This is a research paper I did for my English 101 class on megachurches.
True Christianity is about making disciples, which is a relational concept. Can the megachurch accomplish the original mission of Christ if they cannot successfully sustain true relationships? How can a message of financial prosperity, a lavish lifestyle of pastoral fame, and opulent, multi-acre “church” campuses embody the message of a peasant, homeless Messiah, with twelve intimate followers whose last command was to “make disciples”?
The key component in the term “megachurch” is the prefix “mega.” Mega defines something that is “large or great.” Obviously, a mega-church is an entity that has huge attendance and/or facilities. Fifty-three percent of megachurches have between 2,000 and 3,000 members, while some megachurches, like Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, can have congregations that boast up to 30,000 in weekly attendance and is housed in a former sports arena. (CQ Researcher. 775-776)
According to British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, as cited by Malcom Gladwell in his book, The Tipping Point, the largest group of people who can sustain a “genuinely social relationship” is roughly 150. “The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us…” (Gladwell. 179)
The number 150 is recurrent in a multiplicity of groups that can be documented with solid historical evidence, from hunter-gatherer societies of Australian descent to the patterns used for military organization. The Hutterites, a self-supporting religious colonist group that flourished in Europe and later in America, would form a colony that, when it neared 150 members, would start a new colony, never growing larger than their capacity to sustain true relationships. (Gladwell. 179-180)
Megachurches, however, due to their enormous size, do not have the capacity to focus on this most important aspect and instead have embraced a modern culture of anonymity. North Park University’s McKnight says, “You can enter into the church to the degree that you want. There’s a guaranteed anonymity, if you want it.” (CQ Researcher. 784)
His position is that if you go into a church with 120 people, you can’t walk into the door without people knowing you’re a stranger. In a megachurch of several thousand, people can come and go, “with 5,000 other relatively anonymous persons, just like they do every day of their lives.” In other words, you could go to church and nobody would know the difference. Christianity is not about going to church, it is about becoming the church.
This is contrary to the mission of the Church, to be a body of believers, members that are connected to each other in purpose, passion and belief. If we create an entity that is about filling seats by offering a host of amenities and innovations, without developing relationships, we have not fulfilled the central goal of Christianity, to unite people in the Body of Christ.
The pastors of most megachurches are more like high-powered business-politicians who do not connect on an individual basis with the people who are a part of “their” church. An unfortunate result of the super-sized congregation is that the pastor’s role of shepherding is replaced by a demand for politics and public relations. Although it would be unfair to say that all megachurch pastors’ messages are developed as feel-good PR, this seems to be true on average. Messages of financial prosperity, personal fulfillment and inclusivity are the standard fare. A moment with the pastor would be more like a photo-op with a celebrity politician that might end up on the church website or television broadcast, than a personal encounter with a friend that cares deeply for your soul.
Megachurches are usually Protestant evangelical and have conservative positions on social issues. Their pastors are usually charismatic and preach the “prosperity gospel, stressing personal fulfillment as much as theology.” (CQ Researcher. 769)
Some researchers feel like megachurches are a unique response to growing needs within American culture; critics counter that the megachurches are straying from their traditional religious mission by focusing on helping congregants get rich instead of worshipping God.
While the congregations are typically conservative Protestants, many of the pastors, like Creflo Dollar (his real name), an Atlanta megachurch pastor, whose prosperity preaching and lavish lifestyle has earned the dubious title “the gospel of bling” are anything but conservative. Dollar’s travel choices include a personal Lear Jet, helicopter and two Rolls-Royces. (CQ Researcher. 782) Dollar’s “seed” ministry concept, which is the idea that giving money to “the Lord” via his ministry is the first step in opening “the windows of heaven” is very similar to the very indulgence doctrine that caused Martin Luther to begin the Protestant reformation.
Dollar, along with other prosperity gospel preachers, follow in the same vein as one of the most famous of so called prosperity preachers, Kenneth Copeland. One of Copeland’s followers donated $2,000.00 for Copeland to purchase a private Citation X airplane. “I remember Copeland had to once fly halfway around the world to talk to one person,” she said. “Because we’re partners with Kenneth Copeland, for every soul that gets saved, we get credit for that in heaven.”
