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American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
11–20 of 93 posts
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#12Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
The more people in the ceremony, the bigger the energy. It is a spectacle for even non-believers -- but not much more so than watching your local sports team.
It's creepier.
One of the parts of having a pastor is using that person as a spiritual counselor. It's THE core part of their job. If you belong to a megachurch, then unless you are a huge donor, your pastor will likely never even know your name, much less help you out with any issues you might have with faith or morality based issues.
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#13Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
Years ago, when I would tag-along with my wife at her church, I got some perspective on how these mega-churches work. (I don't know what the total attendance was at its various locations, but I'm guessing it was in the high four-digits?) At least for this particular church, the draw seemed twofold:
1. They were very oriented to young adults (say, 2. Critical mass. Being around more people really gives a feeling of belonging, and I think it's pretty well-established that the big crowds, swelling music, etc., really does elicit an emotional response that some people interpret as the holy spirit while others simply think of it as a warm, wonderful feeling you get going to church. That feeling is definitely self-reinforcing for attendance.
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#14Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
I went to one in LA, extended family went for Xmas.
It's weird, super produced. The back wall was a teleprompter and a timer, so they could time this service and start the next.
I don't go to any church, so this was extra over the top.
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#15> Bill Hybels, a megachurch pastor felled by sexual-misconduct allegations in 2018, was said to parrot Peter Drucker, a management guru: “What does the customer consider value?”
So… basically they are businesses selling a product.
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
The more people in the ceremony, the bigger the energy. It is a spectacle for even non-believers -- but not much more so than watching your local sports team.
It's creepier. One of the parts of having a pastor is using that person as a spiritual counselor. It's THE core part of their job. If you belong to a megachurch, then unless you are a huge donor, your pastor will likely never even know your name, much less help you out with any issues you might have with faith or morality based issues.
Seems like this issue could be and probably is solved with having more than 1 pastor. The article mentioned a subordinate relationship of pastors. There’s probably more than 1 pastor per church.
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#17Protestantism and capitalism is basically the same idea. Greed is, for lack of a better word, good.
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
The more people in the ceremony, the bigger the energy. It is a spectacle for even non-believers -- but not much more so than watching your local sports team.
It's creepier. One of the parts of having a pastor is using that person as a spiritual counselor. It's THE core part of their job. If you belong to a megachurch, then unless you are a huge donor, your pastor will likely never even know your name, much less help you out with any issues you might have with faith or morality based issues.
They don't delegate at larger churches?
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#19Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
As I read the replies, I hear a lot about the experience of attending. But what I don’t hear about is community. Isn’t that part of the value of church?
Re: American megachurches are thriving by poaching flocks
#20A flock is, after all, how you refer to sheep.