and saviors and I have attended different churches for diverse reasons including because my parents did, I was a minister there, it had a good youth program for my kids, it had a good pastor-teacher and it was closest.
I have belonged to small missions, large churches and sizes in between so the main thing is to pray for God’s will to be done every where and in all situations.

Agreed, so it's really more about the people going to Church than the size of the Church being good or bad.

 

[GWH]

Agreed, so it's really more about the people going to Church than the size of the Church being good or bad.

Yes but a vicious cycle is involved when people become used to mediocre pastors who don’t teach doctrine other than the Gospel (Hebrews 6:1-3).

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

I attend a mega-church, but I am always surprised by the large number of people, including many fellow Christians, who hold very strong negative views, about any mega-church, without having any knowledge of how any particular mega-church is run or operated.
This is not to defend every mega-church, because we have all heard of scandalous behavior from some of them, either through the media or word of mouth, but that same scandalous behavior has also taken place in small churches, but because they are small and less well known, very few get hear of their misdeeds. Mega-churches, because of their size, tend to be well-known, therefore the news of any wrong that may happen in them, spreads wide and further, as opposed to a small church.
There is no perfect church and no church is bad or good, just because of its size.

The number of those who ate was five thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 14:21

In the preceding scripture, we are given only the number of men, who were the heads of the households. The number of women and children is not given, but we can safely say, that men plus women and children, made the number more than ten thousand people.
Ten thousand people is a mega-crowd, which in our time, would equal a mega-church. So, if Jesus preached to mega-crowds, many centuries ago, when the world population was much smaller, why should anyone hold negative opinions of every mega-church, in our time, when the human population is much bigger?

Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 15:38

Here again, if you add the four thousand men plus women and children, the number of people will be almost or over ten thousand. Jesus preached to mega-church size crowds. And if we lived in a perfect world, every church today would be a mega-church, because there are more people today,than when Jesus preached to mega-crowds, in the past.
Furthermore, we have mega this and mega that in our time, like mega-stores and mega-farms, because small stores or small farms are not enough to meet the needs of a growing population.

I agree with you that a large church doesn't make it a bad church.
I spent a decade of my life affiliated with an Evangelical mega church, so I have a perspective from the inside about that one.

They are preaching the right gospel for the most part. The pastor is compassionate and approachable. The doctrines are in alignment with my core beliefs 80%+.
There were some very decent people on staff that I call friends.

With people who are sinners come problems. The more people you have, the more problems there are. It's like any group in that regard.
I would rather see 100 mega churches preaching the right gospel in spite of their problems than 100 spreading a false gospel.

The problem with the most visible mega churches on TV and online is that the pastors preach false gospels that send people to hell. I am totally against them. They became enemies of God when their pastors started out with a small group.

 

[MobileChapel]

I agree with you that a large church doesn't make it a bad church.
I spent a decade of my life affiliated with an Evangelical mega church, so I have a perspective from the inside about that one.

They are preaching the right gospel for the most part. The pastor is compassionate and approachable. The doctrines are in alignment with my core beliefs 80%+.
There were some very decent people on staff that I call friends.

With people who are sinners come problems. The more people you have, the more problems there are. It's like any group in that regard.
I would rather see 100 mega churches preaching the right gospel in spite of their problems than 100 spreading a false gospel.

The problem with the most visible mega churches on TV and online is that the pastors preach false gospels that send people to hell. I am totally against them. They became enemies of God when their pastors started out with a small group.

Well said, but we do not live in a perfect world. And unfortunately there is no agency or organization to police wrong or false doctrine.
The church world is ‘buyer beware’. We can blame corrupt preachers forever, but individual Christian are not completely innocent, they are responsible for deciding for themselves, whose message to buy, just as when they shop for goods and services.

….they. examined the scriptures every day, to see if what Paul said was true - Acts 17:11

The early Christians did not just accept something because the apostle Paul or any preacher said it, they double-checked the scriptures for themselves, to make sure that, what they heard, was really true.
So, present-day Christians and those in the future, should follow this example for their own good.

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

Well said, but we do not live in a perfect world. And unfortunately there is no agency or organization to police wrong or false doctrine.
The church world is ‘buyer beware’. We can blame corrupt preachers forever, but individual Christian are not completely innocent, they are responsible for deciding for themselves, whose message to buy, just as when they shop for goods and services.

….they. examined the scriptures every day, to see if what Paul said was true - Acts 17:11

The early Christians did not just accept something because the apostle Paul or any preacher said it, they double-checked the scriptures for themselves, to make sure that, what they heard, was really true.
So, present-day Christians and those in the future, should follow this example for their own good.

Yes, that's what made those of Berea even more noble than those of Thessalonica.

