What is up with Cedar Creek Church?

Cedar Creek, if you were wondering, is a megachurch in suburban Toledo, OH. Started a little over 10 years ago by a Sears advertising exec. turned pastor, it has consistently been among the fastest growing churches in North America. My family and I began attending Cedar Creek almost 5 years ago, shortly after the church moved into it's facility in Perrysburg Township.

As I grew up in a small Southern Baptist church, and my wife and I began attending church together at a conservative Baptist church in Toledo, attending my first service at Cedar Creek was something of a shock. From the casual dress of the attendees to the giant video screen, theater-style seating, and smoke machines on what can only be described as a stage, nothing at Cedar Creek seemed like "church" to me. The church seems to go out of its way to be "hip" ( which is different from being "relevant", which is how church leadership would probably describe what they are trying to do...) and is positively driven by growth. Has the church reached the point, however, where they are too driven by growth?

"Reaching people for Christ" has always been the focal point of Cedar Creek. The flashy advertising and professional-quality staging of each service have turned "reaching people" almost into an art form. At some point, however, one has to wonder if every person who comes through the doors on a weekend is being reached in the most effective manner. When ministry becomes like cranking out widgets in a factory, what becomes of the widgets who don't meet the quality control specs? Do we just assume that they are better for the experience, and leave it at that?

Christianity is a "relational" religion. Evangelical Christianity, in fact, bases itself on a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ." Sadly, finding a "personal relationship" with someone on staff or heavily involved with Cedar Creek if you're not an extrovert is nigh impossible. Apparently, eschatology isn't the only place where one can learn about being "Left Behind."