"Church chief blasts megachurches"
The gist of the following article (taken from The Age website) was curiously (I thought) on the front page of The West Australian last week:
Church chief blasts megachurches
By Porto Alegre, Brazil
February 22, 2006 - 3:49PM
The head of the World Council of Churches has expressed concern about the spread of megachurches around the world, such as Hillsong in Sydney, saying they could lead to a Christianity that is "two miles long and one inch deep."
WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia said megachurches - huge Protestant churches with charismatic pastors, lively music and other services - mostly ran on a business model to make worshipers feel good and were shallow in their theology.
Megachurches, which pack in thousands for rousing Sunday worship services, are popular in suburbs in the United States. Most are evangelical or Pentecostal, with few or no ties to mainline churches such as the Lutherans or Episcopalians.
Kobia said the megachurch movement, which is not represented in the mostly mainline Protestant or Orthodox World Council of Churches, broke down borders among denominations with a populist message.
"It has no depth, in most cases, theologically speaking, and has no appeal for any commitment," the Kenyan Methodist told Reuters at the WCC world assembly in this Brazilian city.
The megachurches simply wanted individuals to feel good about themselves, he said.
"It's a church being organised on corporate logic. That can be quite dangerous if we are not very careful, because this may become a Christianity which I describe as 'two miles long and one inch deep'."
Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the 400 million member World Evangelical Alliance, said at the assembly that "historical and deeply-felt issues" separated them from other branches of Christianity.
The largest US megachurches attract some 20,000 worshipers every Sunday. Abroad, megachurches have also sprouted up in Australia, South Korea, Britain, Canada, and other countries.
According to a report by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, there were 1,210 US churches drawing more than 2,000 worshipers, the official minimum for a megachurch. That was double the number in 2000.
The WCC groups nearly 350 Protestant and Orthodox churches that mostly broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the Great Schism of 1054 or in the 16th century Reformation.
- Reuters
Observations:
Church chief blasts megachurches
By Porto Alegre, Brazil
February 22, 2006 - 3:49PM
The head of the World Council of Churches has expressed concern about the spread of megachurches around the world, such as Hillsong in Sydney, saying they could lead to a Christianity that is "two miles long and one inch deep."
WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia said megachurches - huge Protestant churches with charismatic pastors, lively music and other services - mostly ran on a business model to make worshipers feel good and were shallow in their theology.
Megachurches, which pack in thousands for rousing Sunday worship services, are popular in suburbs in the United States. Most are evangelical or Pentecostal, with few or no ties to mainline churches such as the Lutherans or Episcopalians.
Kobia said the megachurch movement, which is not represented in the mostly mainline Protestant or Orthodox World Council of Churches, broke down borders among denominations with a populist message.
"It has no depth, in most cases, theologically speaking, and has no appeal for any commitment," the Kenyan Methodist told Reuters at the WCC world assembly in this Brazilian city.
The megachurches simply wanted individuals to feel good about themselves, he said.
"It's a church being organised on corporate logic. That can be quite dangerous if we are not very careful, because this may become a Christianity which I describe as 'two miles long and one inch deep'."
Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the 400 million member World Evangelical Alliance, said at the assembly that "historical and deeply-felt issues" separated them from other branches of Christianity.
The largest US megachurches attract some 20,000 worshipers every Sunday. Abroad, megachurches have also sprouted up in Australia, South Korea, Britain, Canada, and other countries.
According to a report by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, there were 1,210 US churches drawing more than 2,000 worshipers, the official minimum for a megachurch. That was double the number in 2000.
The WCC groups nearly 350 Protestant and Orthodox churches that mostly broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the Great Schism of 1054 or in the 16th century Reformation.
- Reuters
Observations:
- What could possibly have been the motive to have this article published on the front page of a State newspaper? WA is no where near (thank goodness) the US Bible Belt in terms of "religious zealotry" [I use that term with great respect (if that is indeed possible)];
- The tagline says "by Porto Alegre". Um. That is actually the name of the place in Brazil where the WCC assembly was held...
- As for the gist of the article itself...I'm inclined to agree. I've never felt particularly comfortable attending "megachurches". I've often felt as if I was stepping into some "brainwashing" propaganda machinery. The congregation there are just too happy; like, almost drug-fucked. (OK I probably shouldn't be swearing in a blog about the Church. But it seemed the most apt choice of word to use). And, as for the preaching/sermon itself, I've often felt it was superficial, overly simplistic, showy, and essentially devoid of intellectual rigour and inquiry.
I am particularly uneasy about the corporatisation of these Churches. Have a look at this "Leadership College" website of a local "megachurch" here in Perth. The College offers a 1 year Certificate IV in Ministry and a 2 year Diploma of Ministry. They even take in overseas students.