The megachurch model

The megachurch model

     The Lord Jesus has commissioned the church to make disciples (Mt 28:18-20, Mk 16:14-20, Lk 24:44-49, Jn 20:21-23, Acts 1:8). It is His desire, His command, even His ordination, for the church to be fruitful (Jn 15:1-16). When He returns, He will demand production from His servants (Mt 21:33-46, Mt 25:14-30, Lk 19:11-27). It is not the will of God that any soul perish (2Pet 3:9). That is why He came (Mt 9:13, Mt 18:11, Mt 20:28, Jn 12:46-47, 1Tim 1:15). Therefore, we should not have a small vision of what God wants to do.

     However, we must balance seeking to reach many with some other considerations. Not everyone will be saved. In fact, Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Mt 7:13-14)”. “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear (1Pet 4:18)?” This is not God’s fault. It is man’s fault, because God gave us the ability to choose (Gen 2:9-17, Deut 30:15-20, Josh 24:15). For a further study on this, you can read the book “Free Will” available at bibleforever.com and Amazon.com. When the Lord Jesus was asked what the most important commandment is, He said to love God and love your neighbor (Mt 22:35-40, Mk 12:28-34, Lk 10:25-28). He was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18. This is also referred to in Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8. Love is only love when it is chosen. God only predestined that there would be a church, not which individuals would be in it (Eph 1-2). Determinism is the worldview of atheism and should have no part in Christian teaching. For further study on that, you can get the book “Calvinism” at the above websites. While the church should be trying to reach everyone, we must also understand that we can only offer the gospel. People must choose for themselves.

     Some people fail to differentiate between quantity and quality. The Lord wants quantity, as in as many souls that will to be saved. However, He will never compromise quality for quantity. If you are not sure about that, read the Bible. Adam and Eve chose wrong and were driven out of the garden of Eden (Gen 3). Just 3 chapters later we read that mankind had become so sinful that the loving Creator was sorry He had made them, and He decided to destroy all of them except for Noah and his family (Gen 6). 5 chapters later, God judged mankind again at the tower of Babel (Gen 11), and He decided to start again by building a godly nation through Abraham (Gen 12). The Lord told Abraham that his descendants would become slaves for 400 years, but after that He would deliver them and bring them into the promised land (Gen 15). When that time came, God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt and into Canaan (Ex 3-4). After performing 10 major miraculous judgments on Egypt, they finally let them go (Ex 7-12). Then He parted the Red Sea for Israel and used it to destroy the Egyptians (Ex 14). God fed them miraculously in the wilderness (Ex 15-16). He brought them to Mt. Sinai where He appeared to them and gave them His covenant (Ex 20-40). Yet after all that, when they continued to complain and talk about going back to Egypt, He was going to destroy them all and start over with Moses but for his intercession for them (Ex 32:7-14, Num 14, Num 16:41-50). When they chose to believe the evil report of the promised land, God decreed that entire generation would not enter into it (Num 13-14).

     Some may say that was the Old Testament. Things are much nicer in the New Testament. As the say in France, “au contraire”. While there is certainly much grace available now, we should remember that it is the same God. Jesus said, “And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more (Lk 12:47-48)”. “Then began (Jesus) to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee (Mt 11:20-24)”.

     On the surface, big churches look like they are fulfilling the Lord’s commission to be successful at reaching people, but there are more criteria than just raw numbers. The superficially religious people that Jesus spoke to appeared to be righteous to men were not in they eyes of God (Mt 23). They would search the world over to make one convert, but to what end (Mt 23:15)? He also addressed these people by saying, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God (Lk 16:13-15)”. It is not that large congregations are wrong for being large, but too large of a congregation does lead to spiritual and logistical problems. It would be better to have 1,000 groups with 100 each than 100 groups with 1,000 each. One pastor can only lead so many people. It is said that this number is around 150. How can one man be a pastor to 20 or 30 thousand people? They may watch the service as it is streamed, or they may sit in an arena with seating for 20,000, but are they really being led by a pastor?

