Are mega-churches the ecit door from organized chu

[Wilsonwas]

Is thos article correct do you think. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.for...-religion/amp/

Is this likely actually what is happening?

I tend to think it is, but perhaps the reason is where we will find discussion.

[Wilsonwas]

Exir, door not ecit, silly phone ....

[Wilsonwas]

I think it rather interesting that a Forbes contributer would write-
"What is emerging in the wake of this decline is a uniquely American brand of post-religious spirituality. America’s smaller, community-driven Little Rectangular Churches are being steadily replaced by her entrepreneurial, consumer-oriented Big Round Churches. Authority once wielded by religious denominations is being replaced by the entertaining magnetism of a charismatic pastor, attracting a hardened remnant of fundamentalist believers unconcerned about the moral implications of commercialized faith. As community ties and social capital steadily weaken, Organized Religion is losing ground to Disorganized Religion.

It’s not hard to appreciate the appeal of the Big Round Church compared to the older, community-driven models. How convenient would it be to visit for a church service, be entertained by elite professionals, pay your fee for spiritual services rendered, and just leave? Disorganized Religion replaces traditional religious identities and their accompanying entanglements and authority structures with a model in which the customer is always right. Paid employees handle all the details from parking to teaching classes. No need to serve on committees. None of the hassles of maintenance or governance disturb the workweek. No one expects to have to contribute their time to maintain the facilities at Starbucks or McDonalds, so why shouldn’t we expect a similar consumer experience from a church?

This isn’t strictly speaking a religious problem, but a social trend. Our steady slide toward disorganization is a fully global phenomenon that extends beyond religion into every aspect of social organization. A freer world marked by global capitalism presses consumer values into every institution, from family to politics. Decades of growing disengagement from the messy, time-consuming groundwork of social engagement helps explain situations as seemingly unconnected as the decline of PTA’s and the rise of Donald Trump. As we reap the benefits of global markets, growing personal freedom, and the technical wonders of the innovation age, we are shedding any sense of connectedness. We rarely experience the local community accountability that was an assumed feature of life in previous generations.

In countries with thinner social capital institutions the declining power of organized religion has posed an existential threat. As accountable and reasonable religious figures lose influence, they have been replaced by extremist entertainers and fundamentalist revolutionaries. Devolution of power away from traditional institutions creates anxiety for many, anxiety that’s often displayed in the shape of fanatical extremism and desperate efforts to shore up a disintegrating religious culture by political mandate. It is not religious enthusiasm, but religious decline, that feeds fundamentalism. We are not immune.



America seems unlikely to suffer as much pain from the decline of organized religion as Middle Eastern countries, but we seem unwilling to give up that “olde tyme religion” as gracefully as the Europeans. One day the dominant branches of Christianity in America may be as philosophical in outlook and unsuperstitious in belief as the bulk of Western Judaism. Mainline Protestant denominations are, for the most part, already on their way toward this end. Catholicism may not be far behind.

Religion will not simply fade away. It seems to be wired into the fabric of our existence. In the absence of some organized form, we will construct it out of whatever spare parts we can find.

Regardless of what else happens to our culture, Christians will continue to gather to discuss the meaning of their faith and build their communities. They still do this in Europe, though on a much smaller scale than in the past. In its late stages, mature disorganized Christianity might grow less enthralled by the fantastic while remaining a significant cultural force. We’ll see.

Perhaps one day tourists will quietly marvel at our great glass megachurches while token services are carried on in the background for atmosphere. These churches will make much better sight-seeing stops than European cathedrals since they are already equipped with coffee houses, restaurants, and book stores.

Be sure to stop by the gift shop on the way out.

Chris Ladd, former GOP Precinct Committeeman, author of The Politics of Crazy and creator of PoliticalOrphans.

