“Some ‘mega-churches’ have taken their denomination’s name off the outdoor signs. Will the “church of Christ” do the same?”
     There is no need for us to. The churches of Christ (Romans 16:16) are preaching only the Gospel of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:44-52; Acts 2:1-47) from the Word of Christ (John 12:48; 17:20; 20:29-31; Romans 10:17), and are made up only of Christians (Acts 11:26). What would we need to give up to be more appealing to God?
     Denominations are but applying what they have been preaching. “It doesn’t make any difference what denomination you’re in.”  Since they have taught denomination doesn’t matter, their signs now simply use the term “Family,” “Community,” or some similar expression instead of their denominational name. And their “worship” has incorporated the elements of “Pentecostal” instruments, “Baptist” singing, “Methodist” groups, and “Catholic” rituals together. The trend today is to form “electic” churches, i.e. to seek the “lowest common denominator” in religion. There are people who think that “broadening” concepts or “re-defining” their doctrines will appeal to the masses in effective ways. Using common practices borrowed from those who have already abandoned the Bible is an excuse to not abide by God’s Word!  “Billy Graham Crusades” have practiced this for decades, but now people are building permanent facilities for the exact same thing.
     This is nothing new, for it has been tried and failed before. After the Flood, Noah was told, “And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it” (Genesis 9:7). But mankind later said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). This “tower of Babel” represents the confusion of languages God caused when He “scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city” (Genesis 11:8). These people emphasized their similarities for “unity’s sake” in order to build an impressively large edifice and ignore God’s will in the process. Theirs was a “community” structure or “family” force for their own purposes, rather than trusting God and obeying Him. The churches of Christ are made up of “the beloved of God, called to be saints” (Romans 1:7) and should not have “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they [“unbelieving Jews” JTPII] being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-4).
     God warned Israel not to incorporate the worship practices of the people in the land He promised. “And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things” (Deuteronomy 12:2-4; 18:9-14). The churches of Christ must have “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:1-6). Regardless of present-day practices, the structure    of    belief    cannot be changed nor incorporate non-biblical worship into it. The church of Christ is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2; 12:12-18; Colossians 1:18), and that figure necessitates a strict “skeletal system” of tenets that makes it look the same wherever or whenever it may be found.
     It was an act of Satan for “David to number Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1-30), because God wanted Israel to trust in Him not their own might (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). The church of Christ began in Jerusalem with 3000 members on the Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:22-41), which later rose to 5000 (Acts 4:4), and multitudes added afterwards (Acts 5:14), so it is not having large numbers of members that is the sin. The sin today is trusting in great numbers for salvation instead of God’s promises in his word!  It is in refusing to preach what is divinely taught regardless of the numbers, or put another way, desiring large numbers regardless of how little Bible doctrine it takes!  Jesus warned that “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
     This “mega-church” concept may be trendy, but it attracts “children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14). “Wind Of Doctrine” may feel fresh but only if one’s soul is facing away from God. It is the same tired, old, wasteful approach that mankind has always used to leave God out of religion!  It is yet another doctrinal “toss of the dice” (Greek kubeia) or “scheme” of deception (Greek meqodeia) that will cause losers by the thousands. Such churches have no love for God, for they reject his commands. John said, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). While they are changing their signs, they should call themselves “The Church of Demas,” for Demas forsook the apostle Paul “having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Literally, Demas “loved the here and now,” or we might say, he felt the present had more appeal than the past or future. But Jesus cautioned  those who would listen to what He had to say that “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). “Mega-churches” are built upon 1) anxiety to attract the world; 2) false sense of strength in possessions; and 3) selfish wants - the very things Jesus said would not be successful!  Ironically for “modern-ist” churches to succeed, they turn from “old-fashioned” ways of the past, which includes reliance upon Scripture. The French expression “a la mode” means “according to fashion, or currently.”  If you want “church a la mode” you may have it, but if you want “churches of Christ”—we’re still here.—125 The Trace, Dover, TN 37058