Jesus Inc.

[sintax]

Jesus Inc.

Welcome to the world's biggest church. Feel good. Make money. Oh, and praise God. Andrew Buncombe joins the congregation

Published: 13 August 2005


Here are lights flashing, there is music pumping, there is dry ice fogging the air and everywhere you look there are people on their feet, clapping enthusiastically. There are people all around - to the front, to the sides, behind, above, below. People. More than you can count. People everywhere. Suddenly, amid all of this, on the stage in front, a full band emerges from a sunken riser, rocking out and swaying as the people clap and whoop. There is a choir dressed in purple and blue and they are clapping and swaying as well. It's 8.30 on a Sunday morning and we are here to praise the Lord.

"We know that God has good things in store for you. How many of you are ready to worship the Lord?" asks the young, besuited pastor, Joel Osteen, who takes to the stage with his wife, Victoria. The mighty roar of noise from the people indicates that we all are.

If religion is a numbers game, it may be that the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, has it all wrapped up. Amid the recent growth in the US of so-called "mega-churches" this non-denominational church, which started life in 1959 in a feed store, was recently listed as having the biggest congregation in the country. Every Sunday it draws around 30,000 people to the two morning services, in addition to a lunchtime Spanish-language service of 8,000 worshippers and a Wednesday evening service attended by around 10,000.

The numbers have got so big that last month the church moved premises and took up home in a stadium that previously hosted the Houston Rockets basketball team. The seats that were once full of sports fanatics are now filled with a different kind of worshipper; the choir and band sit directly behind where one of the hoops used to be. The church spent $95m to lease and refurbish the stadium, which now features two waterfalls. They spent $20m on the air-conditioning system alone.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article305229.ece

[silverweb]

1. Sickening.

If this has anything at all to do with spirituality, I'm the Queen of England.

Crass and nauseating.

[wli]

2. and I thought people complained about this in the 1980's

So much for progress. Straight down the toilet the country goes.

[AwakeAtLast]

3. This is entertainment!

Just think what kind of mission work $20m could do! :puke:

Somehow I don't think this is covered in a good light according to the Bible. :shrug: