March 20, 2010
UTNE READER

The Mall Where You Talk to God

November 20, 2002 Issue
By Erica Sagrans 
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share
A

RELATED CONTENT

ccording to management guru Peter Drucker, megachurches are "The most important social phenomenon in American society in the last 30 years." In the Minneapolis-based alternative weekly City Pages, David Schimke examines life at Grace Church, one among many 2,000-plus member churches that may be reshaping the practice of Christianity in America today.

While many churches struggle to fill their pews, megachurches are scrambling for bigger spaces to accommodate their ever-growing congregations. Grace Church is one of about 25 Protestant churches in the country with a worship space that can seat 4,500. Grace and others like it offer state-of-the-art worship facilities that often include many other services under one roof: professional child care, Christian rock, chemical dependency programs, bookstores, health clubs, and food courts. The church services are orchestrated to perfection and timed to the second, complete with sophisticated lighting, video monitors, and glass-enclosed skyboxes. Megachurch-goers "tend to be college-educated, solidly middle-class suburb dwellers" who are drawn to the church's brand of "spiritual me-firstism" that generally emphasizes easing personal suffering and finding salvation through Jesus rather than doing good works or community outreach.

Megachurches have been undeniably successful at acquiring members through emphasizing traditional values and capitalizing on today's consumer mentality. In the words of one megachurch pastor, "If you have a full-service sort of church where the message is friendly, and the music is what they want, it's like Burger King - you get it your way and you get it cheap."
--Erica Sagrans
Go there>>
Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

Add Your Comment

We’d like to know what you think. To comment, please use this form. E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments. First time registrants: You will receive an email confirming your email address. Once you confirm, your comment will be posted. Questions about our comments policy? Click here.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Utne Reader?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


Pay Now & Save $6!
First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Want to gain a fresh perspective? Read stories that matter? Feel optimistic about the future? It's all here! Utne Reader offers provocative writing from diverse perspectives, insightful analysis of art and media, down-to-earth news and in-depth coverage of eye-opening issues that affect your life.

Save Even More Money By Paying NOW!

Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our Earth-Friendly automatic renewal savings plan. You save an additional $6 and get 6 issues of Utne Reader for only $29.95 (USA only).

Or Bill Me Later and pay just $36 for 6 issues of Utne Reader!