{"id":6354,"date":"2010-05-24T06:20:21","date_gmt":"2010-05-24T06:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2010\/05\/in-defense-of-megachurches.html"},"modified":"2010-05-24T06:20:21","modified_gmt":"2010-05-24T06:20:21","slug":"in-defense-of-megachurches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/05\/in-defense-of-megachurches.html","title":{"rendered":"In Defense of Megachurches"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WillowCreek.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>The Baylor Survey of Religion studied megachurches, criticisms of megachurches, and whether or not the criticisms were right. You can find the study here: Rodney Stark, What Americans Really Believe<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong><\/em>. I should fess up right away: Kris and I, as well as Laura and Mark (our daughter and her husband), are Willow Creekers. I may be biased, but Rodney Stark’s book is not. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
What is the truth about megachurches? Do you lose what so many say you lose? What is the gain in the smaller congregation?
<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Here are the facts…<\/p>\n
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The standard criticisms, voiced by theologians and pastors and postmoderns, include that it’s a Disneyland experience, anonymous, lacking in intimacy, lacking a sense of sin, overly concerned with consumer happiness … thus, lacking authenticity, commitment, intimacy of small congregations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Baylor study compared churches over 1000 with churches under 100.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Do they focus on the “bright side of life”? Yes, 92% vs. 79% believe in heaven and 85% vs. 53% think they will go there. 57% vs. 46% think God honors faithfulness with success.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Do they include the “dark side” as well? Yes, 90% vs. 69% believe in hell and 72% vs. 67% think God is angered by human sin.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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But what about commitment measures? 46% vs. 39% attend services weekly; 46% v. 36% tithe; 33% vs. 32% read Bible daily; and 52% vs. 43% attend a Bible-study group. And members of megachurches are more inclined to have religious experiences: 67% vs. 39% measure “high.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What about intimacy?  41% of megachurch members have half or more of their friends at their church vs. 25%, while 12% in megachurches have no friends vs. 22% in small churches.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Outreach? 83% vs. 52% shared faith with friends in last month vs. 52%; 53% with strangers vs. 35%.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Volunteerism? Are megachurches “gated communities”?  40% did volunteer in the community that was not a part of the church vs. 31%, and 18% vs. 9% participated in faith-based programs not affiliated with the church.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Age? Big one here. <\/div>\n
70 and older 6% megachurch vs. 12%<\/div>\n
50-59 26% megachurch vs. 35% smaller congregations<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Here’s what they say one loses if one moves into the smaller congregation:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
1. Inspiring sounds of thousands singing, large and talented choirs, etc<\/div>\n
2. What they find is that the faithful band is old, small and getting smaller.<\/div>\n
3. They lose spreading the Good Tidings to others.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Baylor Survey of Religion studied megachurches, criticisms of megachurches, and whether or not the criticisms were right. You can find the study here: Rodney Stark, What Americans Really Believe  . I should fess up right away: Kris and I, as well as Laura and Mark (our daughter and her husband), are Willow Creekers. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Defense of Megachurches - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/05\/in-defense-of-megachurches.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Defense of Megachurches - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Baylor Survey of Religion studied megachurches, criticisms of megachurches, and whether or not the criticisms were right. 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