Mega/Church
Mars Hill, Carl Lentz, and How We Got Here
I recently came across a discussion of the podcast; “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill”. To me, the podcast seems to be a case of “Acting-disgusted-by-things-we-were-yesterday-obsessed-with.” The irony of the podcast is that, (in my view) it’s creators are to the current fashion what Driscoll was to a previous fashion. However, they seem oblivious to this fact. Where Driscoll embodied a macho individualism, they embody the pseudo-left wing pseudo-Christian humanism. I do not wish to protect Mark Driscoll. My point is rather to use this story as a starting point to look at what got us here.
How we got here:
When people demand their church have cutting edge architecture and a baskin Robbins, when they demand leaders who look like sex symbols and have Justin Bieber on speed dial, is it really all that surprising when that same leader is eventually found out as a shallow, image obsessed egomaniac? This is the simple working of supply and demand. And if that is what we demand, what does that say about who we are? Another unpopular factor to consider is that, in some ways mega churches are simply better at everything. Being small and boring doesn’t make you pious and being successful doesn’t make you evil. Our underdog instincts can cause us to paint every megachurch with the same brush. Like everything there are great ones and less great ones. And even the worse ones do lots of good.
One tension we must struggle with is this: God is not smug. He longs for every human to know the depth of his divine life.
He came not only for the brilliant, affluent, or scholarly but for the common man. This puts us in a tough spot. To what extent do we accommodate the culture? and when is it necessary to contrast? In the big ways it’s relatively simple. But in the minutia of the small things; like lights and music, where do we stop? A gaudy, flashy light show is; in some way, more earnest than the puritan instinct to “always be traditional”. Both are good (and bad). both have pitfalls. As our culture continues to leave it’s moral foundation, We are perhaps starting to see the cracks in the armor of a church which was birthed in modernism.
Visibility bias.
Before we get to possible solutions, we should make one thing clear: we have a visibility bias. There tons of great churches but they don’t make headlines… so we don’t even see them.
Second, we must use humility. Sure it’s easy to take shots at celebrity pastors from where I’m standing now. But If 10,000+ people drove to hear me speak, if my face was on magazines, if everyone was talking about my books, would it still be so easy to see things clearly?
“You’re not a success until you have a successor.” -John Maxwell
One way corruption is prevented is by separation of power. Rather than put one guy’s face on a screen in every town, many large churches plant smaller churches each with it’s own pastor. This is one of those great things no one thinks about… because it works.
Next, We must guard against the utopia fallacy. We must never fall into thinking “if only churches would do this things would be perfect.” They wouldn’t. All human action is the lesser of two evils.
In a world of escalating technology, working from home, and doordash, amenities are on the rise. However deep connection to other human beings is plummeting. For this reason; the amenity based church model may be a dying one. However if it’s to be replaced by a deeper more intimate experience, this will require a more committed congregation.
Looking ahead:
What does that look like? Is it time for the rise of a bi-vocational ideal? Is the future one of house churches? If we don’t want our pastors to chase numbers and money, what are they supposed to chase? New ideals require new incentives. Or is it on us? Are the changes we need not to be found in the church?
When all is said and done, one question remains: what is a church? Is it a family or a amenity service provider?