Last Sunday I went to a megachurch. Normally I attend small churches with a gathering of local believers who strive to live according to the Bible.
Having already attended countless churches from many denominations and faiths, I was eager to see what the average parishioner experienced at one of these stadium-sized complexes.
It was horrific. Megachurches like this one can have almost nothing to do with biblical Christianity and may actually do violence to the ‘Word of God.’
After finding a place to park I made my way to Building B.
The “campus” for this church that boasts over 10,000 members had six buildings labeled A-F.
Each building was as large as many found here at Virginia Tech.
The large entrances shoved me into an enormous hall that resembled an airport terminal or the concourses that surround NFL stadiums.
Once inside I noticed that few people were dressed like they were going to church.
The Bible does not say that one must dress exactly such and such way, but neither is it silent when it comes to the matter of attire.
Dressing modest is important to me, but at this church mini skirts and cleavage were everywhere.
Another is that as an ambassador for Christ I want to dress in a respectable manner.
This is especially true for church because I do not want to pay more respect to man than God.
For example, it would bother me if I dressed nicely for graduation, to meet a politician or went on a date than I did to worship God.
People at this place must not have shared my conviction because scores of them wore flip-flops, shorts and t-shirts.
I only lasted thirty seconds in the first room I entered.
In it I found hundreds of cafeteria-style tables where people were in the process of guzzling down coffee and loading up on donuts.
Large screens surrounded the room and apparently these people were about to watch the real service on a ten-minute delay.
I wanted to watch real preaching so I turned around and followed the lengthy hallway to the live service.
As I entered the main service the lights were dim and a band was playing to a crowd of 3,000 or so. They were playing Michael Jackson. Because I want my column to go to print I will refrain from expressing my true thoughts on why this is wrong on so many levels.
Needless to say it was absolutely disgusting to see parishioners “worship” God by rocking out to Michael Jackson.
The guest speaker for the day was a New York Times bestselling author.
He found a niche writing Christian books on how to be a good father. Throughout the service I pondered how a single, childless, middle-aged man from a fatherless home became an authority on what it takes to be a good father.
Similarly, I found myself wondering if the church’s pastor—if they even had one; he was nowhere to be found—also failed to meet the Bible’s requirements
for church leadership, which are clearly outlined in Timothy 1.
Once he finished speaking the lights went dim and the band took the stage. While they were playing I witnessed the most appalling form of the Lord’s Supper in my life.
For those of you who do not attend church let me first explain what the Lord’s Supper is.
The Lord’s Supper refers to one of the final commandments that Jesus gave to his disciples.
He told believers to meet on occasion and remember him through the symbolic breaking of bread and drinking of wine.
It is not holy, does not take away sins, and does not save you or make you righteous.
The bread or food is symbolic of Jesus’ body, and the wine or drink symbolic of his blood.
It is a solemn event where you remember that Jesus gave his body on the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world.
Those who put their faith in Christ alone, and not in religion, traditions, good works or being a good person, are then born-again and inherit eternal life.
A version of this article appeared in the Jun 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I couldn't agree with you more on your article. Mega-churchs are not what your bible or your religion should be like.
Also I am an Atheist and find it odd that anyone that goes to these types of places to "get close to god".
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@ annonymous... As a Bible-believing Christian, I can't imagine why anyone would go there either, except that the Bible tels us that in the end days, many people will not suffer sound doctrine and they will search out those places for their "itching ears to hear". And since only 9% of all professing Christians have a Biblical world-view, is it any surprise that 91% of all Christians live just as the rest of the world? It's a sad commentary on faith.
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Hmmmmmm. Last week you wrote against the war. So you are a Christian who is not a warmonger. Might be starting to like this guy.
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I'll start by saying that your experience does not sound like this church is spreading the good news. However, I also would not judge the church or its attendees by their clothing. My guess is that Christ is looking past clothes and into their heart. By the way, in "Biblical Christianity", i.e., the 1st century church, you would have found folks in the Synagogue wearing sandals....... Lastly, I would not judge all "mega-churches" by your experience at this one.
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Awesome article Chris!...I'm glad I stumbled upon this because you've really captured the problem with most megachurches. They are led by reprobates and their ministries are seasoned with ungodly attempts at "relevance". I guess their thought is: "why bore people by preaching on God's attributes, sin, or repentance when you can just bring in a famous author?" What a shame!! No wonder the Word says that God's coming judgement will begin at the house of God...
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The 1st century church wore sandals because they had nothing else. I sincerely doubt these Old Navy flip flops were these folks best apparel.
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Sandals back then AND in that place and culture were common footwear, so sandal wearing back then is nothing like sandal wearing today. The issue of clothing in church extends beyond simply what you're wearing, but also why you wear such clothing and what others will think/react. It's hard to abstain from lust (which not only dishonors God but also objectifies and dishonors another person made in the image of God and is your sister in Christ) when a girl at church wears such revealing clothing.
God does look into the heart, but do you really think that the thoughts of your heart are really pleasing before the Lord? That's why we need Christ and that's why Christ came for us, because none of us are perfect, but were all rebelling against God. We really should stop saying "God looks at the heart" because that's an invitation for a lot of judgment. XP
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bummer. The 50+ comments from this article are deleted. They were providing me nightly entertainment before bed.
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Ack! You are right. I was enjoying the arguments. I haven't seen a column get that many comments in a a few days since that Valentine's Day column written by Sarah something rather.
