When the church is big...

Big box companies. Like GM.
Big Box stores. Like Walmart.
Big Box churches. Like Willowcreek.
When they’re flourishing it’s hard to resist the stampede.
But when they become cumbersome, too big to move one more step, one can hear the thunder of an avalanche.
‘Do you see all these things?’ Jesus asked. ‘I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down.’ (Matthew 24:2)
I like GM and Walmart. I love Willowcreek. I have done well because of them.
So if they falter, it won’t be due to a lack of buy-in on my part.
Baby boomer that I am, I’m easily swayed by BIG. BIG incomes, BIG homes, BIG dreams, BIG numbers, BIG market share...success for me is BIG. BIG numbers can’t lie, can they?
There is biblical precedent for distrusting numbers. The prophets never had numbers on their side. Nor did Jesus especially after saying that bit about eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
We belong to a kingdom in which a little child shall lead them, a kingdom which is a mere mustard seed compared to the kingdoms of this world. We are as small as we have to be to rely totally on God.
BIG makes for great museums as the great cathedrals in Europe attest to. They are beautiful to tour, their art is dazzling and there's the experience of stillness in walking their marbled floors.
But occasionally I would shudder as though overcome by a dark echo: ‘Think of all the bloodshed, all the strife that would have been averted if all the resources it took to build this place had been given to the poor.’
To me this is the issue. If BIG means 80 or 90 percent to run the church and the remainder to the poor...we’ve set our sights on something other than the Kingdom of God. Which means instead of God's commendation of ‘well done’, the question will be ‘why did you rob me?’