Big Time Church

"And I will pray to a big God,
as I kneel in the big church."

For those of you who aren't in my inner circle, you may not know that the wonderful little Christian School my daughters attend was abruptly closed a few weeks ago, totally blindsiding parents, teachers and staff with a mere few weeks left in the school year. It left veteran teachers scrambling for work, and parents with an impossibly short amount of time to visit schools and make family decisions that would usually get months of careful consideration. We were alerted that a letter would come home with children, and while all over our county parents were ripping into that envelope sealed with packing tape, teachers were having the news broken that they had lost their livelihoods.

The letter stated that money and lack of enrollment was the issue behind the decision. Of course there was utter outrage from the parents who had no idea that this school, that seemed to be thriving, was in trouble. I investigated the situation by speaking with school board members, administrators, teachers, insiders and church staff and found out what we expected - in the end, this was the church's will. For when families stepped up and offered to cover the relatively small budget shortfall, campaign, advertise and provide scholarships, they were promptly told "no".

And the pain of it all is that the church is rapidly growing. After a multimillion dollar building campaign was completed just a couple of years ago, the church has expanded by leaps and bounds - 15-20% per year. It is seeing higher attendance and more revenue than in any other time in it's 100 year history, and is currently in the middle of another expansion project - to add a multi-site service at a movie theater in the fall, with more to follow. We, along with hundreds of other families, pledged money to expand parking and office space, and get the new site off the ground, thinking we were supporting a ministry that supported our kids. But what we didn't know is that while we were "creating spaces" to expand the church, space was being undermined from my kids. Over the last few years, the church that once supported this 40 year old school - that advertised in bulletins, plugged it during enrollment season, supported fundraisers, and put out signs, removed it's favor. They redecorated the building to suit Sunday morning services (instead of the 5 day a week, 9 month a year ministry of education), the school children could no longer hang their artwork in the schools halls, and the pastor never spoke at their chapel services. Each year they were marginalized more and more until a new visitor to the church would never have known there was a school on site. While the church is quick to point out that it contributed financially to the ministry (by paying for it's facilities), in the last several years it used neither it's time nor influence to support the mission. It treated the school like a bastard child, in essence saying: Here's some money, leave us alone. Why would you give so much financial support to something, but then not invest in seeing it thrive? Why would they not bring this issue to parents? Attempt to raise tuition? Ask the church for a freewill offering? They simply did nothing. They let it die. And don't have the courage to admit that they really didn't want us around anymore, that it was inconvenient for them and their big future.

Church leadership insulted our intelligence by claiming that this was purely a financial decision, as they walk around with the proverbial measuring tape sizing the windows for their new curtains and executive desks. The closing of the school has freed up the square footage needed for offices and storage space to support the church expansion. Maybe the catalyst for the decision was the financial shortfall, but the church's choice to inhumanely close the school with no notice, was obviously a moment they had been waiting for, and it was seized upon with veiled joy. What is funny to me is that the stated mission of this church is to make more and better disciples for Christ, and in my estimation they were doing just that with the school - they just happened to be little ones. Any church that steps on it's most helpless - children, poor, elderly, and dependents (employees) in the name of saving souls, needs a serious wake up call.

I tell you this story only in part to vent my frustration, but it's primary function is to illustrate the danger of the modern growing church, that is run more like a for-profit business than a non-profit. Inherently those words - "more and better" are tainted. They connote ego, money, success and power.

Bigger is Better

No man is immune from the lure of building their own fame and renown, the hunger for success, even at the expense of others. Even if they claim to be serving God. How many churches have expanded by raising vast sums of money to have enormous parking lots, movie theater sized buildings, stadium seating, jumbo-trons, lights, high tech electronics and musical instruments? What happens to a church when it gets so big no one knows your name? They forget the elderly people who have been with them for a lifetime. New Christians, who need support, get lost in the crowd. The sick, hurting and impoverished are overlooked. The leaders are paid ever more money and/or become spiritually and relationally isolated from the people they are supposed to care for. And all the revenue they bring in goes to feed the machine - to pay the debt, finance more technology and employees, expand further, and pay for consumable resources. Instead of being used to fund missionaries, minister to the local poor, and really serve lost people. How many of these churches eventually flag and close as the fickle modern parishoners moved on to the next big things themselves, leaving the church up to their eyeballs in debt? I can give you half a dozen recognizable local names off the top of my head.

The church and the poor

Here's a pop quiz - what subject does the Bible talk about more than any other? Is it Heaven? Hell? Jesus? No - it's money. And within that category, the most covered topic is the poor. God was deeply concerned for the poor, and gave many commands on how to minister to them. Christ himelf said "I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’... ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." Yet what can a growing church do for the poor, when their main focus is their own growth? What did my church do formally for the poor? I couldn't tell ya. And mine is "relatively" small. On any given Sunday, it is probably around the 1400 people mark. There are other churches locally that see thousands, and around the country - tens of thousands. There is so much money flowing into and out of these places to pay for utilities, snow removal, equipment, staff - that could be going to charitable causes, that just isn't. Yet there are pastors driving luxury cars, and living in mansions. It is one thing if they make money off speaking engagements and authoring books, but it is sickening to see men of God "prosper" on the Church's income. Unbelievers look on this phenomenon and shake their heads.
What does the Bible say about church? Not too much, because 2000 years ago they weren't lucky enough to have a neutral location to meet in. Church was in someone's home or in a public outdoor space. What is more notable is how they lived together: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." I ask you, how many churches today are living in this way? And God help me, where can I find one?

One whose commodity is human beings, not dollars? One who's focus is on loving and healing, not bigger and more? One who recognizes that a church is a singular entity, and cannot be compared to or run like a capitalistic business or any other non-profit? Where they would approach believers for help with a financial problem (like a school in need) instead of seize the opportunity to cannibalize their own? Where the leadership is not rooted in flash, the best equipment, loudest voice or slickest teaching - but in a sincere burden for lost souls, and love for one another? I have a feeling I may be looking until Christ himself returns.

"And my heaven will be a big heaven,
and I will walk through the front door!"