No room at the inn. Or the megachurch.
December 8th, 2005 ~ La Vida IglesiaAm I the only one who has been curious about what life would be like in one of those Protestant megachurches? The biggest Orthodox church I’ve ever seen probably had a couple hundred people in it. I can’t imagine what church life would be like in a building that had to pack in twice that every Sunday. It must be a different world.
But judging from this article (via Jim), it’s a different world that you don’t want. Several of the megachurches are going to be closed on Christmas Day, because it falls on a Sunday and they don’t think they’ll get enough bodies in to cover their bottom line. For goodness’ sake, it’s Christmas Day. The devil take the bottom line. For one day, every couple years, go ahead and lose money. But for any Christian church to close its doors on Christmas is shameful.
I’m guessing that they’ll catch enough negative flak for this that those churches will figure out it’s a PR disaster and change their schedule. But they never should’ve done it in the first place. Shame on those big guys.
And Jim’s right — down here in the cheap Orthodox seats, we have services either Christmas eve or Christmas Day (sometimes even both — it seems to change from church to church). Yes, sometimes our non-Orthodox family don’t understand. And sometimes we may lose some church-goers who favor the family thing over the church thing. But I don’t know. If a church stops acting like a church and acts like a business, what’s it good for?
Contents available under a
December 8th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
Well, I have to admit that I usually don’t go on the Nativity morning (and I’m well aware I SHOULD) I do agree it’s a PR disaster.
I have dreams about attending a mega-church sometimes, but it’s always an odd experience in my dream and odd and a bit exaggerated. I have no idea what that says about me.
December 8th, 2005 at 11:06 pm
Yep, I know what you mean. In the years that my folks were in town, I used to kind of pick and choose from the services. It was just hard for my parents to understand why my sister and I would be away for hours on Christmas morning and leave them at home (and it would’ve been out of the question for them to come). Sometimes you pick family. Just another reason I’ll have a lot of explaining to do at the Pearly Gates. (I always tell everyone as a public service — when you get there, remember not to get behind me in line.)
Re: the megachurch dream — seems like a perfect dream locale to me. Sort of familiar but also not, and too big and everything. Yep, now that you mention it, I’m surprised I’ve never dreamt about one.
December 9th, 2005 at 12:57 pm
Yeah, my husband isn’t Orthodox, and so I am definitely a pick and chooser.
December 10th, 2005 at 8:11 am
Personally, I like Mission Churches. You have to find your own entertainment, Jazzercise classes, gyms, Starbucks, and bowling alleys, but what you get in exchange is some pretty intimate relationships and really short communion lines. :)
December 10th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Yep, I know what you mean. Plus, if there’s any job you had the slightest interest in doing (or even if you didn’t have any interest at all) chances are you’re going to do it.