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Rise of Megachurches Are They Straying Too Far from Their Religious Mission?

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Rise of Megachurches Are They Straying Too Far from Their Religious Mission? Researcher Published by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly Inc. CQ www.cqresearcher.com Rise of Megachurches Are they straying too far from their religious mission? ince the 1970s, the number of so-called megachurches — churches that attract at least 2,000 people to weekly services — has been exploding in the United States and abroad, particularly in Latin America, Africa and SAsia. Many of the more than 1,200 U.S. megachurches sit on large suburban campuses and boast vast sanctuaries with multiple large TV screens and other high-tech amenities. Several serve meals at their own sprawling food courts and cafés and offer gymnasiums and other facilities. Megachurches are typically Protestant evangelical and espouse conservative positions on social issues. Church leaders A 10-story-high flag hangs on Memorial Day at the are often charismatic ministers who preach the “prosperity gospel,” Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., founded by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. stressing personal fulfillment and success as much as theology. Some researchers suggest megachurches are a unique, collective response I to people’s needs amid sweeping cultural and societal changes. N THIS REPORT S But critics say megachurches are straying from their traditional THE ISSUES ......................771 I religious mission by focusing on helping parishioners get rich CHRONOLOGY ..................779 D rather than worshipping God. BACKGROUND ..................780 E CURRENT SITUATION ..........784 CQ Researcher • Sept. 21, 2007 • www.cqresearcher.com AT ISSUE ..........................785 Volume 17, Number 33 • Pages 769-792 OUTLOOK ........................787 RECIPIENT OF SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE ◆ AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SILVER GAVEL AWARD BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................790 THE NEXT STEP ................791 RISE OF MEGACHURCHES CQ Researcher Sept. 21, 2007 THE ISSUES Top 10 Megachurch States Volume 17, Number 33 772 California and Texas have MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas J. Colin • Do megachurches dilute the most members. [email protected] 771 the Christian message? From Big to Truly ‘Mega’ ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR: Kathy Koch • Do megachurches blur [email protected] the line between church 773 More than 25 percent of and state? megachurches have more ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kenneth Jost than 4,000 members. • Are megachurches be- STAFF WRITERS: Marcia Clemmitt, Peter Katel coming too worldly? 774 Most Megachurches are CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rachel S. Cox, BACKGROUND Denominational Sarah Glazer, Alan Greenblatt, Baptists are the largest group. Barbara Mantel, Patrick Marshall, Tom Price, Jennifer Weeks Recent Surge 780 The Megachurch Difference DESIGN/PRODUCTION EDITOR: Olu B. Davis Most of the 1,200 U.S. 775 Support groups are among megachurches were the key activities. ASSISTANT EDITOR: Darrell Dela Rosa founded in the past 25 years. Houston’s Lakewood 776 Church Is Biggest Big-Box Approach Average attendance is 30,000. A Division of 781 Megachurches fit the Congressional Quarterly Inc. suburban mold. Chronology 779 SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER: Key events since 1972. John A. Jenkins Filling Seats 783 Megachurches make ‘Reverse’ Missionaries DIRECTOR, LIBRARY PUBLISHING: economic sense. 780 Aim at Developed Nations Alix Buffon Vance Nigerian church is active in DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS: New York. Ann Davies CURRENT SITUATION 782 Preaching the Prosperity CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY INC. Business 101 Gospel CHAIRMAN: Paul C. Tash 784 Critics say black megachurches Megachurch pastors VICE CHAIRMAN: Andrew P. Corty know how to market abandon social justice. their message. PRESIDENT/EDITOR IN CHIEF: Robert W. Merry Megachurches Outpacing 784 Nation’s Growth Copyright © 2007 CQ Press, a division of Congres- Church Politics Rise has been dramatic. sional Quarterly Inc. (CQ). CQ reserves all copyright 787 Courts are lowering the and other rights herein, unless previously specified barrier between church At Issue in writing. No part of this publication may be re- and state. 785 Are megachurches too big? produced electronically or otherwise, without prior written permission. Unauthorized reproduction or transmission of CQ copyrighted material is a violation OUTLOOK FOR FURTHER RESEARCH of federal law carrying civil fines of up to $100,000. CQ Researcher (ISSN 1056-2036) is printed on acid- Mirroring Society For More Information free paper. Published weekly, except; (March wk. 4) 787 Experts predict churches 789 Organizations to contact. (June wk. 4) (July wk. 1) (Aug. wk. 2) (Aug. wk. 3) will continue growing. (Nov. wk. 4) (Dec. wk. 3) and (Dec. wk. 4), by CQ 790 Bibliography Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly Inc. An- Selected sources used. nual full-service subscriptions for institutions start at SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS $667. For pricing, call 1-800-834-9020, ext. 1906. To The Next Step purchase a CQ Researcher report in print or elec- 791 Additional articles. Most Megachurches Are in tronic format (PDF), visit www.cqpress.com or call 772 the South, West 866-427-7737. Single reports start at $15. Bulk pur- Citing CQ Researcher chase discounts and electronic-rights licensing are New England has lowest 791 Sample bibliography formats. number. also available. Periodicals postage paid at Washing- ton, D.C., and additional mailing offices. POSTMAS- TER: Send address changes to CQ Researcher, 1255 Cover: AP Photo/Bob Riha Jr. 22nd St., N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20037. 