Another prosperity preacher, Texas Evangelist, Jerry Savelle, perpetuated this thought at a conference organized by Copeland. Dollar was a speaker at the conference along with other prosperity preachers.
“Any time a worried thought about money pops up in your mind,” Mr. Savelle continued, “the next thing you do is sow”: drop money, like seeds, in “good ground” like the preachers’ ministries. “Stop worrying, start sowing,” he added, his voice rising. “That’s God’s stimulus package for you.” (Goodstein. Nytimes.com)
An indulgence is “in the Roman Catholic Church, a declaration by church authorities that those who say certain prayers or do good deeds will have some or all of their punishment in purgatory remitted.”
“In the Middle Ages, indulgences were frequently sold, and the teaching on indulgences was often distorted. The attack by Martin Luther on the sale of indulgences began the Reformation.” (American Heritage)
Megachurch pastors who preach this prosperity gospel are not conservative Protestants; they are excessive businessmen, selling indulgences and tricking their congregants into buying the “favor of God.”
“This [is] a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;” 1 Timothy 3:1-3, KJV
The Scripture uses an interesting word in this admonition to those who want to lead in the church, lucre. Lucre is translated from the Greek word “aischrokerdēs” which means eager for base gain, greedy for money.” (blueletterbible.com)
Their message and the application of their lifestyle disqualify them from the office they hold. Why then do people flock to them? As in the classic Clinton campaign phrase often re-quoted in reference to politician’s ability to gain office though under qualified or corrupt, “It’s the economy, stupid.” They are rich, so they must be right.
Megachurch pastors have a delicate job on their hands. Their most important job is to keep the people happy. In The Deviant’s Advantage, the authors explore the path of ideas from their inception on the fringe of society to their acceptance as a part of “social convention.” The risk involved in an idea on the fringe that initially catches people’s attention has to either be tamed or removed for the idea to gain the acceptance of the larger community. Harley-Davison, an American motorcycle company, at one time was synonymous with outlaw bikers and renegades, but is now the very expensive bike of choice for doctors, dentists and lawyers. The change came through an intentional repositioning of the identity of the motorcycle brand, and the removal of many of the perceived risks of being involved in the “biker” culture. (Matthews/Wacker. 19)
The very ideas of Christianity, self-sacrifice, repentance, and moderation are controversial and can even be divisive. In a small intimate group of believers, these ideas, though uncomfortable at times, can be accepted and applied through teaching that includes dialogue, trust and accountability. In a mega environment, these ideas, in order to become social convention, must be removed. The result is a feel-good, get-what-you-want, “religion of materialism and status to self-absorbed consumers.” (CQ Researcher. 785)
In conclusion, the mission of the church is not now, nor has it ever been, a means for men and women to make themselves wealthy, famous, powerful politicians. The number of people who come together, if there is no vehicle for meaningful relationships, becomes about the pastor’s ego, not the needs of the people who are drawn into his arena.
The church should be a place of love, healing and comfort, but not void of doctrine and scripture that challenges its congregants to repentance. The megachurch creates a climate of anonymity. “No change necessary here, if you don’t like it, don’t come back, we actually didn’t know you were even here.” I haven’t found that instruction in red letters, noted to be the words of Jesus Christ, anywhere in scripture.
Works Cited
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition.
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 12 Nov. 2009.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for aischrokerdēs (Strong’s 146)”.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. 12 Nov 2009.
http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm? ~Strongs=G146&t=KJV >
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point.
New York, London, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. 2000.
Goodstein, Laurie “Believers Invest in the Gospel of Getting Rich.” New York Times.
15 Aug. 2009. 07 November, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/us/16gospel.html
Greenblat, Alan and Tracie Powell. “Rise of Megachurches” CQ Researcher. 769-792
Mathews, Ryan and Watts Wacker. The Deviant’s Advantage.
New York: Crown Business. 2002.