I'm not opposed to mega-churches...admittedly they're not for me...but this one I find unimaginable. It's Lakewood Church which I believe now constitutes the largest church in America. The congregation has "bought" the Compaq Center, where the Houston Rockets used to play and converted it into a church. They plan to pack it with multiple services each weekend since it can only hold 16-thousand people at a time.
I watched some of the initial services on TV - the church opened its doors on Saturday. I tuned out when Pastor Joel Osteen told the throng it was time to pass the plate...I wasn't sure how long that would take.
He did mention that it cost the congregation some 90-95 million dollars for the building and renovations. They still had 60 million dollars in construction loans to repay.
60 million dollars.
God does indeed work in mysterious ways.
*photographs from the Houston Chronicle
