Hillsong Syndrome; Why The Megachurch Model Will Never Work With Genuine Christianity

I’m sure many have no doubt heard about what is going on with Hillsong. This large church that is spread across the globe starting in Australia has captured the imagination of many modern evangelical Christians all over the world. Unfortunately, when a net is cast so large, it can capture other things as well. This is where Hillsong, and many others like it begin to have issues. As a church grows, there are things that it will no doubt bring in that can contaminate any genuine attempt at building a relationship with Jesus Christ. Hillsong, and before it, Mars Hill and many other churches grow to these large proportions over many years and then, it seems, almost overnight they collapse.

Why Megachurches Struggle

Truth in advertising I have never pastored a church over 200, so there are blind spots I can admit I have when it comes to large churches. But I would argue the same thing can be said about large churches; they posses significant blind spots when it comes to people and in some cases, the faith they are trying to perpetuate. Below I will discuss some of the reasons I believe describe why megachurches do not work, even when they don’t spiral like Mars Hill or Hillsong. A very important aspect to understand is that just because a church has a large population does not mean that the church is successful by spiritual standards. So here are some reasons why I believe Christian megachurches fail when it comes to genuine spirituality and Christian formation:

Christianity is a Faith Based in Genuine Relationship

Christianity, at its core is a faith that thrives in genuine relationship. Acts 2:42 states that the church was “continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” In many megachurches, the relationship that is offered is one based in emotion, not genuine fellowship. Typically, there is immense “fellowship” to get someone to join the church, but no follow-through. Once a person is in the door, the mechanism moves past them and towards the next “newcomer”.

What this generates is a large amount of people in the building that aren’t capable of building anything. Since devotion is to the church and not to the teachings of Christ or to true fellowship, relationships are superficial. This is the main reason why when these churches collapse, they collapse rapidly because there is no genuine relationship to be found in these large churches. The megachurch is based on the relationship to the next big project, not the person sitting next to you.

Christianity is a Faith of Service, Not of Being Served

Jesus stated “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The problem with the megachurch atmosphere is that in its base form, it is providing a product. Megachurches provide a place where people can get charged up on emotion, hear a message that resembles a Ted Talk on positivity and then walk out the door, putting Jesus in the “Sunday Box” until the next time they come to service to parade Him out. Megachurches encourage a one stop shop of Christianity that is tailored to tastes.

Now, I’m certainly not saying that church shouldn’t be relevant. Music should be updated and skinny jeans allowed in the sanctuary. But Christian life and service is meant to be a Sunday to Sunday experience, not just a nicely packed show with a bow on top. This idea of service being a place or being a thing to be had on Sunday flies in the face of core Christianity as described by both the biblical authors and the early church fathers.

More than a Feeling

We have been called to serve, not to be served, as Jesus has done by example. Outside the core group in these larger churches, the majority of people that attend show up expecting a feeling, a service or product to be afforded to them. This is simply not the assembly. The assembly has been called to reach out to hurt people on Monday, love the neighbor on Tuesday and feed the poor on Wednesday. We have not been called to a Sunday concert that provides an emotional moment that is self serving. A true journey with Jesus is not a destination or a place, it is a daily walk. This is why outside of services or organized events, most in a megachurch sit idle, while the world burns and the poor go hungry. Certainly we are more than a Sunday concert.

Christianity is a Faith of Knowledge, rather than Feeling

I had a seminary professor tell me one time that faith is “reals before feels”. A faith based in feelings and emotion is fickle, because feelings and emotions change constantly in humans. I faith based on knowledge is a more solid foundation. And simply, megachurches do not typically base their processes and teachings on knowledge. I must also be clear that I am not simply speaking of Biblical Knowledge but also of knowledge that comes from lived experience in the Christian faith as well as Christian history and Natural Theology. Job stated “I know my Redeemer lives…” (Job 19:25) at a time when the Bible did not exist. This was the knowledge that God was ever-present and was a lived and experiential knowledge found in relationships, found in Gods creation and also found in the wisdom of older people.

The megachurch thrives on feeling, not knowledge. The lights go down, the fog machine goes up. Songs are created specifically to have crescendos that illicit emotion in humans. These are the same processes used in secular concerts. But at least the secular concerts are being honest. They want you to feel a certain way, and the megachurch is no different. The megachurch seeks emotion to hook you, and Ill admit, Hillsong music does magnificent at eliciting emotional responses. But that is all a megachurch is interested in; addicting a person to the emotional high so that they will spend their time and treasure on the organization.

Christianity is a Faith of Humble Leadership, Not Celebrity

The rise of the celebrity pastor has decimated the church in the United States. We must all understand that at our core, pastors are humans and like attention too. Celebrity pastors give this false idea that pastors can be rich and famous and still serve the purposes of Christ. I wouldn’t say its impossible, but the track record of these celebrity pastors shows us its highly unlikely. Its hard to be humble when thousands of people live on your every word and your income rivals some countries. Jesus stated that gaining the world could cost you your soul (Mark 8:36) and that is exactly what has happened in the American church. It starts with megachurches that trade off the beautiful, fellowship and love driven church in exchange for an emotionally fed concert that engenders temporary emotion over call to action.

And this has spread to even the smallest churches in America, where the leadership believes in order to be effective the church must mimic these larger churches. Then, they tie their worth into their population rather than loving their neighbor and attempt to mimic this facade at the cost of exchanging love for popularity and service to community for money. They have exchanged the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).

Exchanging Truth for a Lie

We have exchanged humble leaders for pop stars. And this has created some of the most horrific pastors the world has seen. Driscoll, Houston, Lientz, Swaggert, Zacharias. All amazing preachers with very dark sides. This has left the megachurch without true leadership. These churches implode so quickly because their leadership bench is usually reliant on one charismatic leader. And when that leader fails, so to does the entire church. This is because it isn’t God’s church, it actually belongs to the pastor.

Christianity’s Main Goal is Love, NOT Growth

I have spoken on this specific issue before. In fairness, the megachurch isn’t the only perpetrator of this lie, but it uses it to its advantage the most. The purpose of the church is not to make disciples. The purpose of the church is to love God and love their neighbors. This purpose will bring about genuine disciple making. But the western church gets this backwards and the megachurch has made a business out of doing so. When the focus shifts to getting people in the door rather than loving them where they are, the consequence is a large church with genuine care or concern for those around them. When the focus is butts in seats rather than Christ with the broken, the megachurch happens.

The megachurch, and by proxy many smaller churches in America follow this backward plan. The modern church is about numbers and not people. Its about emotion rather than genuine concern. This is not the Body of Christ spoken of in scripture. This is a business model that like many businesses has no concern for people, just the bottom line.

Christ calls us to journey with Him, not toward Him. Jesus calls us to serve, not seek service. And finally Jesus calls us to love, not grow population. We are called to the Body of Christ, not the Megachurch.