I attend a largish church in a suburb. Occasionally, I get into a conversation about large churches and why they have become popular in the last few decades. I’ve personally heard many theories but I’m fairly convinced boils down to the same reasons people go to Target, Walmart & Home Depot. I think that the combination of service and price wins customers.

When I give my pronouncement that large churches are part of larger national trends towards professionalization and consumerism, most people think I’m bashing large churches or the people who attend them or work in them. I don’t mean that at all. Good things and bad things happen in churches of every scale. I wouldn’t go to my largish church if I didn’t believe it was doing more good than harm.

Colby Fisher recently wrote an article entitled Church Mart for the web site Killing the Buddha which elaborates nicely on this theory. He points out some reasons for optimism that I often fail to note in my overly pessimistic way of looking at things.

I would sooner stop shopping at Target and Home Depot than go back to a tiny church. (Of course I won’t shop at Walmart, I have some standards.)