Ex-COG Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 About the time the indoor fireworks started to explode near the pulpit of Cornerstone Church in Nashville, Tennessee while confetti rained down alongside red, white, and blue balloons, it occurred to me that the thousands of people in attendance were in absolute ecstasy, their team had won. That’s because mega-churches in the south now have more in common with sporting events than they do the churches of my youth. Over the past fifteen years as churches have waged metaphorical war with a surrounding society they see as increasingly immoral, licentious and lewd, many mega churches have embraced videos, music, and even, yep, literal fireworks from the pulpit. It’s all an attempt to make churches relevant to a younger, media-saturated society that previously considered the church stilted and out-of-date. At times the show is so overwhelming you almost forget you’re even in a church at all. Cornerstone’s newest devotee is my dad, who was so moved by the first service he attended that he placed a twenty dollar bill in the offering bucket. This moved my mom to exclaim, “Your dad won’t give twenty dollars for anything.” Yet my dad was one of thousands of southerners who have found the muscular entertainment of southern Christianity to be an appealing option. My dad and mom had both been appealing to me to attend a service and their appeal finally won me over for Cornerstone’s Fourth of July service which bills itself as, “Nashville’s Largest Indoor Fireworks Show.” This phrase was so compelling that I accepted an invitation on the spot. Call it churchtainment or enterchurch or whatever garbled conglomeration of church and entertainment you’d like. Bottom line: it’s churchtastic. So I embarked upon the first ever Church Game Diary on Saturday July 1 of 2006. Read the rest at: Churchtastic Wow, hawking popcorn and cotton candy like at the ballpark; the minister is a former felon who served time for first degree murder; they say the pledge of allegiance during the service/performance; they then sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm (what's that got to do with Jesus?); indoor fireworks...whew! Church sure ain't what it used to be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceConvinced Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Sigh. Do they not realise that if the Holy Spirit really was doing it's job, they wouldn't need fireworks and all that other stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Well done piece of writing. I can't remember who said it, but some old preacher was asked how he got so many people to church and he answered, "I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn." Sounds like this preacher took him to heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookums Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I don't know whether I'd call it 'moderizing' thou'.......more like exploiting and using the old Snake Oil routine of the old, old days. Remember the best way to rile up the 'christian ' is to compare them to the 'on the road.......revival tent shows"....like the ones in that classic flim - Almer Gantry.......thats how I see them all. BIg TEnt shows! (i guess the audiences of these 'mega chruches' love the show - the hype...the same atmosphere as a huge rock concert'....) The big crowds help to enforce the idea...that the christian is right to believe what they do....?) Nothing new about an ex crim finding a good scam... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narcissist Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hypocrisy at its best, brainwashing at its worst. (or is that the other way around). I'm no psychologist but I think the old macdonald song has something to do with the brainwashing process - manipulating emotions, using the "madness of crowds" to get individuals to do something patently absurd, thereby bending their will to yours, etc. etc. Pastor Maury Davis confidently strides onto the stage and gives notice to the politicians in the audience. The Lt. Gov. of Tennessee, John Wilder, is on the front row and a candidate for Nashville’s Mayor, Buck Dozier, is on the back row. Each stands and waves to the crowd as the spotlight brightens them.Luke 20:46,47 As I read the article, I realised mid-LOL that these are the people who determine US foreign policy, among other things, every 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 As fast as these megachurches keep adding to their program doesn't it seem like people will burnout on it all rather quickly though? The fireworks are great now but then what? People will expect something even better next week then the week after that. Then the costs will go through the roof and as much as they draw there is a limit to what people will tithe. So like the empty anchor store at the dead mall can we expect to see empty, useless, megachurches around town that eventually turn into 99 cent stores? mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 As I read the article, I realised mid-LOL that these are the people who determine US foreign policy, among other things, every 4 years. Yeah, and it's scary just how orginized they have become. Madison Avenue may actually be the ticket to making the American Taliban a reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Are indoor fireworks legal in TN? I'd think they would be too much of a fire hazard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonHorn Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 So like the empty anchor store at the dead mall can we expect to see empty, useless, megachurches around town that eventually turn into 99 cent stores? I like the idea but I see it going the other way around me. The Rockets move out of the Compaq Center in Houston and Lakewood Church moves in. And there are once-vacant grocery stores that have been converted into churches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosingMyReligion Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 As I read the article, I realised mid-LOL that these are the people who determine US foreign policy, among other things, every 4 years. Yeah, and it's scary just how orginized they have become. Madison Avenue may actually be the ticket to making the American Taliban a reality. Now that is scary, because I can see it happening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infidel666 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Ahhh Mega churches. Boy that hits a fuckin nerve for me. Christians so fucking proud of their churches and the money that gets pissed away every week. Driving their bmw's, mercedes and expeditions. While children starve to death just around the corner. I don't know what bible they use but it isn't the one I read. (silly me, never mind, christians don't read the bible) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minstrel Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 ...the minister is a former felon who served time for first degree murder... I think I know this guy. He used to date my sister (engaged, then broke it off), in Dallas/Irving. Was a stalwart at the megachurch she attended there...(I think it's Calvary Assembly of God... J Don George, Pastor)... Oh yeah, he is held up as a bright and shining star on TBN and the gamut. Boy, I've been involved in so much of that, it isn't even funny. Gimmicks. Patriotism. Historical rewrites... Just remembering it feels like being immersed in a pool of sewage. Hey...thanks for the update, though. Glad to know nothing has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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