I need to apologize to frequent commenter, all around nice guy, and my brother in Christ; Big Doofus. BD admonished me in my last post with the following;
“And don't always link "megachurch" with "nondenominational" as that's not always the case. Many a megachurch is a member of a denomination.”
BD is one hundred percent right and I should know better than to mix terminology when talking about any serious matter. Sometimes my “frankisms” get out of control and need to reigned in a bit.
Too often I fall into the trap set by mega-churches and micro-churches alike that present themselves as above denominationalism (as if denominationalism is a bad thing; hint, hint, it’s not!) while still part of a denomination bound by a common confession.
Sorry BD, and also thank you for keeping this Lutheran on his toes and holding me accountable for what I write here.
There are even a few Lutheran "megachurches" as we well know. :-/
ReplyDeleteThere are indeed Lutheran mega-churches as well as those who so want to be seeker sensitive (and that’s the very best construction) that they market themselves as nondenominational. Too often I amalgamate the two terms when they are very separate and distinct issues.
ReplyDeleteToo late, Frank. The friendship is over and I'm never posting here again.
ReplyDeleteEver!
ReplyDeleteI mean it! :)
ReplyDeleteOk, but seriously. I was never upset. I was just keeping you on your toes, as you noted. Believe me, we deal with the mega-churches, too. In Central Indiana, the "Christian Church" denomination is strong and they have some HUGE churches down here. Many of them are seeker-sensitive and growth oriented. It drives me crazy!!!
Let me share a true story from a pastor friend of my father-in-law (incidentally, my f-i-l is my pastor). He was at a coffee shop in town studying his bible and was approached by some megafolks (I made that term up) about what he was doing. He went on to inform them that we was a pastor at a small church in the area and was working on his sermon. The megafolks must have been dropped off at the coffee shop and told that they couldn't come out until they got "x" amount of people to commit to coming on Sunday because they told this PASTOR that he should come to their church on Sunday.
One of my pastor's doctoral projects was a study of a "megachurch" in his area. Turned out alot of the membership consisted not of new convert or re-churched people, but people transferred in from area smaller churches.
ReplyDeleteThat's only anecdotal, of course. Not saying all are like that.
Word to decode below is "lions."
Hmmm.
BD, I didn’t figure that you be upset. My apology is also a thank you for keeping me from blurring and mixing terminology. By holding me accountable for what I write and making me explain what I REALLY mean you help me in my meager attempt at slack jawed apologetics.
ReplyDeleteEC, the number of people who attend church on a Sunday, as a percentage of the population, has not changed in several generations. With that as a backdrop, where are the seeker sensitive, church growth, megachurches getting new members? There is only one answer.
ReplyDelete