And Galatians 1:8 X2

8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

I think we are on the same page.
I had to make that decision after more than one conversation with my pastor.
He had deacons who were not saved, invited missionaries and evangelists to preach their fake gospels. Why would I want to support something God hates or share in the curse upon those who are enemies of the cross?
Any sensible Christian would not want to follow leaders like that.

This happened at other churches I thought were of like faith....until....until....the pastors thought they were ba tough guys for publicly making their beliefs known. They were bad alright.....bad preachers leading astray the simple.

I just praised the Lord that He revealed them up front so I wouldn't waste anymore time there.

 

[MobileChapel]

Yes, that's what made those of Berea even more noble than those of Thessalonica.

And Galatians 1:8 X2

8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

I think we are on the same page.
I had to make that decision after more than one conversation with my pastor.
He had deacons who were not saved, invited missionaries and evangelists to preach their fake gospels. Why would I want to support something God hates or share in the curse upon those who are enemies of the cross?
Any sensible Christian would not want to follow leaders like that.

This happened at other churches I thought were of like faith....until....until....the pastors thought they were ba tough guys for publicly making their beliefs known. They were bad alright.....bad preachers leading astray the simple.

I just praised the Lord that He revealed them up front so I wouldn't waste anymore time there.

All in all, it is up to every Christian to save themselves from false or wrong doctrine, because nobody is going to save them. There will always be those whose who peddle false or wrong doctrine, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to hold them accountable, except to avoid them.

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

All in all, it is up to every Christian to save themselves from false or wrong doctrine, because nobody is going to save them. There will always be those whose who peddle false or wrong doctrine, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to hold them accountable, except to avoid them.

That's certainly true considering the warnings Jesus gave in His gospels and Revelation. Then we find them in most of the Epistles.

On the other hand, we who know the truth are to warn of them and reprove. It's not pleasant to the victims of deception, but those who have ears to hear, will give heed to the truth, while others will heep to themselves teachers, having itching ears and do as they please.

Example, a close friend decided to quit our Bible studies. He chose to follow some weird, weak antichrist who called himself a pastor and an ombudsman. He wasn't fit to lead a chicken coop of hens.
My friend got a lot of grief for his decision, yet he keeps pursuing those attacking windmills.

 

[MobileChapel]

That's certainly true considering the warnings Jesus gave in His gospels and Revelation. Then we find them in most of the Epistles.

On the other hand, we who know the truth are to warn of them and reprove. It's not pleasant to the victims of deception, but those who have ears to hear, will give heed to the truth, while others will heep to themselves teachers, having itching ears and do as they please.

Example, a close friend decided to quit our Bible studies. He chose to follow some weird, weak antichrist who called himself a pastor and an ombudsman. He wasn't fit to lead a chicken coop of hens.
My friend got a lot of grief for his decision, yet he keeps pursuing those attacking windmills.

Certainly, we have to share the truth with other Christians that may be following false or wrong doctrine, but only if they are open and willing to hear from others, because there are many Christians on the wrong path, but are not interested to hear anything different from what they already believe. In other words, you can’t force the truth on those who do not want to hear it.

 

[GWH]

Certainly, we have to share the truth with other Christians that may be following false or wrong doctrine, but only if they are open and willing to hear from others, because there are many Christians on the wrong path, but are not interested to hear anything different from what they already believe. In other words, you can’t force the truth on those who do not want to hear it.

Yes, we can’t and God won’t except in Paul’s case.

 

[John146]

I attend a mega-church, but I am always surprised by the large number of people, including many fellow Christians, who hold very strong negative views, about any mega-church, without having any knowledge of how any particular mega-church is run or operated.
This is not to defend every mega-church, because we have all heard of scandalous behavior from some of them, either through the media or word of mouth, but that same scandalous behavior has also taken place in small churches, but because they are small and less well known, very few get hear of their misdeeds. Mega-churches, because of their size, tend to be well-known, therefore the news of any wrong that may happen in them, spreads wide and further, as opposed to a small church.
There is no perfect church and no church is bad or good, just because of its size.

The number of those who ate was five thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 14:21

In the preceding scripture, we are given only the number of men, who were the heads of the households. The number of women and children is not given, but we can safely say, that men plus women and children, made the number more than ten thousand people.
Ten thousand people is a mega-crowd, which in our time, would equal a mega-church. So, if Jesus preached to mega-crowds, many centuries ago, when the world population was much smaller, why should anyone hold negative opinions of every mega-church, in our time, when the human population is much bigger?

Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children - Matthew 15:38

Here again, if you add the four thousand men plus women and children, the number of people will be almost or over ten thousand. Jesus preached to mega-church size crowds. And if we lived in a perfect world, every church today would be a mega-church, because there are more people today,than when Jesus preached to mega-crowds, in the past.
Furthermore, we have mega this and mega that in our time, like mega-stores and mega-farms, because small stores or small farms are not enough to meet the needs of a growing population.

I've been on the "inside" of a mega church. Believe me, the number of people in attendance does not equate to God's in it. Let's start with that. You have to agree that compromises are being made to satisfy the whole. The purpose of the local church is for the growth and equipping of the saints.

Let me ask you about your experiences:
1. Do they turn the lights off for worship? Fog machines?
2. Does the Pastor use pop culture references throughout his sermon?
3. Many sermons on giving, aka, being good stewards with your finances?
4. Are people encouraged to use their phones in place of a bible? You know, so they can take notes and fill in the blanks throughout the sermon.
5. Is the gospel message of the cross preached every other Sunday? Shouldn't the saints have that settled?
6. Does the church emphasize all of the resources they have to satisfy your family's needs?
7. Does the pastor know the people in the congregation?
8. Does the pastor make 6 digits and live in a million-dollar home?
9. Lastly, I guarantee your pastor uses a modern version of the bible and corrects it often with his wealth of Greek knowledge.

Just a few...

 

[MobileChapel]

I've been on the "inside" of a mega church. Believe me, the number of people in attendance does not equate to God's in it. Let's start with that. You have to agree that compromises are being made to satisfy the whole. The purpose of the local church is for the growth and equipping of the saints.

Let me ask you about your experiences:
1. Do they turn the lights off for worship? Fog machines?
2. Does the Pastor use pop culture references throughout his sermon?
3. Many sermons on giving, aka, being good stewards with your finances?
4. Are people encouraged to use their phones in place of a bible? You know, so they can take notes and fill in the blanks throughout the sermon.
5. Is the gospel message of the cross preached every other Sunday? Shouldn't the saints have that settled?
6. Does the church emphasize all of the resources they have to satisfy your family's needs?
7. Does the pastor know the people in the congregation?
8. Does the pastor make 6 digits and live in a million-dollar home?
9. Lastly, I guarantee your pastor uses a modern version of the bible and corrects it often with his wealth of Greek knowledge.

Just a few...

No to 1 - 4 . The only mention about giving is when it is time to collect tithes and offerings. #5 - Different biblical subjects are preached, but at the end of each service, there is an altar call, just in case there are visitors or new comers, who would like to acknowledge and receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.. # 6 I ‘m not sure, what you really mean? #7 The pastor always makes an effort to greet and talk with as many people as possible, after service, but whether he can remember everyone by name, that he comes into contact with is debatable and may be asking too much. #8 In any organization, whether in the secular or spiritual world, the leadership’s pay and lifestyle is determined by the amount of revenue that the organization generates. # 9 For the most part the NKJV is used. Other versions are used only for clarity, like the modern English version.

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

I've been on the "inside" of a mega church. Believe me, the number of people in attendance does not equate to God's in it. Let's start with that. You have to agree that compromises are being made to satisfy the whole. The purpose of the local church is for the growth and equipping of the saints.

Let me ask you about your experiences:
1. Do they turn the lights off for worship? Fog machines?
2. Does the Pastor use pop culture references throughout his sermon?
3. Many sermons on giving, aka, being good stewards with your finances?
4. Are people encouraged to use their phones in place of a bible? You know, so they can take notes and fill in the blanks throughout the sermon.
5. Is the gospel message of the cross preached every other Sunday? Shouldn't the saints have that settled?
6. Does the church emphasize all of the resources they have to satisfy your family's needs?
7. Does the pastor know the people in the congregation?
8. Does the pastor make 6 digits and live in a million-dollar home?
9. Lastly, I guarantee your pastor uses a modern version of the bible and corrects it often with his wealth of Greek knowledge.

Just a few...

I'm laughing because that sounds way too familiar. I used to look out of place with a Bible in hand.

I was surprised that others shared no joy that I found a new antique giant print (traditional text) Bible that week to share the gospel with the nursing home residents that might not see as well. Just one of many examples. That's important for leading others to Christ one on one.

I loved my pastor and he was a gifted teacher.
I just wish there was a little bit of enthusiasm for entertainment shared with outreach/ evangelism of those close to death's doorstep.
People in the church were hearing but the door to door and other forms were put down and I was castigated by a couple staff pastors for suggesting it. I was willing to train others for free too.

You have a good list describing the contemporary non-denom mega churches. How I wanted a little bit of the resources to go for getting the lost saved outside the big facility.
I was able to get a group together to go to the nursing home once and we saw folks saved. If there was any bit of enthusiasm from leadership it should have gained momentum and we'd get the gospel to everyone in the county!