     Some megachurch pastors may not have started out with the megachurch issues, but they inevitably fall into them; not always because that was their plan, but because the foundation of the model is fatally flawed. What is built on this model always fails. It may take years, but eventually the cracks start to show. Some people see it starting to happen. They may try to address their concerns, but it usually ends with them being told they don’t trust the leadership, and/or they are rebellious. It doesn’t matter how long they faithfully served. As soon as they express concern, they are marginalized and eventually driven out. In 3John 9-11, Diotrephes did this. The hypocrites did this to the man born blind (Jn 9). Here is a list of common issues in megachurches:

     1. The celebrity pastor. This is a personality cult built around one person. When that person

         either fails or is no longer there, the whole foundation fails. It is built on sand and not the

         rock of Jesus Christ (Mt 7:13-29). The rock the church is built on is the revelation of the

         identity of Jesus Christ, not any man (Mt 16:13-20, Lk 14:11, Eph 2:19-22, 1Tim 3:6, 1Jn

         2:15-17). It is inevitable that pride leads to a fall (Prov 11:2, Prov 16:18, Prov 29:23).

         Humility is what God values (Mt 18:4, Mt 23:12, Lk 18:9-17, Jam 4:6-10, 1Pet 5:5-6).

         Rome was a republic before it was ruled by an emperor and fell. The American founders

         knew firsthand the dangers of this and purposely designed the Constitution with

safeguards against it called checks and balances with power divided among three

branches like Isaiah 33:22 describes.  This was the first time a form of government took

into account the reality that human nature seeks power and is corrupted by it. As the

saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. They were so careful

about avoiding the tyrannical centralization of power that they initially formed the

government with the Articles of Confederation which went to the other extreme with too

little governmental power. They had to find a balance which they did. The problem today is

not the form of government the Constitution prescribes. It is the failure of politicians to

follow it. God foresaw that Israel would seek centralized power in one man and gave

safeguards and warnings against tyranny (Deut 17:14-20). The only one who can wield

royal power with perfect integrity is Jesus Christ (Ps 45:6, Heb 1:8). While we should

respect those in authority (Rom 13:1-7), the fear of man is a snare (Prov 29:25). The

celebrity pastor model leads to other common issues (points 2-5).

     2. No accountability. The one man model means this person is not accountable to anyone.

     3. Serial abuse. When one’s pride makes them think that others are beneath them, they no

         longer fear treating them wrong and using them as their personal puppet, source of false

         comparison (2Cor 10:2), belittling, and abusing (Mt 25:48-51). Abuse can take many forms

         such as sexual, emotional, and financial.  One of the common reasons people leave a

         congregation or Christianity altogether is abuse by leaders.

     4. Financial misuse. This happens several ways. They misuse Biblical commands about

         financial giving to manipulate people into giving which ends up enriching them instead of

         advancing the mission. Sometimes they outright steal from the church funds. They falsify

         financial records. They justify their lavish lifestyle in direct contradiction to the example

         and teaching of the Lord and the apostles. They twist scriptures into false promises God

         never made. This is often called the prosperity gospel. They teach that it is not the will of

         God for any Christian to have financial struggles or health problems. If they do, it’s their

         failure. What happens when a person believes this lie and have problems anyway?

         Obviously, if someone is mishandling their money or their health, there will be issues, but

         this teaching is for the purpose of enriching the teacher, not the student.

     5. Protecting the institution instead of the sheep. When a church grows to become a

         megachurch, priorities change. Instead of making disciples and caring for them as a

         shepherd cares for his sheep (Jn 10:1-18). These false shepherds will sacrifice sheep on

the altar of the institution. They’re making too much money and have too many people

         dependent on the institution to allow it to be threatened by dissent or whistleblowing.

