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Index To All Nine Chapters
Also See Tithing
"The church began as a movement in Jerusalem. It became a philosophy in Greece, an institution in Rome, a culture in Europe and, when it came to America, it became a business... a highly profitable business in many cases.
But God is coming back for a movement.
ON THIS PAGE
Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
Foreword
Entertainment - The New Way of Doing Church
The Rise of The Mile Wide And Inch Deep Flashy Megachurch
An Emotional Response
Celebrity Pastors With Deep Pockets and Very Shallow Theology -
American 'Capitalism' At Its Worst
Foreword
L. Ron Hubbard (Founder of Scientology) once said "Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." Although it certainly seems like it at times, our modern day evangelists have not started their own religion but have improved on Hubbard's thought. Capitalizing on Christianity has proved to be more lucrative than starting a new religion.
Many of these mega organizations cannot be called churches with pastors or deacons. They are corporations housed in grandiose buildings and led by CEO’s and executives who are not only HIGHLY paid but consider themselves to be worthy of grand homes, expensive vehicles (including planes in some cases), expensive jewelry and lavish vacations. All told - a high flying lifestyle.
They do not plant churches. They open branches often paying visiting speakers extravagant honorariums.
An exhaustive 2016 study on large churches (500 attendance and up) and ministry pay disclosed that “No churches made the salaries available to the general public” and “Only 1% of the churches made the salaries available to the entire congregation”. [01l
And that is not all
Affairs and sexual misconduct are often overlooked or the guilty party is sent away for a while but eventually restored to their former position or another one like it. See the a $4.5 million Lodge Retreat Center [02]
Add lawsuits and fraud to the above and the ‘leaders’ of many churches are what the Bible describes as people who
"profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work" (Titus 1:16).
Entertainment - The New Way of Doing Church
Modern Americans have one passion that they pursue with unrelenting vigor - they want to be entertained and ‘have fun’. In fact, it often seems that this generation believes that it is their inalienable right to be constantly amused - and they will pay almost any price to achieve that goal. The more extravagant the light show, the louder the music, the more terrifying the ride, the more dancers and parades etc. the more they like it. And only too happy to cater to this insatiable quest for pleasure and enjoyment all too many of our so called church leaders give them their hearts desire. Regardless of the fact that it is not the Church's function to amuse the masses that is exactly what is being done under the guise of 'worship services'.
Incidentally, I wonder how many Christians realize that worship was never the reason the people in the New Testament gathered together. In fact, the New Testament never once mentions "worship" in the same breath as a gathering of believers. In fact, there is absolutely no record of a sermon being preached when they came together, yet it has somehow become the high point of our meetings.
See Why Christians Assemble Together - Chapter III of The Church - Then and Now.
In any case the primary element of true worship expresses wonder, awe, and humility, at the grandeur, infinite power, and sheer majesty of the transcendent God. As A.W. Tozer (the outspoken minister well known for calling a spade a spade) wrote in his book Keys to the Deeper Life.
"In my opinion, the great single need of the moment is that light hearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple.
He also very accurately wrote
Over the last half-century evangelical Christians have shown an increasing impatience with things invisible and eternal and have demanded and got a host of things visible and temporal to satisfy their fleshly appetites. Without Biblical authority or any other right under the sun, carnal religious leaders have introduced a host of attractions that serve no purpose except to provide entertainment for the retarded saints.
It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God's professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments.
This has influenced the whole pattern of church life, and even brought into being a new type of church architecture, designed to house the golden calf. [01]
As an aside, one has to wonder whether the trend towards being entertained in church began centuries ago when most Christians abandoned the New Testament's house church model in favor of a stage performance in which the clergy performed up front and the laity watched. Ornate decor, extravagant robes, and elaborate ceremonies ensured it was the best show in town.
The Rise of The Mile Wide And Inch Deep Flashy Megachurch
'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, (Revelation 3:17 NASB)
An article on the Forbes web site entitled America's Biggest Megachurches says
Churches across America - like shopping malls, houses, corporations, hospitals, schools and just about everything else-- have erupted in size in the last few decades. The number of mega churches in the U.S. has leaped to more than 1,300 today - from just 50 in 1970.
