Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered

Author : Wanjiru M. Gitau
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 211 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2018-10-16
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780830873746

Get Book

Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered by Wanjiru M. Gitau Pdf

Christianity Today 2019 Book of the Year Award, Missions/Global Church Building from a behind-the-scenes case study of Kenya's Nairobi Chapel and its "daughter" Mavuno Church, Wanjiru M. Gitau expands their story into a narrative that offers analysis of the rise, growth, and place of megachurches worldwide in the new millennium. In contexts experienced as deeply volatile, and on a continent reeling from the structural incoherence imposed in colonial times, megachurches provide a map of reality to navigate by, with the gospel as their primary compass. Gitau shows that recognizing the psychological, spiritual, and social destabilization of modernizing societies is the first step to valuing the place of megachurches in contemporary Christianity. Through analysis of social demography, theology, philosophy of ministry, leadership development, and strategy, Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered makes integral sense of the historical and social forces that give megachurches their growth opportunity, and reclaims them as a subject of serious theological conversation. This engaging account centers on the role of millennials in responding to the need for "a home for new generations" amid the dislocating transitions of globalization and postmodernity in postcolonial Africa and around the world. Gitau gleans practical wisdom for postdenominational churches everywhere (mega- and otherwise) from the lessons learned in Kenya's remarkable urban, evangelical renewal movement. Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.

Author : Scott Thumma,Dave Travis
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2007-08-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780787994679

Get Book

Beyond Megachurch Myths by Scott Thumma,Dave Travis Pdf

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 : Stephen J. Hunt
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2019-11-26
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004412927

Get Book

Handbook of Megachurches by Stephen J. Hunt Pdf

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 : Afe Adogame,Chad M. Bauman,Damaris Parsitau,Jeaney Yip
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 663 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2024-05-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781003861102

Get Book

The Routledge Handbook of Megachurches by Afe Adogame,Chad M. Bauman,Damaris Parsitau,Jeaney Yip Pdf

The Routledge Handbook of Megachurches provides a survey of global megachurch phenomena, with an international slate of authors introducing existing and emerging research on a wide variety of relevant topics. Over the past decade, the field of megachurch studies has matured and become global in its scope and orientation. The Handbook offers 33 chapters by top scholars in the field, focusing in particular on: The location, demographic nature, and transnational connections of megachurches. Megachurch worship, hermeneutics, and theology (in theory and practice). Megachurch institutional dynamics. The various ways that megachurches have both influenced and been influenced by their social contexts in terms of class, age, gender, sexuality, and pop culture. The Handbook's interdisciplinary orientation makes it essential reading for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, media specialists, pop culture observers, business strategists, leadership consultants, marketing analysts, scholars of religion, and Christian historians, theologians, and missiologists. Experienced scholars of megachurches will gain valuable insight into aspects of megachurch research beyond their own specializations. Scholars new to the field will find the chapters useful as signposts for where to begin their own academic exploration. Christian pastors and laypeople will learn more about this increasingly prominent and influential form of their faith.

Author : Mark J. Cartledge,Sarah Dunlop,Heather Buckingham,Sophie Bremner
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 405 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2019-06-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004402652

Get Book

Megachurches and Social Engagement by Mark J. Cartledge,Sarah Dunlop,Heather Buckingham,Sophie Bremner Pdf

This book explores the nature and significance of social engagement by megachurches using Anglican and African diaspora Pentecostal case studies. It describes the range of social engagement activities, offering explanations in term of theological motivations and the influence of globalisation.

Author : Mark A. Lamport
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 581 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2022-02-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781538138816

Get Book

The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Contemporary Christianity in the United States by Mark A. Lamport Pdf

This one-volume handbook examines Christianity’s contributions to and conflicts with the contemporary culture of the postmodern United States. Chapters present historical, cultural, and theological context for the ways conservative, mainline, and evangelical Christian traditions have influenced and responded to modern life.