         Anyone voicing concern is silenced. If they refuse to be silent, the institution will bury

         them and drive them out under the false banner of purging out troublemakers, rebels, and

         black sheep. They will delete or falsify records to cover up their lack of integrity. They will

         raise up false witnesses like they did against Jesus Christ. They will deliberately bury

         allegations of sexual abuse and fail to report it, thinking they can just get away with it.

         They will gaslight the victim of their abuse and try to make them think it’s their fault. They

         will refuse to repent and restore those they have wounded. God promised in Ezekiel 34 that

         He will restore the wounded sheep and hold the false shepherds accountable.

The megachurch model not only leads to the above issues with the leadership model, it fosters other issues. Most of these are designed to manipulate young people into a false version of the gospel and gatherings of the church.

     1. Seeker sensitive. Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago is credited with starting the seeker sensitive movement. When this church became a megachurch, many others employed this model. It is supposedly designed to reach the unchurched by making their experience more conducive to their "sensitivities”. This may sound noble on the surface, but is a direct fulfillment of 2Timothy 4:1-4, which says “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Instead of providing an atmosphere where the unchurched can have a bridge into Christianity, it provides an atmosphere where nobody is challenged to repent and change. It becomes nothing more than a social club where people go to be made comfortable and get what their human nature wants instead of partaking of God’s divine nature (2Pet 1:2-13). Thus, they sidestep the whole purpose of the gospel. They call this cultural relevance. This is the exact opposite of the purpose of the church. There are three basic meanings of the word “world” in the Bible. It can mean the literal planet we are on. It can mean the people on the planet, and it can mean the value system the serpent sold to Eve in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-7). It depends on the context. This value system (also called worldview) is based on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life (1Jn 2:15-17). These are what the devil tried to use to tempt Jesus in the wilderness (Mt 4:1-10). The devil is still using these tactics because people keep falling for them. At its heart, this value system is the belief that we don’t need God defining right and wrong or good and evil. We can do this on our own without Him (Gen 3:5). We are to evaluate the culture by the Bible, not evaluate the Bible by the culture. When preaching is focused on delivery over content, the priorities are out of order. Some people are more moved by shouting rather than truth. Some people overlook doctrinal errors because they were delivered in an entertaining way.

     2. The seeker sensitive model is often specifically geared toward attracting young people. The focus becomes being entertained rather than entertaining the presence of God. Production becomes the priority over spiritual substance. We should do things with excellence in an effort to honor God and facilitate ministry, but this is a matter of priorities. When reproducing the way the world provides entertainment to attract young people becomes the motive to the neglect of making disciples, there is a grave problem. There are some particularly egregious examples such as a homosexual crossdressing exotic dancer opening a mens' conference with a half naked pole dance, blatantly pagan elements being a central part of a holiday celebration, motorcycle stunts, fireworks, and zip lines. Some people discuss which is more important – quality or quantity. Which is meant by bearing fruit? The Biblical answer is not an either/or proposition. It is both. When performance for man is more important than doing it unto the Lord, the church has fallen from its purpose. When “out with the old and in with the new” is the basis for everything, the church is neglecting its purpose. We ought to be seeking balance in all things, including who we are seeking to minister to. “Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old (Mt 13:52).” Sometimes old methods need to be moved on from for scriptural reasons (Mt 9:17), but this is not supposed to be shoving older adults aside to cater to the young. The young and the old both have value as souls and Christians. These two scriptures have nothing to do with people’s age in their original context, but they do offer a modern application to this issue.

     3. Along these lines, music has become the definition of worship. It is certainly part of worship, but not the end-all. A lot of Christian/worship music has followed the pattern that secular music has also taken. Styles change, but for the church music should have a much deeper meaning than entertainment or “feeling”. The lyrics have become cliched and shallow, and the music has become almost indistinguishable from secular pop music. Not every popular style is wrong in itself, but the oversimplification and commercialization of “Christian” music is a problem. It is no coincidence that most music used in churches comes from megachurches. It is a central part of their identity. When lights and volume replace the presence of God, there is something fundamentally flawed. When doctrinal errors in lyrics are overlooked, this is prioritizing entertainment over substance, and the unlearned don't even notice. Not every feeling people can feel is the presence of God. Replicating a secular concert should not be the goal of the church.

