So. The "megachurch".

I'm certainly no expert, but I have been in and out of so-called megachurches since I was 12, with maybe a total of 16 years invested, serving within them in a number of capacities for maybe 8 of those years. I have some questions I am asking in hopes of better understanding how God would like to use the largest of our Bodies-of-Christ. I do know that my insight comes from my exposure to only two megachurches, but from what I hear and read out there on the net, the problems I perceive are not restricted to the two churches I have been involved in.

Senior Pastors, Associate Pastors, Lay Pastors, other Ministry Leaders, other staff, bible study leaders, small group leaders, bible college interns…all these people with a vested interest in what God is doing in this body. Everyone with their own ideas and agendas, but first and foremost, a Senior Pastor who can tend to be overly cautious about letting anyone have a say in his vision for the church he has been serving and building for so many years. I understand and respect the need for the man who is ultimately responsible for shepherding 8000+ people to be careful not to let all the other voices dilute or redirect the goals that God has given him for this body. But there also must be careful balance. If he is TOO cautious about those other voices, he will become controlling and fail to hear what God might be saying to him through those voices. Eventually, he may lose sight of those God-given goals for the sake of retaining all the authority.

I don't have any answers for this, except to caution Pastors of large churches that your flock will recognize the point at which you become controlling. When you hear dissention, please don't automatically assume that the voices of dissent have character issues and therefore do not need to be heard. I understand that as a Pastor of a large church, you will have critics every day of the week. I am referring to the times when you may hear a pattern of discord, a number of frequent and related concerns, times when people begin to feel that you're no longer listening to them. It's so important to be certain that you have checks in place: people who you trust to speak forthrightly into your vision and to call you to the table in circumstances where you are more bent on guarding your vision against the multitude of voices than on objectively hearing what God is saying through them. Then you would need to actively choose to listen to those you put in place to "check "you. And no, your wife doesn't count. She certainly is responsible to speak into your ministry, but she should not be your primary check.

More on Megachurches tomorrow…