I have no issue with mega churches if....

Good evening friends and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Last night I posted a meme about Mega-Churches, to which a couple of people took exception. Just so everyone clearly knows where I stand, I am posting my reply here for your perusal. Be blessed and have a wonderful evening:

I have no issue with mega churches if:

a) They teach a Bible based theology instead of a popular, prosperity theology.

b) They give the majority of the money they take in with tithes to doing the work that the Church universal is supposed to be doing: spreading the Gospel, caring for the poor, defending the vulnerable, caring for the elderly.

c.) Their focus is on God and not on the preacher or the praise bands.

d.) They have an alter and cross.

There are good mega churches, but many fall far short. Many are about living "the best life now," putting on good shows and making the pastor wealthy. God doesn't promise you wealth in this life; or else the millions who are persecuted and killed for His name throughout the world are doing so for nothing. God calls us to pick up our crosses, walk the narrow road faithfully, tend to the least of these and stand by the Gospel, never trading it for a watered down or perverted version.

Many American churches sell that watered down, feel good gospel, that will do you no good. Churches that focus more on a show than worship miss the point of what worship is: a time to focus on and reverently worship the Almighty God. Not a time to feel good about what God can give us. Not a time to have a pastor promise us all we've ever wanted, but a time to dedicate ourselves to the God who loves us enough to have died for us. A time to give ourselves to sanctification, a time to immerse in holiness, a time to refocus and refresh for the work ahead of us, and most of all, a time to be in awe and in love with the God of all creation.

Churches are to be the hands and feet of Christ in a community; spending their time spreading the true Gospel, which is neither the feel good fluffy version or the hate filled, legalistic version. (Walk the narrow road, friends, walk the narrow road!) Churches are to look after the needy, the elderly, the vulnerable. Our time is not to be spent as a social club alone, but as a force in action. Our prayers should be powerful and our lives manifesting the love of God. Our pastors should preach on sin, repentance, love, grace and holiness. They should preach of sacrifice, self denial, generosity and mercy. They should be asking their congregants about what those members are doing to fulfill the work of God; not telling them God will give them "a hundred fold return" if only they give so much!

Our worship can be filled with great music, but lets make sure that music is focused on God, not on ourselves. Let's make sure we are reverent, not simply entertained. Let us make sure our Churches are places of holiness; with alters and crosses. God commands His people over and over again to put up an alter unto Him, why then do so many churches lack one? Is not the command of God good enough for them? If God commands reverent worship, which He did throughout the Bible, and if Jesus followed a pattern of reverent prayer and worship to His Father, should we not be doing the same?

You said, oh, don't be judgmental: I'm not, I'm posting a meme to get people talking and thinking. You said, oh, but Jesus said it was okay for the oil to be used on Him; yes, that is because the value of the perfume was spent on pure, unadulterated worship of Christ. The perfume wasn't used to make the woman look good, to attract more followers or to put on a good show, it was used to anoint Christ before His death, because she was given the insight by God to do so. If we have large churches, let them be so that the body of Christ has room to gather together to reverently worship their Lord and Creator. Let the pastors speak not of soft things and glittering promises of goods in this life, but of eternal things and God's glory! Let the music be worshipful and the people focused on God. Let the services point to the Cross, let the alter be pleasing unto God, and let the people then exit the services focused on going into the community to be the hands of Christ. Where there are mega churches that do those things, then heaven is praised and God is pleased. And where there are mega churches that preach prosperity, focus on pleasure, entertain their congregants and preach on worldly things, then the devil laughs.