#mega-churches

Our bank was offering a new savings account with a better interest rate than the pitiful amount our current savings account was paying (far less than the inflation rate). This new account had apparently been available for two years, but our bank had not bothered to inform us of this. The bank had informed us about many other new services over those two years but not the one that might actually be…

Visiting Small Church America – Antioch Baptist Church – Aubrey, Texas

I usually do not write about specific churches in my blog. A stop by a historical small church in the countryside to take a picture gave me something to write about.

My wife Gracie and I decided to take a Sunday drive a couple of weeks ago across the county when we ran across a small church on the outskirts of Aubrey, a small Texas town. Driving past on a small county road we spotted an old…

Via Charles Garnaat

By Philip Sherwell, New York9:00PM BST 26 Oct 2013 They live in opulent mansions, enjoy the company of beautiful women, drive flashy sports cars, proudly sport their clunky gold jewellery and heavy tattoos and revel in their celebrity status. They also…

American megachurches use stagecraft, sensory pageantry, charismatic leadership and an upbeat, unchallenging vision of Christianity to provide their congregants with a powerful emotional religious experience, according to research from the University of Washington. Megachurch services feature a come-as-you-are atmosphere, rock music, and what Wellman calls a "multisensory mélange" of visuals and other elements to stimulate the senses, as well as small-group participation and a shared focus on the message from a charismatic pastor. The researchers hypothesized that such rituals are successful in imparting emotional energy in the megachurch setting -- "creating membership feelings and symbols charged with emotional significance, and a heightened sense of spirituality," they wrote.

Conrad Mbewe highlights a growing trend in parts of Africa for churches to be built around personalities rather than Jesus Christ. Perhaps the saddest quote to me in his post is:

Evidently, this junk originated from mega-churches in the USA and then found ready soil in West Africa, and especially in Nigeria. 

The American church, through God's grace has certainly sent out many Christ-centered missionaries over the years who faithfully shared the gospel. However, we've also been responsible for exporting some very harmful, if not heretical beliefs as well.