Just a thought.  I was reading an article about a talk that Leonard Sweet gave recently  (Found on CurrentChristian.com) and am having a hard time justifying his stuff (though not this article specifically…just the post-modern ministry genre in general) with some of my experience with postmodern/emerging church aged folks.

The message of the emerging church is basically that the is dying…we are on a slow death march…things have to change…there is a new world we have to embrace it…people want authenticity and not stage presence…that sort of thing.  People want mystery and not propositions tied up in a neat package.

These are indirect shots at another thing lamented by the emerging crowd – the mega church.  It is panned and, in my opinion, with some merit.  But one of the things that I hear postmodern/emerging church types ignore is the younger folks who love big, flashy churches.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know a number of young adults who can not stand a "mega church."  That, to them, is the worst possible representation of the Gospel.  We have a local mega church and a significant number of Christian young adults think it is nauseating.  But a number of the people in the same demographic love it and think that it is the best possible methodology for the church today.

So which is it and which will it be?  House church or mega church?  Post-modern or production?  (Please mega church types, don’t be offended by the word production…just using their vernacular.)  Candles or the stage lights?

You know what I think?  I think it is both.  I think younger people do and will gravitate towards both.

The church I am starting to wonder about is the mid-sized church.  The one that can not offer the intimacy of the small church nor the excellence of a mega church.  I think they are the ones who will increasingly struggle to find their place.  The Starbucks will have a place, as well the local family owned coffee shop.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  The mid-sized church will not be extinct in a decade or two, but I think it will be harder and harder to resonate.  As a pastor in a mid-sized church myself I see this.  As people leave out church they often are going to the mega-church or the small church.  I don’t see much lateral movement between the mid-sized churches in my community.

So what do we do about it?  At least in my setting I try to celebrate it a little bit.  I try to point out that we are not the most intimate nor the one with the highest level of excellence, but you do not have to make a choice if you choose not to.

Am I off base in this?  What is your experience?

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Sinner’s Guide To The Evangelical Right