Featuring huge stages, rock bands, jumbotron screens, buckets of tears and oodles of money, as well as the enormity of the facilities, pastor personalities and income - over $8.5 billion a year all told - these churches are impressive forces flourishing at staggering rates. [02]
All too often the services in these mega churches are visually stimulating, multi-sensory, immersive experiences - an extension of rock concerts and, to a lesser degree, sports arenas and the mall. They are pure entertainment that appeals to Biblically ignorant Christians who, possibly confusing the sensory overload with a movement or working of the Spirit, are attracted to the hoopla perceive these to be a 'successful' churches they want to be part of. Thus the numbers keep growing.
And how is all this funded?
The "Malachi Miracle"
None of this should come as any surprise. Unfortunately, our self serving Prosperity Doctrine preachers often use Will-a-man-rob-God approach (and other verses) to feather their own nests. However, if one were to take a closer look at the passages in question and read them IN CONTEXT a very different picture emerges. (See Context is CRUCIAL)
When God said these words so beloved of Prosperity preachers, He was actually referring to the indifference of his people and their lack of care for those in need, i.e., widows, the fatherless, aliens, etc., (v. 5). Through Malachi, God attempted to correct the people for their failing to bless the poor with necessary care. See Malachi 3:8-10 on THIS Page.
A second issue was that the needs of the Temple priests were being neglected. The following are typical examples of ostentatious Mega churches
Second Baptist Church of Houston
The Forbes article went on to describe a Saturday evening at the Second Baptist Church of Houston - the second-largest megachurch in the U.S. - “a modern cathedral complex the size of an airport terminal” led by Dr. Ed Young (Homer Edwin Young) whose three sons are all in ministry.
Inside "E Gym," where the congregation's "small" Saturday evening service is being held, two basketball courts full of believers in jeans and flip-flops rock out, sing along or just watch as a huge contemporary band jams to the song "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?"
White and yellow stage lights hit the rising smoke before the performance cools down for the opening prayer. The sermon stops for applause as the audience watches an video projected overhead of a Christian-gone-wild beach retreat, where the church baptized nearly 700 teenagers. [03]
Elevation Church
Elevation Church pastored by Steven Furtick (a perfect example of the new breed of celebrity prosperity preachers) is based in a suburb of Charlotte NC. (See The Prosperity Doctrine) Their 'special effects' are handled by a professional lighting systems company called Clay Paky, whose web site says they "are known throughout the world as they have changed the way of putting on spectacular (light) shows". Their aim is
To be the partner of choice for the professional entertainment industry - To create best in class lighting equipment and services driven by customer satisfaction and passion for innovation. [04]
And it is not only the “professional entertainment industry” that wants special effects. Elevation church does too. They (All Emphasis Added)
"added Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20 LED-based moving lights to the extensive roster of AV equipment it used for a series of Easter worship experiences this year. Main Light Industries, Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware supplied Elevation Church with 35 B-EYEs for the Easter worship experiences, five for its primary broadcast location and 30 shared among nine other satellite locations. [05]
According to the same article on the claypaky web site, Andy Bentley, lighting designer for Elevation Church said Elevation places (All Emphasis Added)
“... great importance on excellence in production," and three of their locations "are permanent facilities with AV and lighting gear installed. The other seven have portable rigs that are set up and torn down every Sunday." ... They were incredible. We used the ability to control the color of every LED to get some really interesting color palettes, including a patterned, stained-glass look that played off the theme of the sermon.” [06]
Considering the modern mindset, I am not surprised that in a Charlotte Observer article titled A Cool Pastor, And A Hot Church, the very deluded Rev. David Chadwick pastor of Moments of Hope Church in Charlotte is quoted as saying (emphasis added)
"They really are the major show in town for (those) 20 to 32,” “They really are the major show in town for (those) 20 to 32,” Although his church, Forest Hill, has lost some members to Elevation he says ... gosh, we're all on the same team.” [07]
Elevation Church has also taken the word ’service’ to an entirely new level thus making Fortune magazine's list of 100 best places to work for millennials in 2017.
Their "on site services include, haircuts by professional stylists, car detailing, alterations, discounted movie tickets, oil changes, and financial planning services." [08]
 More about Steve Furtick in Chapter 2
Fellowship Church in Highland Park Village in Dallas
Ed (Edward) Young, whose father is the pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Houston (above), is the controversial founder and senior pastor of the sprawling Grapevine-based Fellowship Church in Dallas. He is said to have come up with the idea to launch Fellowship Park Cities at Highland Park Village after spending time at the busy Starbucks there that (All Emphasis Added).
