Are Megachurches Biblical? Evangelical Professor Explains What Is 'Non-Negotiable'

A Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor recently tackled the long-debated question of whether megachurches are biblical, pointing out that there are some key non-negotiable principles that every church needs to follow.

"The real question is one of obedience. Does this church look like the church of the New Testament? Are we carrying out what Christ has given us to do? That is non-negotiable, but size is never made a part of the command," said Hershael York, Victor and Louise Lester professor of Christian Preaching at Southern Seminary.

"We're not told to get to a certain size and split, nor are we told that a small church is ineffective. We're told to be faithful, specifically to the Great Commission."

York insisted that Scripture never makes size a qualification for a good church, and pointed to the history of the first church in Jerusalem, when Jesus talks to the Apostles about church discipline in Matthew 18.

"On the day of Pentecost we know that they are numbered 120 that gather together in the upper room. And then by the end of the day they've grown considerably," he said, noting that "3,000 were saved and baptized on that day" thanks to the Holy Spirit.

The professor said that scholars believe there could have been as many as 50,000 people in the church of Jerusalem at one point, too many to fill the temple court, which forced them to spread out to other sites.

"I don't think that you can say that a church is more biblical because it's small, or more biblical because it's large. I don't think either model is unbiblical," he continued.

"I think the question is obedience and effectiveness. Is the church obedient to what God has given us? Are they faithful to the Great Commission — are they making disciples, and baptizing them and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever He's commanded? Are they reproducing, making other churches?"

Read more about megachurches on The Christian Post.