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Presents of God: the Marketing of the American Prosperity Gospel

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Presents of God: the Marketing of the American Prosperity Gospel PRESENTS OF GOD: THE MARKETING OF THE AMERICAN PROSPERITY GOSPEL by Susie Meister Butler Bachelor of Arts, University of Pittsburgh, 2003 Master of Arts, University of Pittsburgh, 2010 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2014 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Susie Meister Butler It was defended on April 1, 2014 and approved by Adam Shear, Associate Professor, Religious Studies Rachel Kranson, Assistant Professor, Religious Studies Ronald Zboray, Professor, Communication Dissertation Advisor: Paula Kane, Associate Professor and John and Lucine O’Brien Marous Chair of Contemporary Catholic Studies, Religious Studies ii Copyright © by Susie Meister Butler 2014 iii PRESENTS OF GOD: THE MARKETING OF THE AMERICAN PROSPERITY GOSPEL Susie Meister Butler Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2014 Prosperity Theology is a fast-growing Protestant movement rooted in Pentecostalism, which teaches that faithfulness to God ensures health and wealth in this lifetime. This study analyzes how it is marketed at Oasis Church in Hollywood, California, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, and Victory Family Church in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. The dissertation examines how these churches market Prosperity Theology online and offline to determine the themes and emphases of their messages, whether the content changes based on the audience, if the audience is affecting the presentation of the message, and, if so, in what ways. Included in this investigation is rhetorical analysis of the sermons, websites, and Twitter posts of the pastors to determine themes that emerge in their presentations. Secondly, this study analyzes the make- up of the audience and how it responds to the practical preaching of the Prosperity pastors. Examining the audiences provides insight into the growth and popularity of the movement, and reveals how the audience can and does influence the message that is presented to them. This study demonstrates how these three churches address fewer traditional Pentecostal elements like glossolalia and spontaneous healing, to focus instead on relationships, personal betterment, and therapeutic messages of inspiration. Furthermore, I have found that the pastors’ messages are influenced by who is perceived to be in the audience, and, as a result, they offer theological content based upon whether the audience is comprised of insiders or outsiders. Finally, I found that audience members respond favorably to the practical preaching and message of God’s interest and interventions in their daily lives. The new focus among prosperity churches upon material improvement and therapeutic uplift has implications regarding the congregations’ shared-identity and ability of the leaders to mobilize the audience based upon a common worldview. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .................................................................................................................................... XI 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 THE CHURCHES ............................................................................................... 8 1.2 THE RESEARCH .............................................................................................. 11 1.3 PROSPERITY GOSPEL BACKGROUND .................................................... 12 1.4 DEFINING PROSPERITY GOSPEL ............................................................. 26 2.0 FOLLOW ME: ONLINE MARKETING OF PROSPERITY THEOLOGY ...... 33 2.1 TWITTER .......................................................................................................... 36 2.1.1 Twitter Analysis Methodology ................................................................... 39 2.1.2 Twitter Background.................................................................................... 41 2.1.3 Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church Tweets.............................................. 44 2.1.4 Twitter Conclusions .................................................................................... 75 2.2 WEBSITES ......................................................................................................... 77 2.2.1 Website Giving: Digital Tithes and Offerings .......................................... 78 2.2.2 Website Branding........................................................................................ 82 2.3 ONLINE VIDEOS ............................................................................................. 86 2.4 DIGITAL MARKETING CONCLUSIONS ................................................... 91 v 3.0 PREACHING TO THE CHOIR: MARKETING WITHIN PROSPERITY CHURCHES ................................................................................................................................ 99 3.1 CHURCH ATMOSPHERE ............................................................................ 101 3.1.1 Church Style and Architecture ................................................................ 106 3.1.2 Audio Visual Technology ......................................................................... 108 3.1.3 Resources ................................................................................................... 109 3.1.4 Renovations and Relocations ................................................................... 111 3.1.5 Demographics ............................................................................................ 113 3.2 WORSHIP ........................................................................................................ 115 3.3 SERMONS........................................................................................................ 118 3.3.1 Philip Wagner’s Sermons ......................................................................... 120 3.3.2 Joel Osteen’s Sermons .............................................................................. 124 3.3.3 John Nuzzo’s Sermons .............................................................................. 131 3.4 PASTORS ......................................................................................................... 137 3.4.1 Joel Osteen ................................................................................................. 138 3.4.2 John Nuzzo ................................................................................................ 143 3.4.3 Philip Wagner............................................................................................ 145 3.5 CHURCH EVENTS......................................................................................... 147 3.6 IN-HOUSE MARKETING CONCLUSIONS ............................................... 151 4.0 AUDIENCE .............................................................................................................. 157 4.1 OASIS CHURCH AUDIENCE ...................................................................... 162 4.2 VICTORY FAMILY CHURCH AUDIENCE .............................................. 172 4.3 LAKEWOOD CHURCH AUDIENCE .......................................................... 181 vi 4.4 AUDIENCE CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................ 190 5.0 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 198 APPENDIX A: CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH SAMPLE ..................... 206 APPENDIX B: WEBSITE AND SOCIAL NETWORKING: MEASUREMENT AND SCALE ITEMS ......................................................................................................................... 209 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 211 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Joel Osteen Tweet, Accessed April 4, 2014, www.twitter.com/joeosteen ..................... 40 Figure 2: John Nuzzo Informational Tweet, Accessed October 18, 2013, www.twitter.com/johnnuzzo ......................................................................................................... 44 Figure 3: Oasis Church Inspirational Tweet, Accessed January 4, 2013, www.twitter.com/oasisla ....................................................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 4: Joel Osteen Inspirational Tweet, Accessed August 7, 2013, www.twitter.com/JoelOsteen ........................................................................................................ 46 Figure 5: Joel Osteen Tweet, Accessed June 4, 2013, www.twitter.com/JoelOsteen .................. 48 Figure 6: Lakewood Youth Group Tweet, Accessed June 4, 2013, www.twitter.com/canvasyouth ....................................................................................................................................................... 50 Figure 7: Joel Osteen Tweet, Accessed on July 29, 2013, www.twitter.com/JoelOsteen ............ 51 Figure 8: Lakewood Church Easter Tweet, Accessed on August 8, 2013, www./lakewoodchurch ....................................................................................................................................................... 54 Figure 9: Joel Osteen Easter Tweet, Accessed August 8, 2013, www.twitter.com/joelosteen .... 55 Figure 10: Lakewood Church Tweet, Accessed
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