Friday, August 22, 2008
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I'm Allergic to Big Churches
by mr. oak
I noticed something about myself that I can't really explain. I have this strange aversion to big churches.
I run into it time to time, most notably on the TV. It's the classic thing where you wake up early on Sunday and decide to turn on the tube as you get ready for church. And there it is - a pastor in a pristine new suit, holding a microphone, and pacing back and forth on an enormous stage. In the background there's a 100 person choir, with a full band set up that you swear looked like a late night television show's band.
Periodically the camera pans to the audience, and you see thousands of people sitting in the church. Old, young, families, singles....filling pews after pews. It's an awesome scene...
And for some reason, I always change the channel.
Charles Stanley, Joel Oesteen, Rick Warren...the lists goes on - the names are all known. But I don't want to watch them. I don't want to go to their church. I love reading their books, but I have no desire to get to know them.
And I can't figure out why.
There are many pastors out there that have built great churches. I was part of one of the largest in New York City. But something about being part of that church I felt misplaced. Empty even. The sermons were great, and the resources were bountiful. I plugged myself into small groups - attended a few events, invited friends. But something about the big church environment scared me. I was clearly allergic.
There's nothing wrong with big churches - they can serve as great places to meet God. I just have this weird feeling against it.
I wondered if it was all the production value - the practiced music, the overwhelming sea of people, the polished agenda pamphlets, the praise band that can play any song exactly like the original recording or even the synchronized shouts of Amen. Big churches generally do better - with more people, there are more resources. With more resources, quality will just be better. It's also such a blessing to have such plentitude - God's gift to everyone there.
But there's something about being in a small church that I just love. I love the praise team with the guitarist that's just starting out, fumbling with the chords. I love having Bible study in the old leaky basement of the church because there's no where else to do it. I love the old photo copied church bulletins where some words are cut off. I love the pastor, who just started out and still needs to check his notes every other minute. And I love the feeling of sitting with the small number of other brothers and sisters in the pews....and proudly having the privelege to know them all by name. And finally, I love worship there. In all it's mistakes, fumbles, sloppiness, and small scale - it's perfect. I meet God everytime.
Maybe it's just stripped down so much that it's just God and me. Maybe it's affirmation that I didn't 'choose' that church because of what it can do for me. I'm simply not sure...
Nevertheless, my church is always pushing to grow, but frankly - inside my heart, I hope it doesn't. I hope it stays small....
And maybe that's it - I love my small church so much, it made me allergic to big churches. Who knows.
Bottomline, I love small churches. How about you?
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Comments (87)
I agree, I love small churches too. I left a big nondenominational church where I always felt alone and left out to go to a small UCC church where I'm beginning to know everyone by name.
I did an article on ekklesia on revelife this week that you may find of interest and topical and hits this topic somewhat.
sound like you love the reality of a small church. the honesty of it and the openness of it - where everybody knows your name.
heaven,
I think is going to be the best of both world - big church population
with perfect songs, perfect lyrics, perfect worship; but small church
mentality with knowing everyone, being open to each individual and
humility before God. mmmmm...
what a small world! my church is pushing to grow as well, but i love His church the way it is.
about two or three months ago, however, it hit me. regardless of what i want, God is going to do what He wants to do with his church. i just hope that he includes me into his plan for His church.
I attend a Calvary Chapel and I love it because of it's teaching. I would go to it no matter what size it was big or small.
Here here!! I love Small churches... :)
Here in my town we have this HUGE church... Its gigantic always growing and getting bigger and... I and several of my friends call it the Six flags of Jesus. I don't know... it just seems to... commercialized and a marketing ploy almost... Maybe thats wrong for me to say. I don't know... But I prefer the smaller more personal churches where you do know everyones name and its a family not a theme park outing. :)
Well Shabbat Shalom! I hope you have a blessed sabbath :)
-Sam
See, I have the opposite problem at the moment. I like the big churches better, cause after going 10+ years in a little church, moving to a bigger church was better for my spiritual growth.
In the smaller church, I was like Norm from Cheers. I would walk in and instantly the entire group know who I was and what I was about. This was fine at first, but at times things got too personal and it wound up distracting me from God.
Right now, I just want to be a pew filler. I want to go to a big church, where no one knows me, so it's just me and God. A one and one scenario that I so desperately crave.
I hate going to big churches.. and guess what? I got hired at a big church back in June. :( It's a huge adjustment, going from small church life to big church life.
I attend a huge non-denominational church. I love it but do miss the closeness that you get in a smaller church. My pastors wife one morning said...."these people who won't come to church because it's too big are in trouble when they get to heaven"....the difference is in heaven I believe everyone will know your name. There are definitly benefits to both types of churches though.
I guess you mean you are allergic to big meeting places, since the church in a city is made up of all the believers in that city, which would nearly always make for a big church (although they may meet in many small places)!
"Nevertheless, my church is always pushing to grow, but frankly - inside my heart, I hope it doesn't. I hope it stays small...."
I think that is scary thing to say. While God places our church family in our lives for fellowship and to bring encouragment and challenges...the reason we have churches is so people will find God. For you to say that you want it to stay small...is basically saying you don't want people to come a find that hope and joy in God.
I know that's proably not your heart, but you need to be careful when you say that. I understand loving the smallness, but staying small is not good. Churches need to be growing in numbers, not so you can have the best music and resources, but it shows that people are being saved.
Be careful how you word things.
I've been to both, small and big, Saddleback, and it doesn't matter how many people are there, its how involved you get with ministries and small groups.
