As the pastor of an average sized church, I feel the effects of the mega church on a pretty regular basis. The immediate temptation is to push back. And that's wrong. We need every functional community of faith we can find. Well actually we need a bunch more. Go plant one. Or two.
But I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge a tendency to try and find fault with things the local mega does. As a marketing professional for many years, it is easy to see how well they use the tools of that trade. And as an amateur student of culture, it is apparent that they do seem to replicate along homogenous lines. Lots of programs, lots of buildings, lots of lots of things.
Personal preference, and personal belief in what a church should look like runs in the opposite direction for me.
But I am open to instruction from all.
And in the clip below, Erwin McManus, "futurist" (his term) at Mosaic in LA works through the mega church issue. It starts about the 8:15 mark. He gets a wee bit aggravated, is a bit disingenuous concerning what a mega is, but makes some good points. But then at the end, "he shoots... He scores!"
He says that if you disagree with what the megas are about, then render them irrelevant by creating communities of beauty and authenticity.
My take-away - Don't spend any time thinking about what they are doing, spend your time listening to what God wants you to do. Then do it.
I'm all over that.
The Idea Camp - Erwin McManus and Eric Bryant from The Idea Camp on Vimeo.
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