Before coming to college, I spent 3 years attending a church with a full worship band, lights, fog machines, and all the works. Then, I spent a summer working at a camp hosted by a church of the same nature. When I came to college, I again found myself at a church with the same feel. I am your typical mega-church brat.
What is a mega-church brat? Well, I just came up with the term. But I cannot think of a better way to describe me and so many other high school and college age students. We’re the kids who went on all the youth group conferences (or at least begged to). We’re the kids who knew all the answers in small groups. We’re the kids who would go to a traditional church with extended family and feel completely out of place. We love Hillsong, have a strong preference on whether it’s sloppy wet or unforeseen, and we’ve had at least three spiritual highs in our lifetimes.
But here’s the problem: the lights, the music, the feelings… that’s not the Gospel. And yet we put so much time and effort into concerning ourselves with that. Would you still go to your church if they didn’t have fancy lights? What about if worship was just a mediocre singer and a guitar? What if (God forbid) they took away your coffee bar?
Don’t get me wrong, mega churches do a lot of good and I truly believe that the mission and ministries of mine would still be relevant without all the Sunday morning show. It’s when we get so caught up in it that we forget to share the gospel we have a problem.
If you're a mega-church brat, and you know who you are, take some time and pray. Why do you go to your church? Is it because of the way God works there? Or the way you see lives being changed? If not, I urge you to look deeper into what your church does. I'm not saying you need to change churches, but I am saying you need to change your heart.
The feeling you get on Sunday morning is not the Gospel. And the lights and music are not the gospel. Don't get me wrong, they have the potential to be really good. But not as good as God himself.
