In the first of three articles in this series, we considered the development of mega churches as a result of shifting from a utilitarian function of moving people to a destination beyond themselves to churches functioning more as the destination. The second article focused upon the churches that were attempting to win the “cool factor” of relevance and how that backfires when you make yourself the destination and not the vehicle to take you to a destination.

This article will focus upon the perception of stability. The cruise industry factors the cost per berth in relationship to the number of passengers it can hold. For example the Seabourn Quest with only 450 passengers costs $540,000 per berth. The world’s largest ship, The Allure of the Seas carries ten times that of the Seabourn Quest at a cost per berth that is less than half. The conclusion for this industry is – “BIGGER IS BETTER!”However these vessels are not as nimble in certain sea conditions and cannot react to market changes as fast as smaller vessels. The size of a vessel is quite efficient as long as the market conditions support that size. They trade efficiency for flexibility.

Consider the church world for similar trade offs. In 2005 when Christmas Day was on a Sunday, one mega church admitted that having a service on this Sunday was not a good use of resources. It takes 90 staff and 700 volunteers to equip a service and then factor in the cost of lightening and heat – the conclusion was it is better to cancel this service due to anticipated smaller crowds. What would happen if one generation decided they want to live in the city and not the suburbs? What if one generation spends its resources on technology over vehicles – how will you overcome the barrier of 30 minute drive-times to get to the suburbs? Does multi-cite campuses with live streaming feed from the main campus solve the issue of efficiency and flexibility?

Large churches and multi-cite campuses all suffer from the same dangerous potential – The Lead Pastor! What if the captains name is Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia. What about the recent forced resignation of Mars Hill with its multi-cite campuses? The lead pastor was accused of belligerent leadership and abuse of power. The one glaring issue that “BIG-NESS” over looks is that leadership failure is exacerbated because of the size! The dangerous blind spot is that the larger the operation the more we tend to see it as a “kingdom in and of itself” as opposed nothing more than a vehicle to take us to a destination.

So that I am not misunderstood and so that I will not receive a flood of “hate-mail” from long-time friends allow me to make a few closing remarks. Mega-churches are not going anywhere. They are going to be part of the religious landscape for years to come as the Lord tarries. However, it is not wise to assume that bigger is necessarily better. There are trade-offs and inherent dangers associated with being big. Do not become naive! At the same time allow me to state that smallness is not the zenith of holiness and righteousness. Small churches wrestle with limiting beliefs that prohibits growth and stunts dreams. In either case large or small the church is not the destination, the Cross is! Transformed lives can transform cities before the sounding of the last trumpet of God.