Rise of the Megachurch

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The messages seem uplifting and tickle people’s ears. They are told if they just believe they are saved, no matter what they do,
I used to attend one and remember one sermon where we were told we could put our Christianity on the shelf and pull it out when we want to or when we need to. It’s an easy Christianity.
pensmama87 said:
My in laws go to churches like this. They switch every few years because they say the pastor gets too negative.
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Many people do church hop from megachurch to megachurch. Some of the reasons are negativity, yes. Also, the Sunday programs are bought from companies that put a whole service together, like a play, so if you are at one and see something you have been through already, you go somewhere else. Also, many have building campaigns and that causes people to flee to the next megachurch to avoid the campaign.

Yes, entertainment is their game. One pastor had said it was difficult to continue coming up with ideas for Sunday program, so they try to make them entertaining. One I attended years ago used to bring out someone dressed as Elvis Presley to sing. Sometimes we would get popcorn.
Dacinom said:
I’ve read statistics that at some of these places, most in attendance are baptized Catholics.
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I have heard that also. Some I attended took polls and that is exactly what most were, either fallen away Catholics or Methodists. I think they believe they are truly getting into Christianity because of the Bible studies some have.
Poor catechesis in the Catholic church also.
 
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MagdalenaRita said:
I used to attend one
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Can I ask what made you leave and become Catholic?
MagdalenaRita said:
Yes, entertainment is their game. One pastor had said it was difficult to continue coming up with ideas for Sunday program, so they try to make them entertaining.
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I can’t imagine anything more important than the Eucharist and a liturgical worship cycle. I love having feast days to look forward to and fasting seasons to help us prepare.
 
Mega churches may look appealing to some people, but to introverts they are torture.
 
MagdalenaRita said:
Yes, entertainment is their game. One pastor had said it was difficult to continue coming up with ideas for Sunday program, so they try to make them entertaining. One I attended years ago used to bring out someone dressed as Elvis Presley to sing. Sometimes we would get popcorn.

Monicad:
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I don’t if its fair to make this kind of blanket observation about megachurches. A “megachurch” is just a large church, and really doesn’t indicate anything about their doctrinal beliefs or protocols.

I’d like to suggest that a lot of “mini churches” and “midi churches” are just as much into entertainment.

I’ve never been there, but I don’t think that Charles Stanley’s mega church in Atlanta is that much into “entertaining” from his sober approach to preaching, example given.
 
I actually was a cradle Catholic with a poor catechesis, who pretty much stopped going to Mass in college. I did not understand the Eucharist at all. Looking back at what I believed is just goofy but I was so unhappy in the megachurches because of the whole entertainment focus and mixed messages, I prayed to God and asked Him to lead me to the truth.

In my search and confusion, I ran into this prayer of Saint Francis’. I found it in a protestant book and began praying it every day, focusing on the true faith part, not really expecting it to lead me to the Catholic church but maybe a mainline protestant one but I was quickly brought home. Doors just began to fly open to bring me and my family home to the Catholic church.

Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge, Lord,
that I may carry out Your holy and true command. Amen
 
Dacinom said:
Now, most people, if they discuss faith, simply say they’re a"Christian."
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Yes. I also encounter the “I’m spiritual but not religious.”, and “I’m Christian but I dislike organized religion”.
 
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Augustinian said:
I don’t if its fair to make this kind of blanket observation about megachurches. A “megachurch” is just a large church, and really doesn’t indicate anything about their doctrinal beliefs or protocols.

I’d like to suggest that a lot of “mini churches” and “midi churches” are just as much into entertainment.

I’ve never been there, but I don’t think that Charles Stanley’s mega church in Atlanta is that much into “entertaining” from his sober approach to preaching, example given.
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This is true. Many small protestant churches are into entertainment also and there are probably some larger ones that are not contemporary. My find in the past was that most protestant churches, with few exceptions, are into “contemporary” services. In my search I did find a few churches that did not follow the contemporary model but not many.

I can’t say either about Charles Stanley. I used to listen to him on tv also. I do not know what type of music he has prior to his message. It appears from his website he has a very large choir and small orchestra type band. The whole entertainment thing is not usually part of the message but before and after. The video in post 19 is a typical contemporary service.
 
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Angel_Gabriel said:
I don’t doubt that the people there love God however.
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The strength of that love for God depends on two people: the person receiving the message and the person sending the message. In some of the mini-mega churches, there is some legitimate doctrine and biblical teaching. There are others that teach on a prosperity gospel and that doesn’t lead to a long-lasting Christian and/or one that made a promise to Christ based on one’s personal decision, including a true understanding of the Book of Job where despite loving Job and Job loving God, God took everything away from Job.
Dacinom said:
lack of “need for denomination”
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Actually at the church my wife and I attend, denomination is a pejorative. Denomination = works. Than in the next sentence, they talk about people who say they gave their life to Christ on faith alone but live together before marriage. So even though they talk about faith alone, they still refer to the correct Christian living for sanctification. Works is the fruit of one’s faith, thus according to the Bible, I believe it says that faith without works is dead (and have read that as a lector). So while they disregard works as a method to salvation, fruits of the spirit are discussed. I still serve as a lector at Catholic and a greeter at the evangelical church.

