Friday, 28 August 2009
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Cathedrals vs. Megachurches
I just returned from my honeymoon to Europe and saw a lot of things... priceless works of art, historic monuments, ancient ruins... but the things that left the greatest impression on me were some of the cathedrals. We saw many of them... St. Paul's, St Mark's, Notre Dame, St. Peter's to name a few. As awe-inspiring as these huge cathedrals were, I was even struck by the smaller ones we'd see in other smaller towns as well.
Now, I'm not Catholic. I was mystified about when to cross myself, or when to kneel, or to stand during the few masses we attended (I bet that when I try to follow along, the parishioners are all watching me and thinking, "silly Protestant, that's not a foot rest..."). So I have to caveat everything I'm about to say with that.
And though there are a lot of theological points on which I have disagreements with the Catholic church, I think with what they were going for with cathedrals was spot on (look at me, we were in London for three days and I'm already using phrases like "spot on").
As my sore neck can attest to, whenever we went into one of these places, my eyes would always turn upward because that's where it was most beautiful and awe-inspiring, especially because near the ground it was typically dark or there would be crypts everywhere. One of the tour guides said that this was done on purpose to show how dreary and hopeless things on the earth were, but to see the beauty and hope in this life, you have to look heavenward to God.
Standing in those grand cathedrals, I couldn't help but feel small and insignificant but also that God was big and mighty. I think that in the Protestant church, we've lost a little of that, and I think that the Megachurch is, in part, the product of this.
I've attended a few megachurch services, and more times than not, I've felt more like a spectator or concertgoer than anything else... and instead of my eyes turning up to look to God in awe-inspired wonder, my eyes were turned to the stage to look at very talented musicians and dramatists and be rather entertained. Sometimes I'd be very moved by the music or the drama and feel closer to God, but I would lose that sense of God being BIG.
In the megachurches I'd visit the setup would be that all the focus was on the stage. The "house" lights would be turned down, the music was pumped up, and the spotlight would shine on the featured act or speaker. If I were to ever look up, I'd just see catwalks or spotlights or other things to support what was going on around the stage. The seats were like those in a movie theater... one church even had snacks and beverages available in the lobby. Any "smallness" I'd feel would be because of the fact that I was anonymous in the darkness among the thousands in the stadium seating.
All this to say that I'd like to see us bring some of that awe and wonder back into the church... maybe not with huge domes or stained glass or beautiful sculptures because, in the end, that's all created by human hands as well... but somehow to remember that God is BIG... and that things of earth are fleeting... and that worship is for Him and not for us.
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