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Wilsonwas

I think it rather interesting that a Forbes contributer would write-
"What is emerging in the wake of this decline is a uniquely American brand of post-religious spirituality. America’s smaller, community-driven Little Rectangular Churches are being steadily replaced by her entrepreneurial, consumer-oriented Big Round Churches. Authority once wielded by religious denominations is being replaced by the entertaining magnetism of a charismatic pastor, attracting a hardened remnant of fundamentalist believers unconcerned about the moral implications of commercialized faith. As community ties and social capital steadily weaken, Organized Religion is losing ground to Disorganized Religion.

It’s not hard to appreciate the appeal of the Big Round Church compared to the older, community-driven models. How convenient would it be to visit for a church service, be entertained by elite professionals, pay your fee for spiritual services rendered, and just leave? Disorganized Religion replaces traditional religious identities and their accompanying entanglements and authority structures with a model in which the customer is always right. Paid employees handle all the details from parking to teaching classes. No need to serve on committees. None of the hassles of maintenance or governance disturb the workweek. No one expects to have to contribute their time to maintain the facilities at Starbucks or McDonalds, so why shouldn’t we expect a similar consumer experience from a church?

This isn’t strictly speaking a religious problem, but a social trend. Our steady slide toward disorganization is a fully global phenomenon that extends beyond religion into every aspect of social organization. A freer world marked by global capitalism presses consumer values into every institution, from family to politics. Decades of growing disengagement from the messy, time-consuming groundwork of social engagement helps explain situations as seemingly unconnected as the decline of PTA’s and the rise of Donald Trump. As we reap the benefits of global markets, growing personal freedom, and the technical wonders of the innovation age, we are shedding any sense of connectedness. We rarely experience the local community accountability that was an assumed feature of life in previous generations.

In countries with thinner social capital institutions the declining power of organized religion has posed an existential threat. As accountable and reasonable religious figures lose influence, they have been replaced by extremist entertainers and fundamentalist revolutionaries. Devolution of power away from traditional institutions creates anxiety for many, anxiety that’s often displayed in the shape of fanatical extremism and desperate efforts to shore up a disintegrating religious culture by political mandate. It is not religious enthusiasm, but religious decline, that feeds fundamentalism. We are not immune.



America seems unlikely to suffer as much pain from the decline of organized religion as Middle Eastern countries, but we seem unwilling to give up that “olde tyme religion” as gracefully as the Europeans. One day the dominant branches of Christianity in America may be as philosophical in outlook and unsuperstitious in belief as the bulk of Western Judaism. Mainline Protestant denominations are, for the most part, already on their way toward this end. Catholicism may not be far behind.

Religion will not simply fade away. It seems to be wired into the fabric of our existence. In the absence of some organized form, we will construct it out of whatever spare parts we can find.

Regardless of what else happens to our culture, Christians will continue to gather to discuss the meaning of their faith and build their communities. They still do this in Europe, though on a much smaller scale than in the past. In its late stages, mature disorganized Christianity might grow less enthralled by the fantastic while remaining a significant cultural force. We’ll see.

Perhaps one day tourists will quietly marvel at our great glass megachurches while token services are carried on in the background for atmosphere. These churches will make much better sight-seeing stops than European cathedrals since they are already equipped with coffee houses, restaurants, and book stores.

Be sure to stop by the gift shop on the way out.

Chris Ladd, former GOP Precinct Committeeman, author of The Politics of Crazy and creator of PoliticalOrphans.

This, to me, is just another MSM attempt at controlling the narrative to convince the Christians in the USA that the sky is falling. Look, even if there are over 1,000 mega-churches in the USA, with at least over 1,000 members each, that's only approximately a million constituents. So, even if you quadrupled that number to 4,000,000 as attendees of mega-churches, where do all the other 100,000,000 people attend?

That's right, in small, community churches in pockets of fifty to one hundred or so. And sometimes less. But the point is made. The writer of the article is either cracked, woefully misinformed, far removed from life on the ground, or has an intentional agenda.

[Wilsonwas]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

This, to me, is just another MSM attempt at controlling the narrative to convince the Christians in the USA that the sky is falling. Look, even if there are over 1,000 mega-churches in the USA, with at least over 1,000 members each, that's only approximately a million constituents. So, even if you quadrupled that number to 4,000,000 as attendees of mega-churches, where do all the other 100,000,000 people attend?