It seems to me that they take a lot of shortcuts. On the one hand, there is an altar call: i.e. a prayer you can say to God that if you accept the Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you can be sure of your eternity in Heaven. But on the other hand, they discuss people who refuse to give up having premarital sex or even living together platonic prior to marriage. As Catholics, we agree that fornication is wrong and gravely sinful. As Catholics we believe we are saved by faith and works. We must be repentant which not only means to be sorrowful but also to turn away from our sin, turn towards the cross and the will of God, and follow Him.
 
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Dacinom said:
I think a growing trend contributing, is also the seeming lack of “need for denomination” among many Christian people.
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A lot local protestant churches change denominations, or move from denominational to non-denominational.

You can’t see that in the Catholic Church or in some of your protestant churches as well. The reason is that the local churches are legally owned by the bishop or the denomination.
 
Some of the big churches near me provide needed services for the poor that can not be found in other churches. The Catholic Church is not as easy to access as some of these other churches. When there is no help through the parish or Catholic Charities, then these Catholics leave the church for a place willing to help them. One of the churches near me is famous for providing food that does not require any cooking for the homeless.
 
mrsdizzyd said:
Two words: PROSPERITY GOSPEL Satan’s most effective trick.
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Many aren’t, certainly the one I’m most aware of.

Is the theology light? In many cases yes. But try to explain Catholic theology to those not brought up in it. Sure, you’d get some converts; but many other’s eyes will glaze over.
 
Yup! Health and wealth. If you are sickly or destitute, the obviously you just aren’t faithful enough.
 
Ann_Stanton said:
One of the churches near me is famous for providing food that does not require any cooking for the homeless.
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It’s hard to tithe or even to give when it’s hard to know where the money is going. Yes, I’m supposed to be trusting and give sacrificially but I want to know that a substantial portion is going to pay for the needs of widows and orphans or I want to direct my money towards that. I don’t want to give to the diocese and than only find out that a token amount (lets say 2%) went to the promised services. I don’t mind paying for overhead like the building, utilities, and AC. Of course, most priests that belong to a religious order have a vow of poverty and have a low standard of living (don’t know about bishops or cardinals) and most diocese priests receive a small stipend, but it’s still nice to know where the money goes.

If I feel like none is going towards widows and orphans or I cannot view where it is going, it’s hard to be motivated to give. I realize that it’s God’s money and that I am supposed to trust him with it, but I still want to steward it well. It’s not much different at my wife’s church where most of our money goes to church plants (evangelization) and less towards benevolence. Surely they help / assist soup kitchens, but it’s such a token (small) amount. If we donate $10 million and they have two trucks (maybe $100,000) to assist those injured in Iraq, it’s hard to believe that was truly their focus. I have a problem donating to the local church when only a token of what is given is given to what I care about or more importantly what I think God wants you to give to and it’s frustrating because the churches that actually and materially give to what I appreciate are few and far between.

I know a church that my mother in law attends has a food pantry and surplus clothing store. This is a cause I appreciate. I like pregnancy centers, centers that take care of orphaned women that refused to abort their children, and other services that take care of the poor, the widow, and the orphan. We need more of these.
 
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PJH_74 said:
Many aren’t, certainly the one I’m most aware of.
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I think a lot of people, and not just Catholics, walk around with the idea that “Megachurch” is a denomination or a theology.

That’s just not true, “Megachurch” is just a synonym for “large, well funded and attended protestant church”. The theology could be anything, and the denomination could be anything, and it wouldn’t disqualify it from “Megachurch” status.
 
PJH_74 said:
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mrsdizzyd:
Two words: PROSPERITY GOSPEL Satan’s most effective trick.
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Many aren’t, certainly the one I’m most aware of.

Is the theology light? In many cases yes. But try to explain Catholic theology to those not brought up in it. Sure, you’d get some converts; but many other’s eyes will glaze over.
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I can’t think of a Protestant mega church that does not teach at least prosperity gospel lite. Not one.
 
Wouldn’t surprise me. I’ve found ex-Catholics to make up a sizable portion of my own Episcopal congregation (20-30%). Stands to reason the same would be true in other denominations. And Mega Churches do benefit from being such a large, modern, “cool” experience for the participants. I can see the appeal even if it’s not for me.
 
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