Author : James Wellman Jr.,Katie Corcoran,Kate Stockly
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 353 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2020-01-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780190065102

Get Book

High on God by James Wellman Jr.,Katie Corcoran,Kate Stockly Pdf

"God is like a drug, a high, [I] can't wait for the next hit." This direct quote from a megachurch member speaking about his experience of God might be dismissed as some sort of spiritually-induced drug riff. However, according to the research in this book, it was not only sincere, but a deeply felt, and sought-after sensibility. Megachurch attendees desire this first-hand experience of God, and many report finding it in their congregations. The book focuses on the emotional, social and religious dynamics that pull thousands of people into megachurches and how those churches make some feel like they are "high on God" and can't wait to get their next spiritual "hit." High on God gives the first robust and plausible explanation for why megachurches have conquered the churchgoing market of America. Without condescension or exaggeration, the authors show the genius of megachurches: the power of charisma, the design of facilities, the training of leaders, the emotional dynamics, and the strategies that bring people together and lead them to serve and help others. Using Emile Durkheim's concept of homo duplex, the authors plot the strategies that megachurches employ to satisfy the core human craving for personal meaning and social integration, as well as personal identity and communal solidarity. The authors also show how these churches can go wrong, sometimes tragically so. But they argue that, for the most part, megachurches help their attendees find themselves through bonding with and serving others.

Author : Nimi Wariboko,Adeshina Afolayan
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781725266353

Get Book

African Pentecostalism and World Christianity by Nimi Wariboko,Adeshina Afolayan Pdf

In the last fifty years, the history of World Christianity has been disproportionally shaped, if not defined, by African Pentecostalism. The objective of this volume is to investigate and interrogate the critical junctures at which World Christianity invigorates and is invigorated by African Pentecostalism. The essays of the thinkers gathered here examine the general relationships between World Christianity and Africa and the specific interplays between World Christianity and African Pentecostalism. Scholars from multiple disciplines, continents, and countries evaluate how the theological scholarship and missional works of eminent African intellectual Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu have contributed to the scholarly understanding of how Global Christianity has been mediated by its reception in Africa. They also investigate how African Pentecostalism has been shaped by its contact with the diverse forms of Christianity in Africa and the rest of the world. With contributions from: Opoku Onyinah Harvey C. Kwiyani Kirsteen Kim Craig S. Keener Charles Prempeh Kenneth R. Ross Trevor H. G. Smith Vivian Dzokoto Chammah J. Kaunda Felix Kang Esoh Patrick Kofi Amissah Caleb Nyanni Marleen de Witte Oluwaseun Abimbola Philomena Njeru Nwaura Faith Lugazia Dietrich Werner Allan H. Anderson

Author : Darren T. Duerksen,William A. Dyrness
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2019-10-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780830872428

Get Book

Seeking Church by Darren T. Duerksen,William A. Dyrness Pdf

New expressions of church that are proliferating among Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and other non-Christian religious communities, including so-called insider movements, have raised intense discussion in missiological circles. In Seeking Church, Darren Duerksen and William Dyrness address these issues by exploring how all Christian movements have been and are engaged in a "reverse hermeneutic," where the gospel is read and interpreted through existing cultural and religious norms. Duerksen and Dyrness draw on the growing social-scientific work on emergent theory—the concept that social communities arise over time in ways that reflect specific historical and cultural dynamics. This is a missiological process, they argue, in which God has always worked through people and their culture to shape his witness in the world. They illustrate emergent theory through historical and contemporary case studies and consider the church's contextualized nature by exploring biblical models of the church, worship practices as emergent, and ecclesial markers that identify emerging churches and their distinctive witness. For missiologists, theologians, practitioners, and all who ponder the challenge and opportunities of mission among other religious communities, Seeking Church offers a multidisciplinary conceptual framework with which to understand the global diversity of the body of Christ. The Spirit is constantly drawing people toward God's community, causing new expressions of church to emerge and thus displaying new facets of his work and character. Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.

Author : Martina Björkander
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 506 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2024-02-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004682436

Get Book

Worship, Ritual, and Pentecostal Spirituality-as-Theology by Martina Björkander Pdf

Vibrant worship music is part of the Charismatic liturgy all around the world, and has become in many ways the hallmark of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. Despite its centrality, scholarly interest in the theological and ritual significance of worship for pentecostal spirituality has been sparse, not least in Africa. Combining rich theoretical and theological insight with an in-depth case study of worship practices in Nairobi, Kenya, this interdisciplinary study offers a significant contribution to knowledge and is bound to influence scholarly discussions for years to come. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in Pentecostal worship, ritual, and spirituality.

