The LA Times has published a story that wonders how Bill Gates will do as Superintendent of Public Schools.
No, Gates is not becoming the Secretary of Education. He will be running his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has been working to reduce the size of public schools. Gates thinks smaller schools do a better job than big schools.
Perhaps that will also start a trend back toward smaller churches instead of mega-churches. I think that would be a healthy development.
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"Perhaps that will also start a trend back toward smaller churches instead of mega-churches. I think that would be a healthy development."
Wow, something we finally agree about. With computers making great leaps in organizing programs, I think groups of like-minded small churches can offer everything that a mega-church can and more.
Question: Has the term like-minded always been used in a church context? Other than being a believer what difference does it make? The term like-minded implies more than belief in God and Christ. It now assumes a socio-political idealogy. To me the next worst thing to sitting in a megachurch full of right-wing zealots would be sitting in a small church full of right-wing zealots.
I had the pleasure of attending a church with a small congregation this past Sunday. How refreshing. There was no pre-purchased slide presentation that God only knows how many other churches were displaying. Imagine this: the pastor actually thoughtfully composed the message without the assistance of Rick Warren or a related website (which, by the way, I was hounded from after asking a simple question of pastors: "How many of you actually write your own sermons?").
This church had a choir singing hymns with the congregation singing from hymnals instead of a hired, ear-splitting band singing contemporary songs heard on the radio. It was the sound of angels I tell you!
Imagine this, the small church even had crosses in it. Megachurches I've gone to don't have crosses displayed anywhere on campus. Why the fear of a cross? It's the simplest, most powerful symbol of faith. I counted 19 crosses in the church and the best part about the crosses is they were all works of art produced by worshippers. Pure acts of Love!
After the service the congregation gathered in the fellowship hall for refreshments (no Krispy Kremes--a miracle!). I spoke to several worshippers and guess what? None of them cared who I voted for and none asked about my stance on marriage or abortion. These people didn't need the word family defined for them. They epitomized the word family.
Megachurches and the commercialized presentation of canned messages need to stay where they are and keep like-minded members within their four walls. They deserve each other.
Leave the small congregations alone!
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