I’m not against megachurches. God often blesses a work, and a church grows, but there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Some megachurches are doctrinally sound, filled with excitement and expectations, while others have a mere motivational speaker leading them away from theological depth and width.
Or worse yet, the recent disaster at a men’s conference where Mark Driscoll rebuked the tasteless male performer in a performance better suited for America’s Got Talent than a house of worship.
They Know Not That the Spirit Has Departed
Like many, I was surprised that James River Church and Pastor John Lindell allowed this to take place at their men’s event. To say that Pastor Mark Driscoll should have rebuked him privately is nonsense. A godless display of a shirtless man swallowing a sword must be confronted on the spot (regardless whether he is a former stripper or not). Where is the discernment?
I’m not saying this with a judgmental heart but with a broken one. I love Lindell’s preaching on fasting and revival. As you can imagine, like many, I was shocked by what I witnessed. Just look at the state of the church today: Kicking the Bible as a football, getting a haircut on stage or being proud that we leave out controversial terms on our Easter marketing material.
How does this happen? In short, leaders have no doubt drifted spiritually. Instead of hours spent praying, fasting and repenting, they are too busy for God, and like Samson: “They know not that the Spirit has departed.”
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‘Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve’
In the past, many churches could avoid hot-topic issues, but not today. A clear line in the sand is being drawn. Many pastors are choosing between political correctness and biblical faithfulness, between crowd appeal and crowd conviction, between tickling the ears and challenging the heart.
Whether the megachurch is in California, Georgia or New York, it’s sad to see many pastors concerned about offending their audience. After all, calculating whoever has the most social media followers, campuses or sermon downloads is the way to gauge success, right? Wrong. God judges faithfulness—faithfulness to His Word.
Shepherds and Watchmen
I love my fellow pastors. We feel the pain of parents losing a child to an overdose, marriages crumbling under our watch and more tragedies than we can count. But at the end of the day, we are not just shepherds, we are also watchmen. We are to uplift and encourage and also convict. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned (C. H. Spurgeon). When we fail to proclaim God’s Word faithfully, we run the risk of becoming politically correct and “pervert[ing] the words of the living God,” (Jer. 23:6b, NKJV).
This is exactly what we are seeing today—many pastors don’t want to offend, so they’ll take a neutral approach. But truth is not neutral when it comes to absolutes. It’s solid and unyielding.
Megachurches Should Be Megaphones for Truth
I’m an avid reader of books about revivals and spiritual awakenings written by those who have experienced them. Ironically, many, if not all, say we must preach and proclaim God’s Word with authority if we are to experience true revival. The New Testament also bears this out—without authority and power from on high, words are lifeless. There is nothing to fear when preaching the truth. God ordained it, and He blesses it. He desires that all people “come to the knowledge of the truth,” (1 Tim. 2:4b). Megachurches should be the biggest megaphones for truth.
America, if you want revival (which is our only hope at this stage in the depravity game), then churches must stop silly gimmicks to draw a crowd, but instead get focused on drawing the presence of God.
The pulpits must stop asking, “Will this offend my audience?” and start asking, “Will this offend God?” Stop trying to be popular, relevant and cool. Be filled with God’s Spirit. When God gives people the authority to passionately and lovingly proclaim His Word, souls are converted, lives are changed and families are restored.
Returning to His truth is our only hope.{eoa}
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Hear more from Shane Idleman here on why kingdoms are colliding.
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