Author : Andrew Eugene Barnes
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 694 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2024-05-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9783031482700

Get Book

The Palgrave Handbook of Christianity in Africa from Apostolic Times to the Present by Andrew Eugene Barnes Pdf

Author : Stephen Ellingson
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 261 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2008-09-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780226204925

Get Book

The Megachurch and the Mainline by Stephen Ellingson Pdf

Religious traditions provide the stories and rituals that define the core values of church members. Yet modern life in America can make those customs seem undesirable, even impractical. As a result, many congregations refashion church traditions so they may remain powerful and salient. How do these transformations occur? How do clergy and worshipers negotiate which aspects should be preserved or discarded? Focusing on the innovations of several mainline Protestant churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, Stephen Ellingson’s The Megachurch and the Mainline provides new understandings of the transformation of spiritual traditions. For Ellingson, these particular congregations typify a new type of Lutheranism—one which combines the evangelical approaches that are embodied in the growing legion of megachurches with American society’s emphasis on pragmatism and consumerism. Here Ellingson provides vivid descriptions of congregations as they sacrifice hymns in favor of rock music and scrap traditional white robes and stoles for Hawaiian shirts, while also making readers aware of the long history of similar attempts to Americanize the Lutheran tradition. This is an important examination of a religion in flux—one that speaks to the growing popularity of evangelicalism in America.

Author : Karl Vaters
Publisher : Moody Publishers
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2024-04-02
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780802499875

Get Book

De-sizing the Church by Karl Vaters Pdf

Big churches didn’t create the problems facing today’s congregations. But our obsession with size has come at a great cost. We’re obsessed with bigness. Supersized meals and TV screens. Square footage. And big churches. “What’s the size of your church?” That question has stirred insecurities or stroked the ego of too many pastors. For a long time, we thought bigger was better. “Church growth” and “numbers” dominated our thoughts and conversations. But more than ever, people are feeling disconnected. Trust in the church is dwindling. In De-sizing the Church, pastor Karl Vaters takes us on a multi-faceted journey through our centuries-long obsession with size, both in and outside the church, and how it has negatively affected those who serve and worship in big and small congregations alike. He also dispels some prevailing myths and affirms what was good and true about the Church Growth Movement. And he invites us to consider how removing church size from the equation can be an essential element in rebuilding trust, restoring relationships, and renewing our spiritual lives. This book reframes the way we see the size of our churches and helps us see health and fruitfulness through de-sized lenses. The result? Renewed congregations that reach surrounding communities and faithfully engage culture.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 326 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2024-03-11
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004692206

Get Book

Handbook of Rituals in Contemporary Studies of Religion by Anonim Pdf

This book brings together leading international scholars with the aim of exploring ritual perspectives in the study of contemporary religions. It combines significant theoretical and methodological reflections and applies it to four main fields relevant to the study of contemporary religions: indigeneity; new spiritualities and ecology; lived religion (with Islam and Africa as case studies); and finally, religion and embodiment. The structure and content of the book takes its point of departure from the research topics and collegial network of the internationally acclaimed scholar of ritual studies, Professor Anne-Christine Hornborg. The book is dedicated to her.

Author : Wanjiru M. Gitau,Mark A. Lamport
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2024-04-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781666726602

Get Book

Globalizing Linkages by Wanjiru M. Gitau,Mark A. Lamport Pdf

One of the important contemporary but unexplored themes for Christianity in Africa today is its ongoing connections to a broader Christian and non-Christian world. This is quite apart from the idea of mission connections or reverse mission from Africa to elsewhere, or any mission-themed global connection. In much existing scholarship, Africa seems to only have recently been drawn into the orbit of global relations, but there is a long-standing relationship with the wider world, people linking from different regions at different times for varied reasons. This volume explores the theme of two thousand years of connections--and how the global sensibility has shaped Christianity on the continent for two thousand years.