I grew up in what was, for the time, a big church (about 2,000 members). While I liked the variety of activities, I found the spiritual content to be rather shallow, mainly because it was so difficult to really know many people in a congregation that was so large.
As an adult, I switched denominations and now go to a church that is considerably smaller (we have about 70 people on a good Sunday). There are lots of challenges associated with such a small congregation; there is much more demand on one's time and attention since there are so few people to get things done. And since my church has a rather sizable number of elderly and shut-ins, younger people feel even more pressure to dive in and help out than usual. But overall, I enjoy the interaction, the ministry, and the spiritual nourishment I feel I get from a small fellowship.
Contrast this with what happens in megachurches (just look at the picture with Mollie's story). Said Larry Magnuson, chief executive of SonScape Ministries, a retreat for pastors:
"We are not very good as a church with knowing how to do restoration,” Magnuson said. “We either want to sweep it under the rug and say it’s no big deal or we want to make it impossible.
"Evangelicals are great at doing. We are those who are working in the world. As evangelicals, we are not very good wrestling with the inner life, who we are and what’s going on in the inside."
I thought that church was supposed to be all about "what's going on in the inside." There's lots of self-help groups, books, and videos to deal with what's going on outside. I always thought that religion was where one went to make sense of the "inside" stuff. Maybe that's why the rather inpersonal nature of megachurches never appealed to me. I can find a bowling league anywhere, but I can't find people who will pray with you over loved ones in Iraq just anywhere.
What was most interesting about Magnuson's quote (as pointed out by Mollie) is what happens when you compare that with what congregants say:
Some ministers credit part of the success of such churches to sermons that carry a practical message.
Natalie Anderson of Georgetown, Ind., said she attends Northside in part because it provides "a real-life message that you can apply."
Maybe the popularity of these churches lies with the fact that they don't focus on the spiritual life but emphasize a "Helps from Heloise" style of ministry.
I'm not saying that ministering to others isn't an important part of a church. Helping the poor, broken in spirit, and desperate was certainly the most visible part of Jesus's ministry. It just seems a shame to me when churches become more like recreation centers than places for spiritual reflection.
It kind of depends on the population and pastor as well as the size of the church. When we lived in Hampton, Virginia, we were members at St Joseph's Catholic Church. It was a large parish and large church, but all of the things you wanted were there.
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved to Hockessin, Delaware, a much more heavily Catholic area, we joined St Mary of the Assumption parish; the church was just as big (maybe slightly bigger), but as impersonal as you could ever find.
Now that we're in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, a small town, we're members at St Joseph's. Old building (built in 1871), old style architecture, and a close knit community, but I think we'd have a better church if we had a better pastor. The current pastor seems somewhat detached.
One way to put it: my Catholic daughter, an altar kid and everything, goes to the youth group meetings at the local Episcopal church, in part because one of her friends asked her, but also because there isn't one at the Catholic Church half a block away from my house.
ReplyDeleteHeck, the Episcopal priest liked her so much, they hired her as a tour guide last summer. (It's a very old, historic landmark church.)
I was trying to find a column from Christianity Today which sort of addressed what is happening with your daughter. I couldn't find it, so I'm repeating this from memory. Basically, it was saying that you have to find the church that works for you, but don't just change churches because of the activities. I think that's a valuable thought in a society that is so entertainment-oriented. Sometimes, it's hard to remember what we are here for. :)
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