Saddleback, Rick Warren, does not do weekend church services on tv just for that reason, he doesn't want it to be a show or come across that way. He did do the community forum with the presidential candidates and goes on Larry King to promote the P.E.A.C.E. plan to try and mobilize people to get out and spread the word, but he's trying to share the word with people that otherwise wouldn't step into a church. Rick also hates wearing suits and only does when he has too, his usual attire on sundays is casual with no socks, I think that also may be a reason why he doesn't want to be on tv, they would make him wear suits.
I attended Saddleback for many years prior to moving out of town and he really is a down to earch kind of guy that has an amazing heart for the Lord. But my first couple of years there I felt so out of place and I disappeared into the crowd, thats when there were only 5000 a weekend, lol. But when I finally got involved in a small group and started helping in the kids ministry did I finally understand what he preached about its not about the building or the amount of people that come on the weekend, its about serving and giving back. Sorry, that's just my opinion on the big church that sometimes gets a bad rap.
I lived in Colorado Springs, a Bible-belt colony, and megachurch capital of the U.S., for a year. I had the option of going to New Life (yes, THAT New Life), but I instead went to a young, smaller church. I felt alone in a crowd at the larger churches. Smaller churches just seemed more personnal and honest.
I'm the same way...my church is small and we meet in a gradeschool gymnasium. I wouldn't have it any other way!
small churches are definitely more personalized, however i do occasionally admire the architecture of big cathedrals.
population-wise, i guess it depends for me.
big church attendance at holidays are fun sometimes.
First, you forgot to mention that large churches, at least the ones you see on TV, always have a glass podium. I've never understood why that is.
I also like small churches better. When I first became a believer the church I attended was small enough so that everyone knew everyone else. I feel lost in the crowd at big churches.
I recently interviewed to be an administrative assistant at a smaller church that had a vision to grow, but when the pastor explained his vision to me it sounded more like a marketing scheme than a real heart for the community. They were even giving visitors Starbucks cards to lure them to come back. That turned me off and I wasn't too disappointed when they didn't hire me.
Personally, I can't stand 'em. I even think they are potentially dangerous somehow. I also believe that for some reason, they seem to generate superficial spirituality, sensationalism and a kind of mass hysteria that produces spiritual and emotional highs which people confuse with worship and with the Holy Spirit. They also seem to acquire compromising doctrines as they seek to please so many people.
Also there is the lack of real fellowship and accountability; of knowing who you're next to more than as an aquaintance. Yes, I know they have small groups, but to me, though those can potentially turn into genuine church services, most often they are more like Bible studies, or just get-togethers.
And what is up with the extravagance... and the worship? Its like somebody cloned a church a few years ago, and their style of worship (and even the same songs) and have been recycling it/them ever since.
Furthermore, regarding the music, I find it luke-warm, unoriginal, uninspiring, and uncreatively played; though it is usually played quite loudly and by the likes of a professional band.
But since when does that constitite worship?
I believe American Christianity is, and has been under serious attack from without and within in many ways which most seem to be unaware of. I think the explosion of these 'mega' churches are just one facet of the problem, though they definitely do contribute to it.
I went to Austin Stone, where Matt Carter preached and Chris Tomlin led worship, for a few years. It's an incredible church, but I felt so out of place. There were so many people. I went for years without talking to a single person. It just wasn't for me.
Now that I'm at a small church, I love it. As you described, it isn't perfect, but that's what makes it perfect. I completely agree with everything you wrote. Great post.
I know EXACTLY how you feel! I feel the same exact way... I don't think I would ever go to a mega church. Perhaps, like you, it is because I've always gone to small churches. But, there is just something I don't like about big churches... strange, but true.
The church I go to has more than 1000 members and keep growing. Before I didn't participated in activities, I once helped out with teaching Sunday school for a year and then stopped only to find out that I am missing something. I am starting again this year. We're trying to raise money to make the place bigger, but the atmosphere is still the same as before. I've never been to a megachurch and don't know if I ever will. I don't think I've ever been to a small church either.
I understand exactly what you are saying. You like the intamacy of the smaller church setting. I do too. However, God created all things so that they would grow. You should want to see more souls come into the Kingdom and be a blessing to the church. There will always be room for you there no matter how large it gets if you want there to be.
Maybe this is a random thought completely separated from the actual post, but I find most worship teams disturbing. It seems the vast majority of them are singing because they like the attention--not because they are worshipping.
I've found that in churches worldwide and of all different sizes. Worship leaders get up there and act as if they are some mega famous musician, rather than someone who has a job to help other people worship god.
They act all "LOOK AT ME! LOVE ME!" when shouldn't they be saying "Love god! Seek god!" ?
"Nevertheless, my church is always pushing to grow, but frankly - inside my heart, I hope it doesn't. I hope it stays small...."
I doubt that you meant this, but I really think that this could come across to some people as very selfish, and as you basically saying that you don't care about people coming to Christ and being part of God's family.
Personally, I've never understood this idea that somehow a church with 2,000 members is somehow inherently "better" than 10 churches with 200 people each. I don't eactly understand why we think that ONE large church is better than growing a small church, and then multiplying it. Either way though, there MUST be growth. I believe that part of being a Christian is about caring about growth...caring about sinners being saved. Again, I'm sure that your comment wasn't meant to come across as "I don't care if people go to hell, I like church being small," but I still think that it could kinda come across that way. And even if you don't "overtly" feel that way...I wonder if there is an underlying issue....perhaps caring more about YOUR wants, than what non-Christians (or even other Christians) need.
I don't inteand for any of this to come across as "mean"...I hope that it doesn't. It's just what stuck out to me, and I thought might give you something to think about....be blessed.
I used to go to a big church when I was really little (ok up until I was nine) but everytime we managed to get there, I have no memory of ever feeling welcome. But we found a small church more local and have been going ever since and even go to their tiny little school. ^^ It's like home to me.