Televangelist Robert Schuller is dead. As far as TV preachers go, he seemed a cut above the uber-fundamentalist, hellfire-and-brimstone grifters, despite the financial irregularities and bungled succession planning at his so-called Crystal Cathedral. But he was a megachurch pioneer, so he might have some explaining to do to Jesus about that.
I don’t have any use for church at all now, but I was dragged to enough of them as a yoot to have some inkling of the function they serve in their communities. My grandfather was a preacher, and he knew his parishioners, and they knew each other. At their best, churches offer a support network. How do megachurches do that?
The Walmartization of Christianity seems to be accelerating, at least around here. My sister lives down the road from a megachurch. It has a parking lot to rival a mall’s in scale, and if we’re going anywhere on Sundays or Wednesday evenings, we schedule our departure around the service release times so we don’t get stuck in a massive traffic jam.
In my little town, there was a small, non-denominational church that was around forever, and it seems to have been acquired by a megachurch in a neighboring town. Now they’re ripping up the lawn and laying the foundation for some monstrosity of a building that I feel certain will not only be an eyesore but a source of traffic issues that will overwhelm our single stoplight.
Are other religions experiencing a big-box retail outlet effect? Is there an upside?
Please feel free to discuss other topics too — this is an open thread.