Let me begin by apologizing for labeling Saddleback as a church. I figured for a title that is searchable in Google, then using church to describe Saddleback would be effective, however, Saddleback is property, the people of Saddleback are the Church (notice the capitalization).
This past Sunday I journeyed out to Lake Forest California where Saddleback is located off of Purpose Drive…long story short: this place really IS Disneyland for Christians. I experimented with calling it Jesusland…this however felt wrong to me. There is a skatepark, grill/restaurant, fake beach and tons of different bodies of water. Overall the actual worship center disappointed me (probably because it seemed the most normal of all the buildings). Joining me were my two friends from Ireland, Jamie and Tom. If you click the link to “Read More” you will see links to various content and a map of the campus. Be sure to also check out the second part of the adventure after the bump (it’s a bit more scandalous).
Our experience was wonderful, however it was disappointing that not one person reached out to know us…that seems to be a problem with having a “crowd” that is more than 4,000 people per service…
You can click the following links to learn more:
Saddleback & Greg Laurie
I agree that it is just too big. I have never been comfortable in churches of that size, but this really was troubling. I don’t think that Saddleback is different in this area…it’s just the sheer size of it all. But it was disappointing.
I totally agree with you. What size church do you feel comfortable in? Are there any clues for you when it has become too big?