Coincidence?

Last week, two interesting headlines appeared side by side in my newpaper:

Opening Up Heaven: Poll finds more Americans expect people from a diversity of faiths to find a welcome

Megachurches evolve while continuing to grow

The first article highlighted a growing trend among Americans to believe there are many paths to heaven. The second highlighted the growth of attendance at megachurches and their evolving methods of spreading their message.

Now this is no knock on megachurches, but I found it interesting that at the same time that we see church membership growth, we also find an increasing lack of solid theological beliefs. Any good researcher would have to do further study to see if it is causal or correlational. That is, is one causing the other? Are churches causing the theological beliefs to change in a negative direction or are people flocking to solid churches as they see many people around them being caught up in heresies? I don't know. I hope it's the latter. Or, it could be purely coincidental.

The poll did find that those who attend these large churches are more likely to tithe, attend worship services weekly, and believe that heaven and hell absolutely exist than the general public. So that's good news.

But I have to wonder if churches, in their attempts to grow and attract more people, are letting some of the foundational truths of the gospel slip to the sidelines. If they are not, they need to at least be cognizant of the fact that America is rapidly becoming a melting pot of religious ideas and if the voice of truth is not carried out loudly and clearly, many wonderful, good-intentioned people will be led astray. It's not enough to get them in the door if you are not going to disciple them and lead them into a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. A growing church, full of people following their own hodge podge blend of spirituality, is a tragedy of eternal consequence.