Megachurches and Shopping Mall Theology

Now Religion in the News—a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from Telegraph.co.uk, January 24, 2004, with the headline, “US Mega-churches Bring Shopping Mall Theology to 30-somethings— ‘The latest religious phenomenon to hit the US is one that is being viewed as the most significant since the advent of televangelism in the 1980s,’ writes Oliver Poole. An advertisement for the Saddleback Church invites congregants to attend ‘God’s Extreme Makeover,’ a revival of Christ in their hearts named after the latest television fad, in which volunteers undergo plastic surgery.

“Leaflets at the door to the main hall proclaim, ‘You can bring your coffee into any venue.’ Children run around in baseball shirts proclaiming that they are part of ‘God’s Own Squad.’ The thousands inside are able to sing along to spiritual songs, not traditional hymns, from the words on giant karaoke screens suspended above a light rock band.

“This is the United States’ latest religious phenomenon. As Americans like going to shopping malls for all their consumer needs in one spot, so self-styled mega-churches offer a one-stop spiritual supermarket.

“At the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest just outside Los Angeles County, the second biggest church in the country with 20,000 worshipers each weekend, there are not only four main Sunday services, but 18 small ones. A café sells food and drinks. Baptisms are conducted at a pool to one side where warm water is promised. There are picnic spots and walks through manicured gardens in addition to church softball and basketball teams. Parties are held for singles to meet fellow believers.

“At Saddleback’s 11:30 AM Sunday service, there is talk of love and togetherness. The pastors wear microphone headsets and chinos, use slang in their sermons, and certainly avoid anything that resembles ‘thee’ or ‘thou.’

“Eddie Gibbs, a professor at the Fuller Theological Seminary, has described it as ‘a conscious process to remove every obstacle that keeps people from coming in to the Christian church.’

“ ‘ It makes you feel good about yourself,’ said Reid Cujo, 49. ‘When I was young, I was a Catholic, and it was almost painful. This is uplifting.’

“ ‘Rick Muchow, the church’s Pastor of Greater Arts, which means that his guitar leads the singing, defends the approach adopted. ‘The church’s target market is the 30-somethings, many now with young children, who are seeking to return to religion. Having grown up in an era of consumerism, they are looking not only for God in a church but also a variety of facilities. We are trying to get the people in so that we can then process them towards a greater understanding of the faith, which we do through smaller discussion groups, for those that want to further examine their spiritual path,’ he said.

“ ‘Don’t forget, Christ used user-friendly language. He spoke to His followers in parables.’”

Tom: Dave! Except for the last statement, which is completely erroneous, you know, what could be the problem with this? “We just want to bring people in. We want to make them feel good, and we want them to have an opportunity to come into the church and hear the gospel and get saved.”

Dave: Well, Tom, I guess the Apostle Paul might find it rather difficult to relate his Christianity to this, and I remember we used to travel behind the Iron Curtain—in those days, it was very tough back there. We’ve taken a few things, a few Bibles and other things in that people needed, and we’ve seen God blind the guards’ eyes at the borders, and so forth. And we’ve talked to these people, and they often asked, “Why are we suffering over here? They’re putting us in prison. They’re torturing us—killing us! And yet, Christianity is so popular in the United States.”

Now, either God’s blessing is so much upon America that we have a different brand of Christianity that God has put His stamp of approval on, so that we want to be more and more like the world, so there’s no stigma attached to being a Christian; or there may be something wrong with this brand of Christianity that we’re promoting. And I wonder how many of these people really get to know the Lord.

There’s a certain amount of maturity that comes from suffering—submission to God’s will rather than trying to just have a great time and feel good about yourself. And I think we may have mentioned last week, I’ve read through The Purpose Driven Life, and on the one hand, I think Rick Warren says a lot of good things. On the other hand, I could not find the gospel. And without the gospel, Paul says, “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe.” You’ve got to believe the gospel, and if you don’t get the gospel—and the gospel was not there—then you’re not going to get saved.

Tom: Dave, there’s another thing about this. Going through the approach that Willow Creek takes under Bill Hybels, and certainly Saddleback, with Rick Warren, there’s an idea that you bring in the lost. So they have a heart for evangelism, and you can’t fault them for that. But the way they go about it, there’s a major problem. They’re making their church conform to meet the felt needs, to comfort, to bring in the lost, and on that basis, everything is orchestrated in the church to that end. Now, here’s the problem. Rick Warren has 20,000 people in his church. Well, I know specifically Willow Creek, at 16,000, a very—maybe 1,500 people there are…would be the lost. So they are gathering believers into this church and they’re keeping their message directed at the lost. So it’s very shallow.

Dave: But directed at the lost without the gospel clearly stated.

Tom: Well, but the point is, Dave, even if they do present the gospel, it’s at a very superficial level, and what are they doing with the, you know, the 85-90 percent of believers that are in there? They’re continually giving them a shallow message. How can you grow? How can you develop?

Dave: Tom, let’s take this back to Robert Schuller. He has an institute for—Robert Schuller’s Institute for Church Growth. Bill Hybels speaks every year at that Institute. Rick Warren is a graduate of that Institute. Robert Schuller says the worst thing that you can do is to try to tell someone that they’re a lost, guilty sinner. You must build up their self-esteem, but the Bible says that salvation is for sinners. It’s not a feel-good message. Jesus responded to people who would come running up to Him: “Master, we’re going to follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus said, “Oh, good, I’ll build up your self-esteem, I’ll make you feel good about yourself,” and so forth. No! What did Jesus say? He said, “The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” He didn’t say, “Peter, sign him up! John, put him in the choir! Let’s make him feel good.”

Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me. That’s where we’re heading, guys, for a hill outside Jerusalem called Calvary. They’re going to nail me to the cross. If you’re going to be my followers, just pick up your cross to come with me.”

And I think the message of the cross somehow fell off the wagon here on this road to the mega-church.

Tom: Dave, the cross is not a message that makes people comfortable, but it will set them free.