Bill Easums Observations

You will either love or hate this post. And you will think I am either a prophet or a clown. Either way, the article is worth a serious read.Several years ago I made the observation that we were entering a time of fewer mega churches.  I have publically backed off that observation recently. Anyone who sticks their neck out very far has to be willing to pull it back in quickly before it gets chopped off. But before you sharpen your axe read on. The picture is shaping up quite different than I thought it would.  The mega church trend if anything is gaining momentum as well as larger forms of church life are emerging. According to Church Growth Today research, new non-Catholic mega churches are emerging now every week in the fastest rate ever recorded in the U.S.  Not only that, mega churches continue to grow larger. Once a church gets over five thousand in worship its growth seems to escalate.  For the rest of the post click here .

In my last post I talked about the multi-site part of the current edition of Outreach Magazine. Today I want to make a small comment on the mega church which is the heart of this issue. Note: I have put the list of the top ten largest churches and the top ten fastest growing churches for 2007 on our home page and in our FAQS.

If you look at each of these churches you find one thing missing from the list most of the time- liberal churches.  I have my theory about why the vast majority of liberal churches tend to be declining. I’m sure you have yours. Here’s mine, what’s yours?

One of the common denominators in almost every thriving church I’ve worked in over the years has been they are NOT liberal. Why is not being liberal almost a given in thriving churches? I have my theory- it is because liberals are seldom passionate about personal salvation and when that passion is missing the primary dynamo for reaching people with the Good News is missing.

Liberal pastors tend to put more emphasis on social justice without the personal redemption part, doing good, and serving the community much like the lions club. Often liberal pastors assume that since God loves everyone there is no need for personal redemption.

The pastor who replaced me at Colonial Hills Church (appointed by the United Methodist Bishop) told the music staff at the very first meeting that she would not tolerate any songs that referred to blood or the atonement because she did not believe in the atonement. And what happened? the church lost 3/4 of its attendance in five years. You see God will not honor those who scorn the basic work God has done in this world. However you interpret the cross, biblically it is central to the Christian story and experience.