And as you adore the people adoring the blessed sacrament around you, you ponder how very many different circumstances brought them here and how many very different experiences they may be having right now.
I liked a recent article you wrote about visiting a Mega Church. Do you think one of the draws is that people like the anonymity versus going to a local smaller church in their community where they will most likely be recognized and known?
Good question! The answer seems to be yes and no, depending. Prior to Harvey Cox’s book The Secular City, most commentators bemoaned the anonymity and lack of community in city life. Then Cox reminded us that, in many ways, anonymity can be beneficial. On the other hand, one of the main gifts that Jesus left for us was the creation of a family of friends wherein folks cared for and shared with one another. His disciples who stayed with him were not 12 men but 25 men and women who incarnated a microcosm of what human life could look like if only we loved one another. We all need and want to be with others who give us support in both the joys and struggles of living our daily lives. We are social critters, no doubt about it, but we also are selective about whom we choose to be with. And finding those people is not easy. It’s hard enough to find people that you want to invite to your party, but it’s even harder to come across those who become one of your best friends.
What seemed to be the case in the mega-church was that a handful of people here and there knew one another and so sat together. The other thousand were a sort of background noise, so there was fellowship within the context of anonymity. In the smaller [increasingly so] “normal” congregations “back home,” one’s level of comfort is dependent on a number of variables. Am I confident in myself? Does that family like me? Do they like each other?! Am I new to the congregation, and a bit uneasy in that regard?
Speaking for myself, when in Florida this past winter, I intentionally went to the mega-church [once], a United Church of Christ church [twice], and a small Lutheran church [twice]. The expected anonymity of the mega crowd was a prerequisite for my being there. I never would have gone had I expected to be somehow personally recognized or challenged. I knew I was different! On the other hand, I went to the smaller churches twice precisely because I was recognized and invited back by folks who were genuinely friendly and closer to me theologically than the mega people.
So there you have it, yes and no, depending.
~ Carl Krieg, Ph.D.
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