Beyond Megachurch Myths PDF Download

Author: Scott Thumma
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0787994677
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Drawing on extensive, broad-based, and well-designed research, as well as stories and anecdotes, Beyond Megachurch Myths dispels popluar myths about megachurches while highlighting the diversity within the megachurch phenomenon. Defining a megachurch as a Protestant church that averages at least 2000 total attendees in their weekend services, Scott Thumma and Dave Travis reveal what these churches are and are not, why they are thriving, what their members say about their experiences, and why they have many valuable lessons to teach smaller churches.

Author: Scott Thumma
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 0759115060
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 471

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Book Description
Conflicts over homosexuality and gay rights threaten to break apart denominations, if not North American society. These heated theological and political debates have, as well, obscured the fact that many gays and lesbians are religiously active individuals. Gay Religion is the first book to give a straightforward presentation of the spiritual lives, practices and expressions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender. Drawing from a wide range of religious traditions, new and established scholars explore the range of gay religious expression in denominations, sects, and even outside recognized religious institutions. The essays ask what these religious innovations mean to the continually evolving religious environment of North America. With its helpful section introductions and an appendix providing profiles of organizations involved, Gay Religion is a unique and compelling resource for anyone interested in homosexuality and American religion.

Author: Jill Stevenson
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472118730
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
In Sensational Devotion, Jill Stevenson examines a range of evangelical performances, including contemporary Passion plays, biblical theme parks, Holy Land re-creations, creationist museums, and megachurches, to understand how they serve their evangelical audiences while shaping larger cultural and national dialogues. Such performative media support specific theologies and core beliefs by creating sensual, live experiences for believers, but the accessible, familiar forms they take and the pop culture motifs they employ also attract nonbelievers willing to “try out” these genres, even if only for curiosity’s sake. This familiarity not only helps these performances achieve their goals, but it also enables them to contribute to public dialogue about the role of religious faith in America. Stevenson shows how these genres are significant and influential cultural products that utilize sophisticated tactics in order to reach large audiences comprised of firm believers, extreme skeptics, and those in between. Using historical research coupled with personal visits to these various venues, the author not only critically examines these spaces and events within their specific religious, cultural, and national contexts, but also places them within a longer devotional tradition in order to suggest how they cultivate religious belief by generating vivid, sensual, affectively oriented, and individualized experiences.

Author: Bryan D. Spinks
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 0898696771
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Religion today is in competition with the leisure and entertainment industries. Gen Y, the postmodern generation, is open to spirituality; but most of todays young adults have not been born into faith communities where they feel any lasting allegiance. Studies suggest that for the young, belief in God is an optional matter, a virtual consumer choice. As a result, different trends in worship and worship styles are offered by different churches to suit lifestyles, attitudes, and personal taste.

Author: James K. Wellman
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199827710
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
High on God offers a fascinating study of the rise of megachurches and the reasons that these churches have conquered the American church market. The authors reveal the emotional and social dynamics that pull thousands of people into megachurches and keep them there.

Author: Mark J. Cartledge
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004402659
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
This book is the first detailed academic study of megachurches in the UK. In particular, it explores the nature and significance of social engagement by megachurches in the context of London. The research contains empirical case studies of two Anglican and three African diaspora Pentecostal churches. As well as exploring the range of social engagement activities provided by these churches, the study offers explanations in term of theological motivations and the influence of globalisation. Subsequently, the book outlines the importance of the findings for the relationship between church and society in the contemporary context, addressing the implications for social policy and practice. The book advances discussions in public theology, megachurch studies, Pentecostal and Charismatic studies and ecclesiology.

Author: Jinbong Kim
Publisher: William Carey Publishing
ISBN: 0878086897
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
Megachurches are of relatively recent vintage. Their numerical strength invests them with social and financial power. To whom, if anyone, however, are megachurches accountable? What role do they play as innovators in missions? How have their enormous influence and financial strength been harnessed? What lessons can be learned? What course corrections ought to be made? Over the course of a week, the third meeting of the Korean Global Mission Leadership Forum (KGMLF), held in Korea in 2015, addressed these and related questions. Combining the insights of a rich mix of Korean and international megachurch leaders and scholars, Megachurch Accountability in Missions: Korean and Global Case Studies offers analysis, critique, and positive recommendations for future megachurch engagement in mission.

Author: Larry Osborne
Publisher: Multnomah
ISBN: 1601421508
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
In this delightfully personal and practical book, respected Bible teacher Larry Osborne confronts ten widely held beliefs that are both dumb and dangerous. People don’t set out to build their faith upon myths and spiritual urban legends. But somehow such falsehoods keep showing up in the way that many Christians think about life and God. These goofy ideas and beliefs are assumed by millions to be rock-solid truth... until life proves they’re not. The sad result is often a spiritual disaster: confusion, feelings of betrayal, a distrust of Scripture, loss of faith, anger toward both the church and God. But it doesn’t have to be so. Respected Bible teacher Larry Osborne confronts ten widely held beliefs that are both dumb and dangerous, including: • Faith can fix anything • God brings good luck • Forgiving means forgetting • Everything happens for a reason • A godly home guarantees good kids Get ready to be shocked, relieved, and inspired in the pages of Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. Because the truth is meant to set us free—not hurt us.

Author: Stephen J. Hunt
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004412921
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
The megachurch is an exceptional recent religious trend, certainly within Christian spheres. Spreading from the USA, megachurches now reached reach different global contexts. The edited volume Handbook of Megachurches offers a comprehensive account of the subject from various academic perspectives.

Author: Justin G. Wilford
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814770932
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
In an era where church attendance has reached an all-time low, recent polling has shown that Americans are becoming less formally religious and more promiscuous in their religious commitments. Within both mainline and evangelical Christianity in America, it is common to hear of secularizing pressures and increasing competition from nonreligious sources. Yet there is a kind of religious institution that has enjoyed great popularity over the past thirty years: the evangelical megachurch. Evangelical megachurches not only continue to grow in number, but also in cultural, political, and economic influence. To appreciate their appeal is to understand not only how they are innovating, but more crucially, where their innovation is taking place. In this groundbreaking and interdisciplinary study, Justin G. Wilford argues that the success of the megachurch is hinged upon its use of space: its location on the post-suburban fringe of large cities, its fragmented, dispersed structure, and its focus on individualized spaces of intimacy such as small group meetings in homes, which help to interpret suburban life as religiously meaningful and create a sense of belonging. Based on original fieldwork at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, one of the largest and most influential megachurches in America,Sacred Subdivisionsexplains how evangelical megachurches thrive by transforming mundane secular spaces into arenas of religious significance.