We have seen many prominent names in these past years of people who espoused family values while thumping their Bibles. We would learn that these supposed family values were not applicable to the likes of John Edwards, Newt Gingrich, Mark Sanford, John Ensign and David Vitter. Of course duplicitous behavior crosses social lines, but the garbled connections have one thing in common: sin.

Beyond the search for tabloid redemption, we now have Rick Warren, Pastor of the Saddleback Church in Southern California, who implored his congregation for nine hundred thousand dollars when donations sagged during Christmas. According to Warren, his request did bring in 2.4 million dollars. That is quite a large amount of money for soul-saving. Even pastors lose sight of honorable values. Is this Warren’s idea of a ‘purpose-driven life’? Think of the thousands of communities across the nation who could have used a sliver of that money to build a small church or to keep their economically floundering churches alive.

I have a problem with Big Box churches. Having attended several I can say that they have great entertainment value. Some I attended seat a thousand or more at a time. The stages were replete with the best sound equipment, staging, orchestras and singers who could compete in America’s Got Talent. Yes, we were all on our feet singing praises, clapping hands and watching visuals on large screens. The show took up the majority of allotted church time and the message of spirituality got lost in the production. Maybe that’s why some fall off the righteous wagon. It’s the glitter factor and much of it comes from these Big Box churches. And what about my sins?

Look, I’m no saint. That’s why I like to go to church, so that I can be spiritually fed and leave there a better person, free of the shackles of my wrong-doings. But truth be told, there is something enticing about the glitter factor in churches. Beautiful women and men (seems they never use the homely ones) put on a show that has you dwelling on the star factor, and I don’t mean heavenly ones. And some pastors have charisma which could lead armies to fight for them. It is a dangerous magnetism.

Joel Olsteen tells us on TV that if we pray for wealth, it will be ours. Was he around for the recession? A Crystal Cathedral was built in California years ago. I wonder if God is drawn to crystal. Dobson has DVD’s on family values. But where are the messages about social injustice? Where are the messages about “husbands love your wives as Jesus loved the church”? Not much time to get those messages across when there is a production to be staged and money to be put in the baskets to pay the bills.

Give me a small church with a sweet choir and a strong message from a pastor or priest who holds me accountable for my actions. Give me a church that focuses on social injustice and leads by example with modesty, frugality and messages from God, not an entertainment sideshow. Big Box churches may be temples of doom. I think if God walked this earth, he would topple them all. Given the dire economic time in which we live, I find it appalling that Rick Warren sees fit to pick the pockets of the faithful in order to keep an ostentatious show alive. Keep your eyes on God because man will often fail to help you find a truly purpose-driven life.

—cher