"teems daily with affluent types from Highland Park and University Park, and the parking spots around the coffee house are heavy on the Bentleys, Porsches and spotless Suburbans".
Church happens inside a theater with plush leather stadium seats. As approximately 50 congregants trickle in — hipster dads with Sunday-morning stubble and retro eyeglasses, women in designer jeans with their hair pulled into ponytails — an extended remix of Justin Timberlake's Suit & Tie thumps through the sound system. (The church embraces secular music.)
Ahead of his arrival? An elaborate production number interpreting Radioactive, an end-times anthem and hit song by Las Vegas rock band Imagine Dragons. A young woman on-stage sings the apocalyptic tune while laser lights slice through a thickening mist from a fog machine. Behind her, three jumbo screens flash disturbing images of gas masks. At stage front, two break dancers in yellow bio hazard suits contort and gyrate, and simulate drum-beating on large toxic-waste barrels. [09]
 More about Ed Young HERE
And this kind of show is not limited to the younger and more 'with it' crowd, For example, the events page on the Hagee ministry site features quite a spectacular looking music and light show. [10] More about John Hagee HERE
An Emotional Response
Whatever happened to Paul’s instructions that “all things must be done properly and in an orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40) which does NOT mean an atmosphere of gloom and doom but proper reverence, humility, and recognition of the majesty of the Father.
Being in a crowd hyped up by a charismatic, and very convincing dynamic speaker can be a very exhilarating experience, and it is not at all uncommon for a person to be 'swept up' or 'carried away' by a wave of heightened emotions.
In other words, an emotional response to the music, the atmosphere etc. and the accompanying good feelings can lead many to be convinced that this church and this pastor are the best ever and that they are ready to make a full commitment to Christ and even be baptized. These churches ignore the fact that 'decisions' are often made in a highly charged atmosphere rather than thoughtful prayer and contemplation. They call it "saving souls" and boast about how many they have baptized.
And some of them are apparently not above actively helping to pad the numbers. As reported by religionnews.com
Several years ago, Elevation had a "spontaneous baptism" event that purportedly resulted in hundreds of immersions by new converts. Videos of the service went viral, and a number of Christian leaders criticized the practice on its face.
But then in 2013, it was revealed that these spontaneous baptisms were not spontaneous after all. The services were well-planned and volunteers were reportedly planted throughout the crowd in high-visibility places to stand up and walk forward as Furtick commenced the baptism. This would hopefully create an emotional trigger for actual baptisms. The church even created a "Spontaneous Baptism How-To Guide" to train other churches on how to engineer similar experiences (the link to the original guide on Elevation's web site now redirects to a sales pitch for one of Furtick’s books). [12]
Make no mistake. I am fully aware that genuine conversions can take place in any circumstances, but there is no salvation without repentance, and no salvation without holiness or separation from the world.
How many go on to live a life of righteousness that is pleasing to the Lord and ensures them a place in His kingdom? Note that returning Sunday and Sunday for more entertainment and to hear more self help/prosperity messages does not count as being saved.
See Sin, Repentance, Salvation, and HOLINESS on THIS page.
The sad thing is that many of these churches are populated by people who have absolutely no idea why a church exists, how it is to be patterned, and what its purpose is). They, painfully unaware of the fact that that the original apostles gave us a pattern for a church, seem to think that the way these mega churches operate is okay.
Come to think of it, most churchgoers do not understand that although corporate worship is a good thing, it is NOT supposed to be the primary function of the church. Church meetings existed for mutual sharing, encouragement, study, and care of one another.
See The Church Then and Now.
Celebrity Pastors With Deep Pockets and Very Shallow Theology
A Full Blown Descent Into American 'Capitalism'
"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30 NASB)
Included in his first epistle to Timothy Paul included these instructions for deacons who were to be “men of dignity, not insincere, not prone to drink much wine, not greedy for money.” (1 Timothy 3:8 NASB)
Unfortunately, these ostentatious churches have all too often substituted the "elders" of the New Testament with contemptibly shallow, self serving, Scripture manipulating, vastly deluded and very rich so called pastors. Subjects like, heaven, sin, salvation, repentance, holiness, the end of days, and the character of God are rarely broached.
