When is "Mega" not really "Mega" at all?

A week ago I had the opportunity to travel down to Lynchburg, VA with a church group to the campus of Liberty University. It was a great trip but one of the highlights of the excursion was the opportunity to attend a Sunday morning service at Thomas Road Baptist Church pastored by Jonathan Falwell.

As we pulled into the parking lot I was amazed by the size of the lot. There were probably 1000+ spaces. Many of these places were taken but we were fortunate enough to be able to park in visitor parking.

As we made our way into the building I was struck by the size. Inside were welcome centers, a book store and a coffee shop. This area which they had named Main St. was longer that a football field and probably 50 feet wide was complete with lounge chairs and other places for folks to fellowship.

The sanctuary itself was a sight to behold, having enough capacity to put my house right up on the stage. This room seats 6000 people comfortably in a service.

I must admit going into this service I was quite a skeptic. I had been to "Mega" churches before. One church I attended in SC had nearly 5000 people at it and that was a terrible experience. First I didn't know what to expect at Thomas Road. I figured the service would be as impersonal as it could be seeing as how there were thousands of people seated around me.

First up in the service was the Worship Team leading the first song. It was upbeat praise music, doctrinally sound, and edifying. Plus 1 for that. Next they had a Baptism. Yes that's right. Sunday Morning 11:10am in the middle of a morning service they had a Baptism. The Baptizee(Google couldn't even help me with this one), had gotten saved the week before and was dedicating his life to Christ. Another point for that.  The song service continued with 3 more very doctrinally sound songs presented in a CCM/Praise and Worship style. The whole atmosphere portrayed by the folks on stage were that we were a small group. It felt quite personal allowing for true communion with God.

Pastor Falwell then got up and gave announcements. Here it was revealed the secret of how the "Mega" church stayed personal. Falwell went on to describe the numerous small groups and discipleship programs in the church that fosters spiritual growth. What really struck me was the concept that he and other pastors get intimately involved in those groups and classes. It wasn't that they were just overseeing everything. It was that they were a part of it happening. During the message Pastor Falwell described how he spent time praying with a group of guys on a morning the week before and how he happened to be at a restaurant at the same time another group was meeting so he joined them. He mentioned people by name in the message. He prayed specifically for several people going through challenging times.

I was humbled. I was afraid I was going to enter a church that was so "Mega" that it had lost focus on interpersonal relationships. I couldn't have been more wrong. The focus on interpersonal relationships was what had caused the church to blossom into a shining example of Christianity.

That right there is what living the Radical Christian Life is all about. It is not about the nuances of our worship like the styles of music or the Bible versions we use. Living the Radical Life is all about the relationships. First is our relationship with God but then our relationships with others. Only when we develop the proper relationships based on Godly values will we be able to truly live a Radical Christian Life.