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Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
If you're asocial, and want to go to church but avoid the social aspect, ironically it's easier to blend into the large crowd than to attend a small church. If you're a strange face in a small church, everyone is going to start a conversation to welcome you.
Do people here mean "community" in a very narrow sense of "attending a religious service for one hour a week standing in a huge room beside a thousand others who are essentially strangers"? Not like "group of friends and neighbors"? Or "not just a church focused on extracting tithes and acquiring new members", but "is genuinely concerned with its members' wellbeing, has programs and events, pastors/mentors know who their members are"? Or a more hands-off "members get a sense that they could call them if they ever needed help"?
> If you're a strange face in a small church, everyone is going to start a conversation to welcome you.
Umm, ok, how is that bad? I'd just chat with them, limit any excessively personal disclosures or nosiness. I think the glass is half full if they simply want to get to know you without any ulterior motive [e.g. converting your entire family], that's pretty rare.
While at a coffee shop I happened to observe someone from a local large church trying to convince someone from a smaller church to attend their church instead. Someone who was an influencer among their church attending peer group, it seemed.
Was that spontaneous, or did they seem to have been trained or prepared for converting people?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're asocial, and want to go to church but avoid the social aspect, ironically it's easier to blend into the large crowd than to attend a small church. If you're a strange face in a small church, everyone is going to start a conversation to welcome you.
Ok but everyone here is defining "community" and "social aspect" differently. Do people here mean "community" in a very narrow sense of "attending a religious service for one hour a week standing in a huge room beside a thousand others who are essentially strangers"? Not like "group of friends and neighbors"? Or "not just a church focused on extracting tithes and acquiring new members", but "is genuinely concerned wi…
indeed.
> Umm, ok, how is that bad?
Like I started my comment off with, "If you are asocial". I was really thinking of myself when I wrote that, although I'm an atheist. I think this is ridiculously difficult for some people to comprehend, and I have completely cut people out of my life because of it, but it is genuinely exhausting to have a conversation with someone, especially someone I don't know.
Consider checking out your local UU (Unitarian Universalist) church if one exists. They're one of the few positioned to poach from the huge flock of "nones" without any change in belief. UU is basically the church of be excellent to each other , yet whenever I go it's almost entirely old people. It's fun to chat and drink coffee with them, but I wonder where all the younger atheists/humanists are.
Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
If you're asocial, and want to go to church but avoid the social aspect, ironically it's easier to blend into the large crowd than to attend a small church. If you're a strange face in a small church, everyone is going to start a conversation to welcome you.
it's very uncomfortable.
you're also a prime target for any and all volunteering activities. great if you really love the church; unbelievably awkward otherwise.
i went to a mega-church once. (hillsong nyc in 2011.) it was a weird experience that i didn't want to do again, but they definitely put together a really nice product, and you could absolutely hide in plain sight.
It’s interesting to observe. Historically, churches were many, small, and deeply rooted in particular neighborhoods. The more traditional churches heavily emphasized service within the church itself and the surrounding neighborhood. Many churches still operate this way, but mega churches do not. They work on economy of scale: the typical visitor or member is much less involved than in a small church, but lots and lot…
Curious if members of HN attend any of these megachurches. If so, what is the draw?
Protestantism and capitalism is basically the same idea. Greed is, for lack of a better word, good.
Luther’s 95 theses literally condemn « indulgences » as promoting greed… I assume you were making a reference to Weber’s work (the Protestant ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism), which happened a few centuries later and has been heavily criticised and nuanced since.