Monday, September 15, 2008
The Charismatic Megachurch: An Endangered Species?
If you're a leader in a charismatic church and haven't seen the most recent study on megachurches, be forewarned: It's simultaneously intriguing, disheartening and reaffirming, depending on how you view church methodology and kingdom calling. Warren Bird and Scott Thumma's "Changes in American Megachurch," which tracked the country's largest churches for the past eight years, is definitely worth a glance, if only for cultural gleaning. Among the interesting (albeit somewhat predictable) finds:
Less than half as many megachurches today are identifying themselves as "charismatic" or "Pentecostal." In 2000, 14 percent chose to be tagged as "charismatic"; today, only 7 percent opt for such a billing. Likewise, 11 percent of megachurches kept their "Pentecostal" label; eight years later, that's down to 4 percent.
It would probably take another 100-page study to go into all the reasons for this, but I find it fascinating that when it comes to megachurches, the proven nationwide rise of Pentecostalism is seemingly having no effect. Earlier this year, George Barna himself wrote about this surge in our print pages. Obviously, this increased Spirit-filled population is going somewhere. Yet at the same time, megachurches continue to lean toward a melting pot of generic spirituality, making the charismatic/Pentecostal megachurch an endangered species. It seems the more people you have showing up to worship, the less pronounced you can be in declaring certain "extreme" elements of the Christian faith—at least not if you want to keep those people coming.
I've been to many megachurches with amazing ministries. Undoubtedly, these massive bodies can do certain things that smaller congregations can only dream of. So to that extend, they have an incredible purpose and function in the body at large. But as someone who admittedly doesn't yet understand how megachurches can truly "do" church the way we're called to in God's Word, I wonder: Are megachurch leaders sacrificing certain key elements of the Christian faith for the sake of numerical growth? Or are Spirit-filled pastors on the cusp of "megachurchdom" opting to dilute their message to appeal to a broader audience? Either way, one thing is clear: The "offensive" nature of charismatic belief causes problems when it comes to bigger Sunday crowds.
- In 2008, the typical megachurch had an average of 4,142 people attending each weekend, yet its sanctuary only seated 1,794—which leads to the next stat ...
- In 2008, 37 percent of megachurches were multisite, compared to only 22 percent in 2000.
- Most megachurches have at least two satellite campuses and average four services at each campus per weekend.
- Seventy-seven percent of megachurches are involved in church planting, compared to 68 percent in 2000 and 70 percent in 2005.
- The average income for a megachurch in 2008 was more than $6.5 million—up half a million from 2005, and an increase of almost $2 million since 2000. (It should be noted, however, that when considering inflation rates, $6.5 million actually equates to a slight decline in the last three years.)
- And in an interesting twist ... since 2000, 20 percent fewer megachurches now have a radio ministry, while 15 percent fewer are involved in a television ministry. The reason? Most megachurches are relying on the more affordable Web-based streaming to broadcast to the masses.
Less than half as many megachurches today are identifying themselves as "charismatic" or "Pentecostal." In 2000, 14 percent chose to be tagged as "charismatic"; today, only 7 percent opt for such a billing. Likewise, 11 percent of megachurches kept their "Pentecostal" label; eight years later, that's down to 4 percent.
It would probably take another 100-page study to go into all the reasons for this, but I find it fascinating that when it comes to megachurches, the proven nationwide rise of Pentecostalism is seemingly having no effect. Earlier this year, George Barna himself wrote about this surge in our print pages. Obviously, this increased Spirit-filled population is going somewhere. Yet at the same time, megachurches continue to lean toward a melting pot of generic spirituality, making the charismatic/Pentecostal megachurch an endangered species. It seems the more people you have showing up to worship, the less pronounced you can be in declaring certain "extreme" elements of the Christian faith—at least not if you want to keep those people coming.
I've been to many megachurches with amazing ministries. Undoubtedly, these massive bodies can do certain things that smaller congregations can only dream of. So to that extend, they have an incredible purpose and function in the body at large. But as someone who admittedly doesn't yet understand how megachurches can truly "do" church the way we're called to in God's Word, I wonder: Are megachurch leaders sacrificing certain key elements of the Christian faith for the sake of numerical growth? Or are Spirit-filled pastors on the cusp of "megachurchdom" opting to dilute their message to appeal to a broader audience? Either way, one thing is clear: The "offensive" nature of charismatic belief causes problems when it comes to bigger Sunday crowds.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Cute or Creepy?
