Top 100 Largest and Fastest-Growing Churches

Outreach magazine recently published the "100 Largest and Fastest-Growing Churches in America." If you know me at all you know that am incredibly analytical with verbiage and language and words and blah blah, yadah yadah... This though, the measure of success from sheer numbers, is a just flattery and senseless statistics. Dare I say, any pastor that measures his success by his attendance has another thing coming. And the measurements here are by attendance and not membership. But let me be fair, too, and say that some of these churches are respectable institutions and their success stems from a rich and fruitful ministry. For example, #32 is James MacDonald's Harvest Bible Chapel - a ministry I get to listen to each day; a fantastic truth filled preacher who delivers with boldness. But #1 is Joel Osteen. I will not sit here and slam him too hard, but any sensible vessel of the Holy Spirit can see the incompleteness of the Gospel in his ministry - and it's really a false Gospel - the "Prosperity Gospel."

I am not willing to look up even most of these, but I don't have to to know that most people want to hear an easy way to heaven; and many churches have traded in apologetics for apostasy, shifting their definitions and "requirements" of salvation, sin, sacraments, and more. Follow the $$$. Confession: in Alaska I served at the most attended church; in Omaha I serve at a very high attendance church. I was extremely skeptical about my current church too, and investigated over a couple rounds of golf with church leadership to make sure they were the real deal - a tactic I suggest for all of you looking for a church. Annoyingly, in Alaska I bothered, offered prayer, and did whatever necessary to make sure my pastor and elders were in the right spot. BUT!!! It was not measured by me, but by the Bible: Titus, Thessalonians, and the Book of Acts and more have specific attributes for leadership.

Okay okay! Back to the subject :)   Outreach magazine's website clarifies their recognition of the importance of small churches - and how large churches should adapt to their outlined six qualities. I liked that. However, the latest issue of their magazine listing the 100 largest only a testament to the popularity of doing what's popular, and not always correct; like #4 Willow Creek separating ties with Exodus International. 

A suggestion you ask? What would be better? What would be better than a comprehensive list of the nation's 100 Most Wonderful Churches? With different areas of servitude: Most prayerful, most compassionate, most impact in missions, most truthful, most bold, most humble, powerfully transformed lives. Opposite of my suggestion, most of the "Largest Churches" are where they are (large) for separate reasons. They would be broken into such subjects: best band, loudest music/silentest crowd (just invented a word), most projectors, best sound system, most fake smoke on stage, most synthetic worship experience, most income, most sales in Barnes and Noble, best coffee shop. See what I'm saying? Do not take offense to the criteria I just listed, as many fine churches have coffee bars, bands, smoke, and such. that's not my point.

Point is, this is a terrible way to display success. Outreach is out-of-bounds on this issue. They give pages and pages of advise from pastors of these mega-churches, as if a church needs an increase in attendance. Ah, I've said enough, the poor horse is dead. Listen; faith without works is dead.

Live a life worthy of no recognition from the masses. Do your good deeds in secret. Love others without expectation of reward. Forgive without gratitude. Boast in the Lord. Carry your cross.