First Baptist Church

Churches vary significantly in size. This past Sunday there were literally churches which met with tens of thousands in attendance and churches that met with les than 10 present. There were no size requirements placed on churches by the New Testament. Instead there was a promise that where two or more are gathered in Christ’s name, He promised to be in the midst of them. Really, if there is an emphasis at all it is on quality rather than quantity. That is not quality by the typical standards of today either – it is quality or sincerity of heart.

The “mega-church” has become a modern phenomenon. They are loved by some and hated by others; they are envied by a certain segment and preached down by others. I pastor a church located only a few miles from the largest church in the state of Colorado. It was recently listed as the 49^th largest church in the United States with a weekly attendance of nearly 10,000. You may or may not know much about the spiritual temperature of Colorado, but I am here to tell you “this ain’t the Bible Belt!” It is quite remarkable that a church could grow so large in this environment. Once should fairly be asking questions like why and how?

There is a lot of debate these days concerning what constitutes healthy growth and unhealthy growth for churches. It has been proven time and time again that churches can grow large with heavy emphasis on the fundamental truths of God’s Word and it has equally been proven that churches can grow large while minimizing the truths of God Word. Interestingly enough geography figures heavily into the equation. With few exceptions, Southern churches in places like Texas, Georgia, and Florida have the ability to grow fairly large while emphasizing the fundamentals, whereas it is extremely rare for churches in the northern and western parts of the U.S. to grow large without severely compromising the fundamentals of the faith.

So much of what makes a church grow larger is it’s ability to reflect the needs of the community in which it exists. When churches stubbornly try and hold on to practices or beliefs that are counter to their community they greatly limit themselves in their appeal. It is true that the Gospel is not widely popular much of anywhere in our changing times, however in certain pockets around the country it remains a big asset to stick to the fundamentals. In places like the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, for instance, there are a significant number of large and strong fundamental churches. The same goes for Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Jacksonville, Memphis, Louisville, and a number of other places, but not so much in Boston, Cleveland, Portland, Las Vegas, Detroit, and Denver. In these latter places there seems to be a large emphasis on things such as programs, outreach events, connecting with people, small groups, music styles, strategic naming for the church, etc. The churches that seem to have the large numbers connect with large segments of people on these key items.

The day was when people expected to be contributors in several ways to the church to which their membership belonged. Honestly today, many of the mega-churches don’t measure their size so much in terms of membership because it is largely de-emphasized. Instead of the old stand-bys like Sunday School attendance, membership, choir, Christian Brotherhood, or WMU now the emphasis is on merely the weekly worship attendance. This item yields the largest number and can serve as a standard of comparison with other churches, however what does this tell us? It tells us how many the church was able to draw in their doors on a given week or averaged over a period of time. I would argue that it does not tell us far more than it tells us.

We could make several assumptions and even educated guesses, but I don’t wish to go there. Let it suffice to say that a lot has changed in a generation or two. Strengths have become weaknesses and weaknesses have become strengths. I believe two extremes should be avoided. There are churches so dead and out of focus on the things of God that they are an embarrassment to the kingdom. The message they proclaim may be largely right but God is completely out of focus in those places. The church is much more of an organization while maintaining, albeit unfairly, the label of “church.” In the opposite extreme are those who have compromised so much for so long they do not know where to stop. They hardly even know the difference between what is right and what is wrong anymore. They are in terror of preaching or teaching large portions of scripture for fear of losing much of their “crowd.” They are program oriented and their approach almost exclusively pragmatic. If it gives us our desired results then it is good, if it does not then we need to try something else. That is sadly true even when the Gospel is not enough to draw a crowd it must be used creatively and even sparingly.

In this age of consumerism the church looks unsuccessful even when it is successful. Success is spelled by obedience and faithfulness. There is leeway for us in what we do, but many have crossed lines that should have never been crossed. They are now experiencing their temporary earthly reward, however, as James pointed out this life is but a vapor. Many “small time” Christians and pastors that no one has ever heard of will one day stand before the Lord and hear “well done good and faithful servant,” while some of the movers and shapers will find the Lord sorely displeased with their pride-motivated efforts.

It is exciting to see a person come to Christ or to see new members added to the church. It does my heart good when I have that privilege. But, I have set certain standards that I will not compromise. This is not because of mere stubbornness or some sort of fatalistic obsession on my part, but it comes from a deep-seated conviction which goes way back. I promised myself long ago that I would not compromise the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. I would not water it down or neglect certain portions of the Bible just because they appeared unpalatable at the moment. I would truly work at a secular job before compromising the call God has placed upon me.

Only God knows what is in anyone’s heart. He alone will have to sort out what pastors and staff of any church, large or small, are motivated by. But I am confident there are some with whom the Lord is not well pleased. My job and your job as well is to not set around criticizing others for what they do or do not do, as much as it is to live out our faith and consistently share with others the good news of Christ!

In Christ,

Pastor Allen Raynor