They're in a very strange spot. Kind of a mix of mainstream and fringe. Take Joel Osteen for instance, because I know the most about him, most of what he "teaches" is just feel-good self-help stuff. He mostly makes people feel better about themselves, without actually saying much specific about anything. This allows his "church" to have a broad appeal; not just to people who actually attend, but to people in other churches who might buy his books, or otherwise pay attention to what he's selling. Osteen has a huge influence on a lot of people. Similar to how Trump says stuff and lets his audience fill in their own version of the truth, Osteen does some very similar things when speaking. People hear what they want to hear when Osteen speaks, because most of the time he avoids saying anything but general positivity. He's like the generic happy feelgood version of Trump's generic vitriol. Speak vaguely enough with conviction, and a fanatical audience will fill in the gaps to suit their own preferred narrative.Are megachurches mainstream anything? I thought those were pretty fringe, like faith healers.
I guess I'm not one of them because I think Christianity will weather this just fine and I'd need it explained to me why this one megachurch's fall would have a severe impact on the religion at large.I'm a bit hesitant to open this up for discussion, but there's several on these boards who may realize the impact this has on mainstream Christianity.
I was gonna say... this has been my observation as well. There's a big push for churches to become all-in-one community centers these days, with events and programs for people to do there even when mass isn't being held. So you do tend to see a lot of larger churches with attached accoutrements. They are less like the mega churches in the past though, where it was basically just a giant building for someone to televise sermons from.There are a lot of megachurches in the Midwest.
Osteen's "church" in Houston is the former Summit arena. Hard to have a sense of community in a sea of 10,000+ others.They are less like the mega churches in the past though, where it was basically just a giant building for someone to televise sermons from.
Well, one was created by the other. Which side is which depending on your beliefs.Christianity isn't the problem, Humanity is.
I volunteered at one two weeks ago. It blew my mind how large in size, both in physical size and outreach potential it was. The program, Day for Hope, had all sorts of things in multiple buildings and floors. They provided free backpacks, clothes, school supplies, giant family-sized bags of free groceries, free family portraits (it was explained that many people coming to the event never had a family photo done before), pregnancy services (free formula/diapers/clothes/housing assistance until the child is at least 1 years of age), free medical care (ears/eyes/diabetes), Dental (my part) which included teaching children how to properly brush, checking for cavities, checking for gingivitis, giving them a referral for the public health clinic to get any problems worked on, and a free fluoride treatment. All this in addition to another dozen things I didn't have time to see. Id say we saw a few hundred people in our few hours there, vast majority were minorities, and a solid three quarters had no English-speaking ability and we had a ton of volunteer translators that followed them to each place. It was nice to see them using their money and outreach for something really positive.I was gonna say... this has been my observation as well. There's a big push for churches to become all-in-one community centers these days, with events and programs for people to do there even when mass isn't being held. So you do tend to see a lot of larger churches with attached accoutrements. They are less like the mega churches in the past though, where it was basically just a giant building for someone to televise sermons from.
All I'm saying is, we have the Catholics, the LDS, the Calvary, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Willow Creek, The Boy Scouts, Michigan State Universtiy and their pedophile doctor, USC and their rapist gynecologist, Baylor's Title IX rape scandal, football teams around the country, basketball teams around the country, correctional facilities, police departments - all of these organizations have seen serious rape, pedophilia, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual discrimination problems. Every single one of them. So we can't say it's a religion problem - it's way more widespread than that. It's not a nationality problem - the US is far from the only country with massive problems with rape and sexual assault, look at India, it's almost daily news over there that some kid or tourist has been brutally gang raped to death by a group of people. It certainly isn't an education-level problem - most LE positions may not require a college degree, but gynecologists and the priesthood certainly do. It isn't an age issue - some of the pedophile priests have been in their 70s and still committing crimes and in sports teams all around the country kids haze each other to the (sometimes) inclusion of ramming broom handles up the new guy's ass. Hell! It came out a couple years back that at least one college football team has a habit of trying to ram their fingers up the asses of the opposing team after each play so that their opponents will be spooked.Well, one was created by the other. Which side is which depending on your beliefs.
I know that there are churches out there that do a lot of good. I am glad to hear it. I do not attend church now, and can't really see myself doing so regularly anymore, but I can't bring myself to condemn the whole group b/c I know there are still those doing good things.I volunteered at one two weeks ago. I It was nice to see them using their money and outreach for something really positive.
I would hope this would have an impact on Christianity at large. Specifically, I hope it encourages more Christians to support the #MeToo movement, and to recognize that it's a problem even within Christian churches. I personally know a woman who was sexually harassed by her pastor. This happened at a very small protestant church, and I imagine many people know of similar stories.I guess I'm not one of them because I think Christianity will weather this just fine and I'd need it explained to me why this one megachurch's fall would have a severe impact on the religion at large.
I did read the article. I'm hoping that this big news story will make people think twice about what might be going on in their own church, rather than just dismissing it. Most people in a congregation woudln't believe their pastor capable of such a thing, regardless of church size. They're likely to dismiss allegations against elders, deacons, and other laity as well.@figmentPez - that's pretty much what happened at Willow Creek, but the scale is much larger, and it appears it involved a larger issue: no one believed that the founding pastor of a huge church with thousands upon thousands of members could do something like what was alleged.