Several years ago, my wife and I bought one of those package vacation deals with Carnival Cruise lines. We aren’t really cruise people, but we were looking for a cheap getaway that might be fun. So, they had one of these all-inclusive vacations deals where the only catch was you had to listen to their pitch for “vacation ownership,” i.e., a time-share. So, we went and sat through the pitch. Then, we boarded our Carnival Cruise ship in Miami for a 3 day jaunt to the Bahamas and back.

The ship had everything. Food, music, lounging, entertainment. You could take a dance class, or swim, or just read a book. You could do whatever you wanted – or nothing at all. The important thing was that you were on the ship. So, we went to a couple of shows, ate some very average food, took a dance class, went ashore in Nassau and went snorkeling with about 100 other people, and had a pretty good time. But, overall, I was kind of bored with the set-up of the vacation. There was no risk. Everything was prepackaged and predictable. 

I enjoyed the snorkeling, but my favorite part of the trip was when my wife and I went into Nassau late one night. We ended up at the Atlantis Hotel and we wandered all around their huge indoor-outdoor aquarium. The fish were beautiful. The light shimmered off of them and we were able to watch them swim as graceful as God made them. We kept exploring and finding new things. We didn’t know what was around the next corner and we ended up not getting back to the cruise ship until around 3am.  None of that was on the agenda and that is probably why it was a blast.  We just didn’t know what we were going to find.  Since then, I’ve decided that I’m not a “cruise ship” kind of guy, and I’d much rather experience the unknown and actually “do” something. Not that cruises aren’t nice (they are) and they are good for relaxing, but there is more to life than that – and, there are lots of places that a cruise ship just won’t take you.

A while back, I went by a very large church to drop off something for one of the associate pastors and a lot of activity was going on. Volleyball was being played. A dance class was taking place in one of the side rooms. Sports was going on outside. Everyone looked the same and they were all enjoying the activities that were set up for them. For a moment, I felt like I was back on the cruise ship.  I’m not trying to be critical of these activites. Maybe there was more going on than met the eye. I’m just telling you that it felt like the cruise ship.

There are other types of water vessels, though. I’ve read some about Swift Boats, or Fast Patrol Craft. The Navy used these 50 ft. long shallow water boats for counterinsurgency operations on rivers during the Vietnam War. They held a small crew and were able to travel 400-500 miles and remain self-contained. Everyone who served on a Swift Boat had a job to do and they were constantly in danger, yet their job was crucial. They were penetrating enemy territory, engaging in missions, and bringing back vital information. They often got into firefights and everyone on board was engaged in a life or death struggle.  Except for the water, life on a Swift Boat is nothing like life on a cruise ship.

After visiting that church that day, I started thinking about the concept of the Megachurch as cruise ship and the Missional Church as Swift Boat. I’m not trying to make this a “bash Megachurches” post. That prospect bores me as much as it probably does you and Megachurches can certainly have some “Swift Boat” characteristics through small groups and ministry teams if they are organized well around a compelling gospel vision. But, that is often not the case. The vision is often one of “come and get your needs met,” kind of like the cruise ship. The Megachurch has been held up as the model that we should all attain to for so long, that we need to examine if it is really capable of doing what we expect of it. In other words, can it really make disciples in a post-Christian world, or is it most effective at producing consumers?  Some Megachurches can be effective in making disciples, I believe, as long as their focus is right. But, I think that it is very hard once you start dealing with that many people and all that goes with it – buidings, vast amounts of money, and lots of Christian “stuff.”

The average Megachurch is built around the concept of full-service attractional ministry.  There’s something there for everyone and often, people will compare churches based on which one has the best services for them or their children. They are kind of like a big buffet. Do you like steak or seafood? Soup or salad? Built on the Homogenous-Unit Principle, it has fit the American consumeristic mindset very well and looks very much like a religious mall. But, how successful has this model been in actually penetrating darkness in America?  Have people learned some things? Yes. Has it had some positive benefit? Yes. Has it gathered a lot of people together? Yes. But, has it been successful in launching a disciplemaking movement in America or has it primarily gathered a bunch of consumers together in the name of religion? Can the Megachurch be Missional?  Does the church exist to bless and make Christians happy, or does the church exist to glorify God and bless the world with the incarnational presence of Christ?  I am seeing people begin to look at these issues critically, and that  can only be a good thing.

The Swift Boat, Missional Church is built around the concept that all of its people are engaged in the Missio Dei as they go into the world. There are not necessarily attractional programs that seek to meet the needs of people who are looking for a better life. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. Actually, the Missional Church finds its purpose and reason for existence in fidelity to Christ and His Mission to seek and save the lost. Yes, people are ministered to. Yes, there is a place of refuge for needy people and they experience wholeness and healing in the midst of community. Yes, proper doctrine is taught. But, the end purpose is not to just gather as many people as possible together in one place for the purpose of teaching or gathering or making friends, but rather, the purpose is to empower people to live in relationship with God and to live in relationship with others incarnationally and redemptively in the places where God puts them. Instead of being attractional, the church is sent.  Many Megachurches claim to have the same goals, but their energy continues to go toward trying to get people to come to their services. They say that they are sending people out, but the focus continues to be on how many they are attracting to the gathering.  Can a Megachurch be missional in that it focuses more on the “sending” of the church rather than just gathering a crowd together? Perhaps.

I realize that what I am saying is nothing new. This conversation has been going on for some time now and nothing that I have said here is groundbreaking. We see the failure of the church in America to really make disciples. But, what has not changed is the glamorization of “the big.” We continue to make superstars out of those who are able to gather a large crowd and build a big church. But, what about the Swift Boat operators who are taking small teams into unchartered waters to explore the terrain of the soul that has yet to be taken for Christ? What about those who are moving out in fresh ways who never draw a huge crowd all in one place, but they are making disciples that make disciples that make disciples?  When will be stop believing that bigger (as we understand it) is always better?

The Swift Boat, Missional Church has gatherings to build up and equip believers, but it does its ministry in the marketplace and does not feel the need to continually start new programs to attract people to its gatherings. Rather, it makes disciples out of those who are responding in relationship and then those people are drawn into the Christian community. Then, it starts new gatherings, again and again that penetrate new areas to bring the gospel to new people so that more can hear, believe, and root their lives in Christ. We are only just beginning to think this way as the “bigger is better” mentality still dominates our view of church in America.

As we go further and further in post-Christendom, I think that people will be getting off of the cruise ship.  But, what will they be getting onto? Is there another vision of the Church-Engaged, the Church on mission, speeding into the night down river into the Heart of Darkness?  Can we tell a different story than bigger is better?  We’ve engaged in a good bit of deconstruction over the past 10 years on this issue, but we are still struggling to capture the essence of what is coming next. Some call it missional. That seems to be the name that we are settling on right now. But, what does it mean? What does this look like?

Maybe, as we go further down the river, we will begin to figure that out.

Alan Cross is not much of a sailor, but he is a pastor of a church in Alabama who is not upset if you are a big fan of the Megachurch and happen to go to a great one that is doing lots of awesome ministry. He knows that they exist. But, he also really hopes that you are able to see the bigger picture of what he is getting at. He is also wondering why he is writing in the third person.