If the title of this post isn't leading, I have no idea what would be.
If I had to give a simple answer, I would say that they are not. I would quickly follow up with the observation that the tendencies of these kinds of Churches (their size, their fast-food/fast-faith mentality, their money obsession, etc...) are symptoms of a deep rooted flawed (some might argue evil) approach to organized religion.
Don't get me wrong. Some of the leaders of these groups are really quite dangerously manipulative of their followers. Any form of prosperity theology is wrong-headed and counter-intuitive to Jesus' teachings, in my opinion. Very often it seems that the very people preaching in a judgmental, buzzword-heavy manner end up being found guilty of the very sins they publicly reject so vociferously.
Well, now you know some of what I think on the subject. What do you think?
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3 comments:
It is the type of Christianity practiced in many organized Christian religions that I find most objectionable, rather than the concept of a mega church. I have heard those who take on leadership roles in some of the churches I have attended say that the church is a business and it needs to grow and have a marketing plan to ensure its continued success. And that it's style of worship needs to be culturally relevant to attract and retain members. Oh, really? If Jesus had endorsed that approach he would have been selling trinkets in the temple with the money changers, rather than chasing them out. Jesus' building campaign consisted of traveling from town to town, preaching on hillsides God's lessons of love through the use of parables and miracles, and generally lifting people spiritually out of the oppression of their culture. When I look at the cultural influences and propoganda that we are bombarded with in the US, I am particularly shocked that anyone would want to be part of a church that strives to be culturally relevant. How little we have evolved in 2000 years.
I guess when a church starts talking about "throughput", I get a little concerned.
Hey, I got yer "Throughput"!
heheh... couldn't resist.
I agree. In fact, the separation of Church and business might be compared to the separation of Church and state. Both comparative concepts are hazardous for both sides of the equation. There are some ideas engendered in all of these that can be shared, but are more often than not abused.
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