da-da-da-dum: the Mega-church, love it or hate it.

Pastor cites 'misunderstanding' of ministry (Star Tribune)
The leader of a Brooklyn Park megachurch said Sunday that reports of the church's and his own financial dealings represent a misunderstanding of the so-called prosperity gospel.

Hammond said the media and many Christians don't understand the prosperity gospel. "God says if you base your life on his covenant, these blessings are gonna overtake you; you can't do anything about it, friend. [What was once] flocks and herds is in today's parlance stocks and bonds.

"It takes wealth, folks, to establish God's covenant on this Earth. You and I will never get so spiritual that we don't need money to get more influential in the world we're in."

This is a follow up to a front-page story in Sunday's edition: The Kingdom and Power of Mac Hammond

We attended this 'mega-church' for a few years. Like any church, there were alot of things we liked, and some things we didn't like. Many people have strong opinions about the pastor and the mission of his church, both positive and negative. I just want to make a few points in general.

Not all people in the world are poverty ridden and destitute, in need of one of God's ministries to come and feed, clothe and doctor them, while at the same time proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. There are many people who fall into the category of well-off to filthy rich. They need to hear the Gospel as much as anyone. I know the bible says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven; that doesn't mean the Great Commission should be ignored for people in this category. These type of people go to Mac Hammond's church, along with a large number of middle to lower middle class types, like us.

Mac Hammond does preach a prosperity message that rankles many Christians, especially other pastors. He basically preaches two messages each service, one of them just prior to the offering. He also preaches and teaches on every other subject, he doesn't hold back on the tough subjects of Christianity and being a disciple of Christ, and he does an amazing job of teaching and everything he says he backs up with scripture. He also lets it be known that he's not God, and that you need to search the scriptures yourself and decide what it is saying to you, and whether the Spirit confirms the meaning in your mind.

The pastor and the church try and do absolutely everything with excellence. I don't see anything wrong with that. The bible doesn't say in all you do, do it with a half-assed attitude and screw quality. It says in everything you do, do it as unto the Lord. I don't recall that when God gave Moses the instructions for the tabernacle, he said go get as much discounted building materials as you can find at Home Depot. The Isrealites gave all the gold and precious jewels and finest materials that they had to build and accessorize it.

I'm sure it's easy to be deceptive and manipulative with the money, especially when you're talking about the figures this church does. I always felt they were pretty open with what's going on with the money. I also believe in his basic philosophy---it's hard to bless someone when you don't have the money to do it. They have numerous ministries within the context of the overall mega-churchiness that help multitudes of people locally, as well as around the world. I remember them showing videos of going to local smaller churches and handing off checks in the amount of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

With that all being said, one thing I did not like was the fact that he had about 20 associate pastors on staff, and those were the people we dealt with. Other than a walk-by handshake during a membership class, we never had a chance to talk with him. I much prefer our 100 member church, where I hug the pastor on a weekly basis and see him at every church activity we participate in.

The reality of Christianity today is that there are x-small, small, medium, large, and x-large churches out there. In each category, some are alive in the Spirit of God and are doing what they're suppose to be doing; and there are others that are totally dead and people are just warming pews with their butts and not doing or getting anything out of it. God knows the individuals all across the world who are members of His Body; and whatever size church or denomination they belong to, His purpose and will is going to get done. We're admonished not to follow any man; and if you're following the Spirit as you should, you'll be in the right church at the right moment for the right reasons.