This really rang bells with me. When evangelicals my wife and I regularly attended large, annual Christian gatherings – and they were the highlight of the year. At the time I thought they were times of great blessing. Looking back I can see that we were benefiting from the different experience of the mega-crowds in worship, the professional musicians and sound systems, and the whole concert experience.

I live within 10 miles of 2 such mega-churches – both with over 10,000 members. They remind me more of a carnival side-show than a ‘church’. And I am not sure that is altogether a bad thing – a little de-emphasis on some of the more outrageous aspects of Christianity couldn’t hurt.