Author: Martin Cramer
In these tough economic times, many people turn to spirituality for promise of better days to come. Here in California, due to our economy spiraling toward statewide bankruptcy, it makes sense – in a very, very twisted way – that we claim more “megachurches” than any other state in the nation. And, yes, that includes the deep south. These evangelical havens, which bring in thousands of worshipers every week, emphasize awesomeness over spirituality.
When the blaring bands and evangelical preachers quiet, what’s left is a hoard of vaguely informed people who have immersed themselves in a faith they may not understand. To make a perfect pair of commercialized faith, Christianity even has its own clothing brand, called Not of This World (NOTW). NOTW produces trendy sweatshirts, t-shirts, shoes, hats and whatever else a hip high-schooler could want to wear. The company does not overtly flaunt the religious aspect of their products’ design, although they claim that “loving Jesus” is the theme they wish to convey.
For instance, their Web site sports the tag line “Not of This World is an alternative lifestyle brand that goes beyond the norm.” It’s not until later – and in smaller print – that they actually say anything about Jesus. When I first started seeing NOTW slogans strewn about the streets, I thought it was the next Hot Topic, and I did not immediately connect that “Jesus” was an aspect of the brand. Their marketing plan seems to be hooking young, impressionable kids on the coolest new fashion, then telling them, “By the way, you love Jesus now!”
The thinking behind the creation of the megachurch follows in the same vein of greed and deceit. Instead of using hip NOTW fonts, the churches recruit congregates by promising cool, alternative Christianity – and it’s working horrifically well. More and more people are being drawn to these institutions.
The San Diego Rock opened in 2000, and since then has tripled in size, now entertaining over 12,000 people a week, according to the L.A. Times. That number completely undermines the intimacy of a congregation of like-minded, spiritually driven people that most genuine churches strive for. The megachurches have completely sensationalized Christianity, but they keep growing, spreading and thriving on misguided people – almost like a God-driven parasite.
The parasitic megachurches relentlessly reinforce the chokehold they have on our nation. There is even a Southern California Bible Belt now, a collection of suburban megachurch-goers who dwell between L.A. and San Diego. The megachurches can afford to widen that belt as much as they please, too. Forbes reported on the fiscal statistics of the Christian behemoths, stating that Lakewood Church in Houston, TX leased its property for 60 years from the city. For the first 30 years, which cost $13 million, they paid cash. This gross flaunting of cold, hard, Christian cash violates the religious teaching of poverty. In a secular sense, too, dropping millions of dollars in cash seems distasteful and self-indulgent.
California’s own Pastor Rick Warren, head of Orange County’s Saddleback Church, opened his first megachurch in 1980, and has since erected four more. He bases his preaching on a global reform plan he calls “attacking the global giants of poverty, disease, spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, and illiteracy.” But even a passing glance at the statistics of his megachurch chain exposes him as an utter fraud. CNN reports that his church has a budget of $39 million. That number should be nowhere near that large.
The megachurch’s self-serving leader Warren preaches battling spiritual emptiness and poverty, but instead funds weekly quilting classes and taco Tuesday nights at Saddleback. Clearly, the misappropriation of funds and half-hearted sentiments of Saddleback and its fellow megachurches promotes spiritual emptiness rather than fulfillment, hypocrisy rather than sincerity.
Warren and evangelical pastors like him prey on broken-spirited people in California, enticing them with promises of a better life and a solution to all their economic woes. The Saddleback’s Web site claims, “Get to know us, and you’ll find the resources and support you need to help you live the life God meant for you to live.” The megachurches have abolished the line between appropriately attracting congregates and intentionally deceiving them.
Marty Cramer is a sophomore ECLS major. He can be reached at cramer@oxy.edu.
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