the big church

"The only way the Christian life is brought to maturity  is through intimacy, renunciation, and personal deepening." -Eugene Peterson-

For awhile, I wondered why it seemed like the bigger churches in our area of the country seemed to be getting bigger while the smaller churches seemed to be whittling down in terms of size.  My conclusion is that it is a whole lot easier to create a false sense of community and involvement in a larger church.  At the big church, one can enjoy the benefits (a great children/youth facility, a more aesthetically pleasing building, an impressive media system, etc), while not really ever experiencing any sort of intimacy.  In short, I would guess that it is much easier to attend a larger church than it is a smaller one.  At the small church, it is much more difficult to hide.  It is a lot more difficult to not know others and be known by others.

In the city I live in, there is the obvious 'big church.'  It is quite common to bump into people whom I haven't seen in a long time who tell me that they have begun attending the 'big church' across town.  In all those situations, I can't help but wonder what the motivation is for going there... What is it that they have found there that they did not find at their previous church?  What is the draw?

The only way we experience genuine growth as believers in Christ is when we open up our lives to God and to others... when we welcome God to search the very depths of our hearts and lives and allow ourselves to fully participate as members of Christ's body.