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Mega-Church Mega-Bust?

Posted by Chris Case | October 18, 2007 .

The Out of Ur blog at Christianity Today just posted an article called “Willow Creek Repents? Why the most influential church in America now says ‘We made a mistake.’” Willow Creek recently released a study that said that it certainly was meeting the needs or interests of its seeker folks, but that the rest of those actually interest in spiritual growth were just not growing. This section sums it up well:

Hybels confesses:

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

In other words, spiritual growth doesn’t happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships. And, ironically, these basic disciplines do not require multi-million dollar facilities and hundreds of staff to manage.

Now, I am not one to throw up my hands and say “There it is! The mega-church model does not work!” Its never the “mega” part that defines whether the church is doing kingdom work or not. Big church, charismatic personalities, and programs can all be effective. What I think matters is the message inherent in all of those things. I think the seeker model almost acts like its ashamed of its own Christianity. It doesn’t need to be the community center, the social club, the rock concert, or secular meeting area. It needs to be the church. It needs to unashamedly preach the gospel, not watered down for those who don’t understand the full implications of the word ‘atonement.’ It needs to love, seek community, but at the end of the day, transform the lives of those involved in that community. Programs don’t do that, the Message does.

You can read the whole article here.

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2 Comments so far
  1. Hybels: We Made a Mistake « Cavman Considers October 18, 2007 9:47 pm

    [...] (HT:Reformergent) [...]

  2. Coca-Cola and Religion | Reformergent October 23, 2007 6:28 pm

    [...] My friend Joe Braun recently wrote an article for the Burnside Writers Collective.  The article discusses the trends in the secular world regarding advertising and human behavior and the churches slow response.  Interesting in light of the recent Bill Hybels discussions. [...]