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I definitely agree with you when you say that this megachurch was not "church-like" and it does not sound like a place to worship God.
I do disagree with your description of the Lord's Supper.
"He told believers to meet on occasion and remember him through the symbolic breaking of bread and drinking of wine.
It is not holy, does not take away sins, and does not save you or make you righteous.
The bread or food is symbolic of Jesus’ body, and the wine or drink symbolic of his blood."
It is definitely way more than a symbol. There is a reason it is called Holy Communion. If you're going to claim to search for a church that proclaims "Biblical Christianity" you should read what the Bible has to say about communion before you start explaining it to those who have not.
I appreciate your opinion. It is refreshing to see the Christian influence in a newspaper.
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So what exactly does the Bible say about "Holy Communion"? Do you have a chapter and verse for that title?
Jesus said "This do in REMEMBRANCE of me." He never said anything about it taking sins away.
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Matthew 26:26-29 (ESV)
"Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.'"
Please note that Jesus uses the word "is" and the phrase "forgiveness of sins". This passage is also found in Mark 14:22-25 and Luke 22:14-23. Yes, it is to be done in remembrance of Him but it IS holy and it DOES forgive. The titles in the Bible do say the Lord's Supper and it was early church leaders who gave it the name Holy Communion because they were communing with the Lord, who is holy.
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You make the assumption that Jesus' literal blood is in the cup each and every time you drink of it. Christ died "once for all", he doesn't die each and every time you drink of the cup. His blood was poured out ONCE on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins, not every Sunday in your mass.
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You assume I am Catholic. I do not attend mass, I go to Divine Service. I am Lutheran and I do not believe it is literally turned into body and blood when it is blessed. I believe it is true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and drink.
This is straying away from the original point, however, that the Lord's Supper is holy and does forgive sins. It cleanses us each and every time we commune with the Lord. It is a sacrament just like Baptism.
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John 6:35-59
"For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink." John 6:55
Sounds literal to me.
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1 Corinthians 11:26-32 (NIV)
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.
Before you take the bread and wine you are supposed to be clean of ours sins, acknowledge that Jesus body was given in sacrifice for our sins and that the blood that poured out of Jesus clean us from our sins and finally remember that Jesus will come for us (believe in His return). It is a holy sacrament but it doesn't take your sins away. Jesus Christ’s blood is what takes our sins away.
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This discussion is definitely weird to someone like me who doesn't know the basics.
I don't think I would take it literally though. Why would anyone want to eat human flesh?
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And Andy, THAT is a big problem in today's society. The pendulum is swinging so far toward no exposure to religion whatsoever that an entire generation is growing up religiously illiterate. You don't have to believe in it but for intelligent, productive adult members of society not to have some passing knowledge of the basics of the world's major religions is shameful (not speaking just of you, but many, many people). I strongly recommend "Religious Literacy" for a great discussion of this very topic. For a public liberal arts university like Virginia Tech to be graduating seniors who are supposed to be rounded in the basic disciplines first before taking their major courses...and yet they don't know much of anything about the major religions of this world...it's sad.
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@ About the Basics
Since when was Tech considered a "liberal arts university?" Just saying.
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Wow, with a judge like this, who needs God?
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"Judge righteous judgment" -Jesus Christ.
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I have been to several Mega-Churches and thankfully they were not like what you described. Yes they do have some issues that can cause one to wonder, but they grew because they did worship Jesus both in music and preaching. It depends on what you teach from the start and what where their priorities then and now.
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Finally something this atheist can agree with a believer about. Megachurches scare me. They epitomize my biggest negatives about religion, the lack of spirituality in favor of community. A big place where everyone can feel safe because everyone else is just like them.
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Please identify the church. I am not sure from the description that it was really a Christian congregation. I am a member of a megachurch in which the name of Jesus is lifted up continually. Communion and baptism are honored.
I have never heard of a church that played Michael Jackson music. I think you made up the entire experience.
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My wife and I are not Catholic, but this past Sunday afternoon we had a chance to visit a local Cathedral, and were somewhat pleasantly surprised to find an announcement outside the sanctuary advising "No Shorts, No Sleeveless Shirts..etc." Holiness, while not all about dress, is far too absent in our churches today.
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Well duh, you are visiting a cathedral. Of course you dress appropriately for such a place.
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Ok, so where is this mega church and what is the church's name? If you can't answer question perhaps you should not haev published your complaint.
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I am an atheist but my husband is a christian and we attend a "mega church"...It is nothing like the experience you described, with the exception of the cafeteria and casual attire. The senior pastor is an excellent speaker and speaks genuinely and passionately about the bible. He's almost convincing enough to convert someone like me! Not all churches are alike and one should not stereotype all churches based on a single experience.
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Great article EXCEPT this:
""Another is that as an ambassador for Christ I want to dress in a respectable manner. This is especially true for church because I do not want to pay more respect to man than God. For example, it would bother me if I dressed nicely for graduation, to meet a politician or went on a date than I did to worship God."
Your conviction here is found NOWHERE in the word of God, only in empty church tradition. You should dress up like you are going to friends your house.. but that is difficult to relaize when going to a clergy-laity institution.
Dont want to nit-pick, but this is important too, to be loosed from empty traditions.
-Jim
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Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?.. www.toibry.blog.com
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