That's right, in small, community churches in pockets of fifty to one hundred or so. And sometimes less. But the point is made. The writer of the article is either cracked, woefully misinformed, far removed from life on the ground, or has an intentional agenda.

Could be, all the little baptist churches we drive past are doing fine.
The bit that got me had to do with the appeal of no commitment, positive message with no conviction, and entertainment as a center. If millinials are the "no marketing works on us" group, who is filling these places.

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Wilsonwas

Could be, all the little baptist churches we drive past are doing fine.
The bit that got me had to do with the appeal of no commitment, positive message with no conviction, and entertainment as a center. If millinials are the "no marketing works on us" group, who is filling these places.

How many people are first time visitors who just want to check out a megachurch while on vacation? Who are all the millions of people who go to Disneyland every year? Same thing. Yet, they bank on it.

Millennials have gotten a severely bad rap. Partly because there's no good way to define what it means, or how to quantify that definition, but also because many millenials are children of the so-called Generation X generation, that couldn't be labelled or handled, or whatever, because they are the first generation in which actual post-modern thinking finally took hold in the West across the board.

And many millennials are rejecting the post-modernism of their parents. They want rules, and structure, and organization, and labels, and definitions, propositional statements, and etc. The Emergent church thing that bled into the megachurch mentality is going on 20 years old at least, and is not made up of millennials, but mid-age hipsters born in the 70's.

Those are the people filling the seats in megachurches. Forty year olds who haven't grown up and cannot shoulder a responsibility. That's why they like it when someone else does everything for them. Just pay your tithe or offering on your phone and swipe right.

[Carl]

Reminds me of something my pastor would say. "There are a lot of preachers preaching in a round church. You can't corner them on anything."

[Scott Pitta]

In our rural county, there are no churches that have a membership larger than 200. Sadly, most of the population does not attend any church at all. We have 20,000 people in the entire county. 2,000 might attend church of all kinds.

I attended a mega church when I was in college. I prefer a church with a membership of less than 200.

[Wilsonwas]

Originally Posted by Scott Pitta

In our rural county, there are no churches that have a membership larger than 200. Sadly, most of the population does not attend any church at all. We have 20,000 people in the entire county. 2,000 might attend church of all kinds.

I attended a mega church when I was in college. I prefer a church with a membership of less than 200.

Is it true these large round things are halls for "Pay your fee for spiritual services rendered, then just leave". The article seems accurate about the general disengagement of a society that is Ok with just a few words on a screen to acknowledge "freinds".

I live in a rural area - in the bible belt near the birthplace of Billy Graham- it is studded with small rectangular churchrs, all of which seem to run from 75 to 200 folks.

But - I also just lost a bright young employee to Austin Texas, she hated the area in which she grew up partly because it has not the sort of stuff we equate with the Starbucks crowd.

If mega = devoid of engagement, high on entertainment value, and low on commitment- how do we reach the generation that cannot dial a rotery phone?

[Apostolic1ness]

Originally Posted by Wilsonwas

Is it true these large round things are halls for "Pay your fee for spiritual services rendered, then just leave". The article seems accurate about the general disengagement of a society that is Ok with just a few words on a screen to acknowledge "freinds".

I live in a rural area - in the bible belt near the birthplace of Billy Graham- it is studded with small rectangular churchrs, all of which seem to run from 75 to 200 folks.

But - I also just lost a bright young employee to Austin Texas, she hated the area in which she grew up partly because it has not the sort of stuff we equate with the Starbucks crowd.

If mega = devoid of engagement, high on entertainment value, and low on commitment- how do we reach the generation that cannot dial a rotery phone?

How do we reach them good question.
Paul became as all men that he might save some. I'm not sure how much like them we become to win them. In my experience some people just come by simple invitation. God starts dealing with them and they end up a part of the church.