     4. The business model. There are some principles taught in business school that can be applied to the church when properly aligned with the Bible. However, running a church like a business leads to fatal errors. When marketing and branding move from an effort to make the community aware of the church to just trying to use secular techniques to “sell” the church to people, there is a misplaced order of function. The church should certainly take advantage of modern technology, but we should remember that the Lord Jesus and the early church launched what would become the largest movement in the history of the world without any of it. As Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (Acts 3:6)”. The preaching of the gospel with the confirmation of miracles were their marketing, and it worked (Mk 16:14-20, Lk 24:46-49, Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:24-31). The early church “brand” was the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). When the church has so many programs that are not based in the Bible, they are allocating resources such as staff and money to things that may satisfy people but not produce long term results. There is nothing wrong with studying demographics to learn about the community a church is in, but when it becomes a means of business rather than ministry, it is not serving the mission.

     These problems are not exclusive to the megachurch, but they are common. There are so many examples of megachurches falling into these traps that they have become the norm rather than the exception. This shows that the problem is systemic.  Rick Warren and Saddleback, Bill Hybels and Willow Creek, Robert Schuller and Garden Grove Crystal Cathedral which is considered by some to be the first megachurch, Andy Stanley and North Point, TD Jakes and The Potter’s House, Brian Houston and  Hillsong including Carl Lentz  of the NYC campus, Joel Osteen and Lakewood, Bill Johnson and Bethel, Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill, Steven Furtick and Elevation, Robert Morris and Gateway, Tony Evans and Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, James McDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel, Brian Tome and Crossroads all serve as a cautionary tale. In the summer of 2024 in Dallas, Texas 14 pastors resigned or were arrested. The megachurch model is failing and people are walking away. Where are they going? Many of them want to still be Christians and they are forming small groups in homes, which is a big part of what the early church did. Others are falling into another false form Christianity which incorporates ideas from Hinduism and pantheism. They are going out of the frying pan into the fire.

     Matthew 23 is the record of a stinging rebuke from the Lord to the hypocritical religious leaders of the day. Some of the issues stated above are directly addressed:

     They say and do not – the very definition of hypocrisy (Mt 23:3)

     Celebrity pastors (Mt 23:1-12)

     Squeezing the poor for money (Mt 23:14)

     They only care about how they appear to men. Their religion is superficial (Mt 23:16-28)

     If the Lord came back the same way He came the first time, they would do to Him the same

        thing the Jews did to Him then, for they are their spiritual descendants (Mt 23:29-36). Also

        see Matthew 21:33-46.

     This model is crumbling because it is built on a faulty foundation (Mt 23:37-39). Also see

        Matthew 7:24-29 in the context of verses 13-14 - the wide gate and the narrow one - and

        verses 15-23 – false prophets.

     If you have either left a megachurch because of these things or are currently attending one and see these issues, you are not the problem. However, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Lord and the apostles gave many warnings of false teachers (Mt 24, Gal 1:6-9, 2Pet 2, Jude, etc.). Coca Cola used to have the motto “It’s the real thing”. The implication is that other sodas are just imitators. There is a real church, and there are imitators. If you have been wounded or disillusioned whether at a megachurch or a different model, do not let the faults of men make the decision for you of where you will go in eternity. Choose to love God which is the first commandment by following Him and keeping His commandments (Jn 14:15, 1Jn 5:1-3). God can help you overcome and restore your love for His people as well (Mk 12:29-31, 1Jn 4).

There is a real church that preaches the doctrine the Lord gave the apostles and seeks to follow that pattern (Mt 28:18-20, Mk 16:14-20, Lk 24:43-48, Jn 20:19-23, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 8:12-17, Acts 10:43-48, Acts 19:1-6). Ask God to help you find it. No pastor or congregation is perfect, but there is a difference between being imperfect and being a hypocrite or false teacher.