My Megachurch Confessions [6/8]
The American Dream
Everybody knows that with stuff comes more stuff to maintain the stuff. And then that stuff needs even more stuff to maintain the first stuff. Very soon everything is way complicated and everbody’s confused.
Well, big churches aren’t very different…
My experience of working and worshipping in a megachurch environment is that one of the downsides is this: sooner than later the leaders, staff, volunteers and general congregation gets sucked into a corporate, institutionalized mentality. It’s not wrong of itself, God knows that the size of the monster warrants good organisation and structures. I just don’t know if it is the best thing for a community of faith to operate in that arena.
Example: more congregation members = more programs = more volunteers = more full time staff = more salaries = bigger human resources department = more financial personnel = a dedicated communications department, etc, etc. I guess my point would be this: the bigger the institution gets, the more people witn non-ministry related roles (and missions?) is needed to keep the boat afloat.
The biggest danger of this is that, eventually, the non-ministry related departments start dictating what is and is not possible, and relevant, to the ministry related departments. And before you now it, your church becomes an institution driven by corporate values, instead of ministry values, where the tail is wagging the dog, so to speak!
The challenge then would be to let your church grow in numbers, but also in effectiveness in ministry, becoming more of a movement and less of a monument (kudos, Erwin.)! To not let the corporate side of such a big organisation bog down the fluidity, creativity and immediateness that is such an integral part of ministering to our culture today.
The churches where this is working seems to be the exception, though.
What do you think?
Here is some funny but true quotes on committees and their downsides. If they struck a chord, check out these.
- A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled. – Sir Barnett Cocks (1907 – 1989)
- A committee can make a decision that is dumber than any of its members. - David Coblitz
For some more perspectives, see if you can get your hands on Erwin Mcmanus‘ book on church life, An Unstoppable Force. Also check out some other articles with interesting views on the matter here and here.