Instead the show they put on - the lights, music, dancing, and their own antics are all designed to bring attention to about the only message they preach - what God can do for you here in this life. See Alleged Biblical Support For The Prosperity Doctrine
How much time do any of the modern prosperity teachers spend talking about heaven and what it takes to get there i.e. repentance, and obeying Christ's commandments. How many times do they tell their listeners that without holiness no one will see God - How many even know what the Bible means when it uses the words holiness or righteousness. See What Is Holiness?
In fact, come to think of it, although Jesus said He was sent to earth to proclaim the kingdom of God how many even know what and where this kingdom is? See What and Where is Heaven?
While I have little doubt that these preachers are motivated by money and a five star lifestyle, being famous and influential and having a lot of people fawning over you has to be a huge ego booster. In fact, virtually everything that happens in the church centers around the 'pastor' to the point that many of them seem to have become cult like figures. And, in their eyes, believing that they are specially anointed by God legitimizes it all. See The Anointing
James 3:1
Although I am sure that at some point all of them have read James 3:1 (Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment) none seem to have taken the message seriously and, what will ultimately be to their detriment, hundreds of thousands regularly respond to these ”ministers” who convince them that they are 'favored' by God .
What is usually overlooked is the fact is that no one without the benefit of stage, air time, charisma and a well memorized collection of misinterpreted Bible verses ever comes anywhere near acquiring the material wealth that these high flying ministers have amassed.
What makes it worse is the fact that many, if not most of the congregation seem to believe that neither their pastor nor church can do anything wrong and Heaven help you if you should say anything negative about either. I guess most of them are either ignorant of the New Testament warnings about deception, or arrogantly believe that they themselves cannot possibly be deceived.
See The Four Most Dangerous Mistakes Any Christian Can Make.
The problem is not that these high flying are rich nor that they are rich Christians. The problem lies in the fact that they are rich because they are Christian pastors.
No one is criticizing Chick-fil-A's Dan Cathy for making a lot of money.
Similarly, no one would care if Furtick, Osteen, Duplantis or Copeland had made their fortunes from commercial enterprises.
However, whichever way you look at it these so called 'Christian pastors' make their money off the backs of countless hard working and often struggling members of their churches. What's worse, is that they use the Bible to justify their extravagance.
What they call prosperity, the Bible calls greed and materialism.
Over the next few pages I have touched on a few of of the wolves - some who have arisen from amongst the flock fairly recently, others have been around for a while. I have largely focused on the amount of money they have made, the lavish lifestyle they live by preaching the message that they do. Additionally fraud, sexual abuse (even of minors) and cover up in more than one case has been touched on.
On occasion I have picked out some of their teachings and compared it to what the Bible teaches.
The few I have covered are only the tip of a very large iceberg, and I wish I could have done more, but I did not want to be writing on the same topic for the next year. I do however suggest you read the Final Chapter of this article.
See Jesus’ Message
And The Message of the Bible
End Notes
Unless otherwise specified, all links were accessed in September 2025.
[01] Tozer. Religious Boredom https://www.worldinvisible.com/library/tozer/5j00.0010/5j00.0010.30.htm
[02] Jesse Bogan. America's Biggest Megachurches. Forbes. June 26, 2009.
https://www.forbes.com/2009/06/26/americas-biggest-megachurches-business-megachurches.html#5bd67cca40ec
[03] ibid.
[04] Clay Paky. In pursuit of perfect light since 1976. https://www.claypaky.it/en/company/who
[05] Clay Paky B-EYEs Elevate Easter Worship Experience for North Carolina’s Elevation Church. 2014. https://www.claypaky it/en/news/clay_paky_b_eyes_elevate_easter_worship_experience_for_north_carolina_s_elevation_church
[06] ibid.
[07] Tim Funk. A cool pastor, and a hot church.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article9008744.html#storylink=cpy
[08] Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter | Jun 29, 2017. Elevation Church Makes Fortune's 2017 National List of 100 Best Places to Work for Millennials.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/elevation-church-makes-fortunes-2017-national-list-100-best-places-to-work-millennials-190134/
[09] Christopher Wynn. Dear God: Is Dallas society ready for Fellowship Church's sex-loving, million-dollar minister? Published December 12, 2013. http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2013_December/pastored/
[10] https://www.jhm.org/Events
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