770 CQ Researcher Rise of Megachurches BY ALAN GREENBLATT AND TRACIE POWELL Megachurches in particular are proving to be fertile THE ISSUES ground for products, services niversal Pictures de- and messages that cross the voted more than line that divides the sacred from U $200 million to the secular. Twenty-five years “Evan Almighty,” a comedy ago, there were only 74 church- released in June about a con- es in the United States that at- gressman who gives up pol- tracted more than 2,000 peo- itics to build an ark. Most of ple per week. Today, there are that money went into pro- more than 1,200. 3 Megachurch- duction, but a fair share of es have been growing in size it was spent on marketing — and influence at the same time much of it devoted to reach- that the line between church ing out to spiritual leaders and state has been fading, ac- and church groups. cording to religious scholars Universal hasn’t yet made a and historians. profit on the film, but its strat- It’s not just their sheer num- egy appeared to make sense. bers and explosive growth Alerting church groups about that have made megachurch- religious-themed films has paid es friendly to marketers. The off in recent years, translating messages preached in differ- into a $370 million domestic ent megachurches can vary gross for “The Passion of the as much as they do in small- Christ” and $300 million for er churches. Megachurches, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” however, are particularly con- AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis Mel Gibson’s “Passion” pro- Housed in a former sports arena, Pastor Joel Osteen’s ducive to secular messages vided the marketing model, Lakewood Church in Houston is reportedly the largest by their very nature. with megachurches — com- and fastest-growing in the country, with 52,000 English They tend to feature the monly defined as those that at- and Spanish-speaking worshipers. There are more than latest communications tech- tract more than 2,000 parish- 1,200 megachurches in the United States, many serving nology — everything from middle-class suburban congregations with a “prosperity ioners on any given Sunday gospel” promoting personal fulfillment and success. high-quality video screens to — buying big blocks of tick- sophisticated in-house broad- ets and generating word of casting centers. They offer not mouth among the faithful. times called “Passion dollars” from only religious services within their sanc- Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, parishioners. Megachurches have be- tuaries but also recreational and dining Calif., home of prominent pastor and come a prime distribution and mar- services in other parts of their facilities, best-selling author Rick Warren, host- keting channel, with companies in- including Starbucks cafés, Subway sand- ed a screening for 4,500 pastors and cluding McDonald’s, Ford, Chrysler, wich shops and top-flight gymnasiums. separately purchased 17,000 tickets for Target and Coca-Cola lining up to spon- Megachurches, in other words, al- its congregants. Two members of a sor conferences and outreach efforts, ready tend to resemble the secular megachurch in Plano, Texas, bought as well as offering free samples and commercial world and imitate com- out 6,000 seats at a local 20-plex so test drives directly to worshipers. mercial strategies for communicating churchgoers could watch “Passion’s” “Forty-three percent of this country their messages. “We do attempt to har- local premiere. A church in Costa Mesa, is in church — that’s a big chunk of ness the full potential of modern tech- Calif., even canceled its weekend ser- folks,” said Jonathan Bock, president nology and business strategies to com- vices during the film’s 2004 opening, of Grace Hill Media, which helps Hol- municate with our members and our sending its parishioners to watch on lywood studios reach out to the faith community,” said Bill Hybels, found- any of 10 rented screens. 1 community. “You get into the once-a- ing and senior pastor of Willow Creek Hollywood producers aren’t alone month [attendee], that’s two-thirds of Community Church, a trend-setting in looking to rake in what are some- the country.” 2 megachurch in South Barrington, Ill. 4 Available online: www.cqresearcher.com Sept. 21, 2007 771 RISE OF MEGACHURCHES Despite offering such strong criti- Most Megachurches Are in the South, West cism, Guinness notes that he finds The South and Far West have the highest percentage of America’s nothing wrong either with the size of megachurches; New England has the lowest. megachurch congregations or their use of modern marketing, psychology or communications techniques. “The Concentration of Megachurches megachurch movement’s aim is laud- (by percentage and region) able — to reach out to people and bring them to Christ,” he says.
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