Feed Me! (with apologies to Audrey .)

Most of you who read my blog are very well aware I went to bible college and was a pastor for quite a few years.  I don’t normally post here about spiritual issues, not because they are not important to me, because matters of the transcendence are at the top of the food chain of what I value most in life.  I usually need to get a few things off my chest, and the blog affords me the opportunity to do so, and some people find my point of view amusing at times.  However, I’m going to tread into the waters that my Dad used to say you don’t discuss with company, religion and politics.  I’m really not much of an expert on politics, and would not even call myself an expert on ‘religion’ (a word I’m really not even fond of).  My belief is that if you have to identify yourself as an expert on anything, you probably aren’t.  The same is true of leadership, if you have to tell people you’re the leader, you probably aren’t. ‘Freaking genius’ is perhaps one of the few exceptions I have found to that rule.

I feel a bit conflicted about writing about some of the things I intend to discuss.  The reason being, I attend one of the largest churches in America.  It is listed as #69 of the top 70 largest ‘gigachurches’ in the country.  Wow, I guess I’ve been out of the church leadership loop for a while! ‘Megachurch’ used to be the label put on the huge churches in the country; I guess we’ve taken a step up.  There's the K-12 school.  They have one of the most incredible youth ministries in the country, one which has been visited by hundreds if not thousands of churches around the country to glean ideas from to take back home.  The church also has one of the most amazing summer camps for the kids to enjoy.  It has everything, and I mean everything.  The music during their services on Saturday night and Sunday morning is amazing.  A very talented guy leads worship who used to be a part of a popular Christian music group.  He and the band are over the top awesome.

But I’m conflicted.  I’m not totally sure I like the way we ‘do church’ these days.  When I was in bible college and fresh out, I would almost have given up my firstborn (sorry Kyle!) to be a part of a huge church, or to help ‘grow’ a huge church.  The conversation around my college campus seemed to value the large churches over small ones, even though no one would admit that as an official position.   The conversation around conventions which brought together herds of pastors would sooner than later be brought around to the size of church each guy served.  It all sounds a bit Freudian to me now.

Church growth seminars abounded.  I spend thousands of dollars on books, seminars, conferences, and other resources on the topic.  How do you get the church bigger?  I can already hear some pastor friends of mine and other Christian friends.  “But we want to reach people, right?” “But what about the Great Commission?”  “You want people to be saved don’t you?”  For those friends of mine outside of those loops, these terms represent what we Christians understand the task we are to be performing with our faith.  Yes, I agree, those things are important, more than you know.  But the big question is, “How are we going to feed the animal?” 

I don’t know where or when I first came up with the phrase “feeding the animal”, but it just seemed to fit the way I felt, and continue to feel.  We’ve created these “machines”, these “animals”, these megachurches and now gigachurches.  How are they sustained?  The 70 gigachurches all have 10,000 and above in attendance every weekend.  The largest has 43,500 with cheerleader Joel at the wheel.  I joke! Come on, lighten up.  He just reminds me of a cheerleader.  I like him ok.  If you don’t know who I’m talking about…good, I probably kept myself from sinning deeper or something.  This represents billions of dollars in real estate and facilities, payrolls, equipment, supplies, vehicles, security, and the bunches of other ‘stuff’ that keeps them going week in and week out.  And the goal seems to be to keep as many of the people in attendance busy with things going on at the facilities, I guess to keep us out of trouble.  How do we keep the animal alive?  I can only imagine what the upkeep of the facilities alone costs in utilities and maintenance.  There are countless other expense involved as well.  I really do like the church I attend though.  Our church baptized just shy of 1,000 people last weekend.  Thus the conflict.

I know nearly every justification in the book for growing big churches.  I did the math one time on how much the gold alone cost in the temple Solomon built for God in Jerusalem…it was in the billions of dollars.  I was working on justification for nice buildings in my early years of ministry .  I know many good reasons for propagating the feeding of the animal.  I know I’ve already ticked somebody off using this terminology.  I know the church is called the ‘bride of Christ’ in the Bible.  But I’m not talking about the people, I’m talking about the ‘stuff’.  The material things, and the material means necessary to keep it all going.  I’m growing less and less able and willing to justify all of the time and expense necessary to keep the animal alive.  I don’t think I have a lot of answers or alternatives at this juncture.  I probably have more questions than anything else.  And I know all of those questions can be answered by the right trained professional.  But I’m not sure that the answers I received would be ones that would truly satisfy me. 

I’m not sure anyone is able to truly collect the data that would clarify if the bulk of what is making up the growing churches in America is people who are being saved or drawing off of smaller ‘ineffective’ churches people are bored with.  Are we leaving people enough time to rub shoulders with people that aren’t saved, or are we too busy ‘going to church’ and doing ‘church activities’ to really make a difference in a world I believe needs what we have to offer.  Are we using all of the resources which are required for doing what Jesus left us to do to merely keep the animal alive? 

The older I get, the more I value simplicity.  What we have created is far from simple.  It’s extremely complicated and complex.  Do I think God disapproves?  I can’t even begin to speak for the Creator of all things, but I don’t think so.  I wonder sometimes if He thinks it’s the best thing.  Personally, maybe the best thing was going on at the beginning.  Groups of people and families met in people’s homes, sometimes getting together in a public place that would accommodate more people.  No bibles in everyone’s hand (or nightstand, let’s be real), just reliance on what they remembered Jesus saying that time on the hillside, or by the lake, or the time by the temple.  Simple, inexpensive, plenty of time with the family and friends…plenty of time and money to rub shoulders with people Jesus wants to love.

Personally, I don’t need a bible study or sermon 3 or more times a week with radio programs scattered in between.  I really need to just do what I already know.  That’ll keep me out of trouble for a while! FG