Monday, May 6, 2024

It is the 6th of May 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you, I suppose… there is no joy in Clipperville what, with Luka Doncic complaining his way to fouls and 4 wins against the most disappointing team in professional sports.

But, we have a question from Rich in Escanaba, Michigan… if you haven’t looked at a map of America recently, just check out the upper Peninsula of Michigan- there is NO WAY this should be part of Michigan- it should be Wisconsin or Canada. Wild. Also, it was home to Roarin’ Dan Seavey- a timber pirate on the Great Lakes- a great story.

All right, Rich asks, “Are Megachurches an American phenomenon, and are they still growing?”. Ok, Rich… some fascinating stuff. In a sense, we could call the first Basilica and Cathedral the first megachurches- people would make a pilgrimage to some; they were either the seat of an archbishop or bishop or had some international reputation. The difference is that in the early modern and pre-reformation world, you went to your local parish. Churches didn’t advertise or try to “grow” in any superficial way because you went to your assigned church.

There’s an interesting story about a French Calvinist in the aftermath of the Edict of Nantes in 1598 who made plans to build the largest church in France- it would hold up to 10,000 people and both solidify the French Calvinist identity and intimidate any Catholics who would be awed by a church and congregation that size. The plans never came to fruition, as many thought it wasn’t right to criticize the Catholic Church for its use of money while building something so gaudy.

The seeds of the Mega Church started with George Whitefield, an Englishman and Evangelist from England who held out-of-door church meetings- unauthorized gatherings for preaching and singing. He was the first religious celebrity in America, and he led the way for the First Great Awakening. The next step towards the mega-church comes from the Second Great Awakening and Charles Finney- he promotes his meetings by sending flyers ahead of him in the big cities. He would take theaters and not only use their space but many of their methods. Depending on your doctrine of the church and worship, there might not be anything inherently wrong with this, but it can bring the temptations that come with fame and power. Of course, Aimee Semple Macpherson is going to make her Angelus Temple in Echo Park the hottest ticket (metaphorically) in Los Angeles in her day. Historians have then traced this through Billy Graham, Bill Hybels at Willow Creek, Robert Schuller at the Crystal Cathedral, and Rick Warren in my neck of the woods at Saddleback.  

So Rich, yes, it is something of an American tradition, but it has caught on around the world- the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul claims 480,000 worshippers a week.  

Are the megachurches growing? So- over the past twenty-five years, we have seen the megachurch- classified as a weekly attendance of 2000 people grow from 600 to 1600 pre-pandemic, but here’s the thing… post-pandemic, they have grown- their Hartford Institute numbers over 1800 today. This is wild as church attendance post-pandemic has plummeted. Pre-pandemic, the average church size was about 90, and it is now about 65- where have these 35 or so Christians gone? Many have left, but others have moved to megachurches. I am not a social scientist, but churches that can offer more and more in-person fellowship opportunities better fit the church model, which has grown since the 1970s and 80s towards consumerism. I’m not a doomer when it comes to this stuff- church numbers plummeting are, in some ways, the response to church inflation over the years when being a Christian was, for some, synonymous with being socially acceptable but not tied to a faith in the resurrected Jesus. And, as our numbers dip, they are growing elsewhere in the world. As for the “right size” of a church, I’m drawn to Eugene Peterson’s recommendation that it shouldn’t be so big that the pastors can’t know everyone's name. Sometimes, the draw of a megachurch is the anonymity it can give us, and that with the temptation of celebrity pastors doesn’t necessarily make me a skeptic of the megachurch, but we should note the inherent difficulties no matter what our church size or tradition. We all have to note our own pitfalls and blindspots. Thanks, Rich from what should be Wisconsin or Canada- you too can send me your question at danv@1517.org.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary, from 1 Timothy 6:

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of May 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by Christopher Gillespie, a man with a family that is bigger than some congregations.

The show is written and read by a man who missed his calling to be a timber pirate. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.