THE WATCHER

Withering Willow

I’m a bit surprised that the evangelical story of the year (according to a few pundits) gets little or no press from my fellow bloggers. What? After countless years and millions of dollars sunk into their seeker-sensitive model, Willow Creek admitted in November 2007, that there is no correlation between participation in their expensive programs and someone’s personal growth in Christ. When I heard this, I was not so much shocked as I was reassured about my decision to leave the mega-church milieu. It was time to graduate.

I give the Willow management props for commissioning the study. However, when you refer to and treat the body like customers, you run the risk of commoditizing the message. The more customers you get, the better your numbers. The better your numbers, the bigger machine you need. The bigger the machine, the more it takes to keep it running. So you have to cast a wide net. The fish at the top are easy to catch and feed, while the deeper ones must fend for themselves.

I still have issues with big churches. Org charts and hierarchies are what it takes to run an institution. If you are one of the lucky ones you get connected. Almost every one of my fellow free-range Christian brothers and sisters were a direct or indirect result of mega-church relationships. Relationships are imperative, not programs.

With any church experience (mega, micro, macro, house, none) you have to let go of the bad and hang onto the good. You have to hold on loosely to things that are not important and keep your eyes on the One who is pure love. You have to be the church, not do church. Love whom God puts in front of you today, that is the church.

Below are some links about the Willow Creek information.

The Willow Creek Implosion!
Reveal
A shocking confession from Willow Creek Community Church Leaders
Time to ditch a broken discipleship model
Church Growth Movement Fall Down and Go Boom!
Willow Creek's Confession
Willow Creek's Malnourished Christians Seeker-Sensitive Failure?
Willow Creek Repents