what is it about megachurches

[LeftWingPunk]

why is it that they are always on the outskirts of town? I'm from Des Moines originally and a lot of the megachurches I know of are in Dallas County, which is 15 miles west of downtown. I also know that Rick Warren's church is in Lake Forest, which is one of the more secluded parts of the LA area. Why not have churches that are closer to the majority of the populace? For instance if they were going to build a mega church in the DFW area, why not build one in downtown Dallas as opposed to McKinney or Frisco? I do realize that there isn't much room in the inner cities, but still.

[tanyev]

1. Because their target market is in the outlying suburbs.

[greencharlie]

18. it's mostly about the 'burbs.

they just breed THEM out there in the upper middle class suburbs. Ever BEEN to McKinney or Frisco?

[tanyev]

21. Oh, yeah. I live in Plano, very close to both.

McKinney and Frisco have now become what Plano used to be a couple decades ago.

[greencharlie]

25. lol@ Plano...

Stepford Wives production facility?

[tanyev]

2. dupe

[MissMarple]

3. Well, the land is more expensive so less money for salaries and buildings.

[Dappleganger]

4. In my city the megachurch IS downtown.

[arcane1]

6. There's a new one in Downtown Oakland, too

[Warpy]

11. In my city, it was built in the outermost suburbs

but those suburbs have grown and now it can almost be called inner city.

[msongs]

5. they are all about $$ and ego wanking for the operators so they go where they want best nt

[SheilaT]

7. As Miss Marple said, it's the cost of the land.

And mega churches are a relatively recent phenomena lately, but in somewhat older areas, as cities and suburbs have grown up around the huge churches, they are less and less close to the edge of the metropolitan areas. Also, most downtown areas, especially of most large cities, are rather lacking in people actually living there.

[Bluestar]

8. Lake Forest is in Orange County, a hugely-populated area of Los Angeles

The area manages to support a lot of mega-churches not just Rick Warren's. In California, a small suburb can be up to 200,000 population. Almost everyone in the OC is a Christian of some sort, many are fundamentalists.

[JuniperLea]

17. Don't forget the Crystal Cathedral...

Which is now heavily in the RED financially...

Crystal Cathedral in Calif. owes money to vendors
(AP) – Mar 25, 2010

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — The Crystal Cathedral megachurch, birthplace of the "Hour of Power" televangelist broadcast, owes tens of thousands of dollars for services provided for last year's holiday pageant, vendors said Thursday.

Administrators sent an e-mail to "Glory of Christmas" vendors saying the church is having "severe financial difficulties" and can't afford to pay them now.

A meeting between the vendors and church is set for next week.

The church, founded in the mid-1950s by Robert H. Schuller, is staggering under about $55 million in debt. Earlier this year it ordered major layoffs, cut the number of stations airing the "Hour of Power" and sold property to stay afloat.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grb6-ZlJF4gnhFM8Gocitg1Hu9HQD9ELUTBO0

I think that "cathedral" is horrid... I know people who give it a single digit salute every time we pass by...

[Ikonoklast]

23. This is the fate of all the 'cult of personality' megachurches.

Schuller is old-timey, and lost his marks to the newer, glitzier show-business production services.


They eventually all go this route.

Warren will end up the same way, after he finally gets older, and staler, and people lose interest in his 'message'.

[rufus dog]

9. Saddleback is about 50 miles from LA

Median income for the City of Lake Forest is 86k

Neighboring communities:

Rancho Santa Margarita - 95k
Mission Viejo - 93k
Coto de Caza - 136k
Irvine - 99k
Dove Canyon - 160k

A great many of the people in these communities rarely go to Los Angeles, if they do it is most likely for a Laker or SC game.

The reason they develop and thrive outside cities may begin to answer your question.

[Warpy]

10. They want rich butts in the seats

They don't want the people Jesus hung around with, the types that have to take mass transit to church. They want the ones that can drive their late model luxury cars 100 miles round trip without giving it a second thought.

Besides, land in the exurbs is cheaper, so it's a win-win situation for them.

[LeftWingPunk]

13. the original post isn't an indictment on Warren

he seems like a sane person who walks the walk so to speak. But it seems that its a disadvantage for people in the inner cities if they want to go to a church like that because of proximity and transportation. There are plenty of black people in the inner cities who are devout baptists who would enjoy going to mass at a megachurch.

[JuniperLea]

19. All I know about Warren is...

My uber RW Fundy bigoted racist Palin loving aunts ADORE him... that's enough for me. I read page one of his book and nearly barfed...

[Bluenorthwest]

20. Warren is a double speaking bigot

and his 'ministry' is to a suburban crowd over an hour's drive from the 'inner city'. Trust me, there are a lots of large, thriving churches in the actual city of Los Angeles, and there is no need for people to attend the priggish mister Warren's hate fest. Really.
And Baptists don't do mass, kiddo, not in the OC, not in L.A.

[Mari333]

27. Warren is a homophobic vitriolic pig.

[Cali_Democrat]

12. LOL....Lake Forest is in no way secluded

Not even close. Orange County is very densely populated.

[conscious evolution]

14. They follow the money

That way the preacher can collect a fat salary and the church can also avoid the mess of helping the poor.

[Atticus]

15. Uh-----if they located "closer to the majority of the populace", a good percentage of that

"populace" would be rich in melanin and poor in worldly goods and you KNOW how Jesus hated dark-skinned poor people.

Better to stick with Skip and Buffy in the 'burbs.

[kentauros]

16. I have no idea how many megachurches there are in and around Houston,

but Lakewood Church took over the former sports arena The Summit (aka, Compaq Center) some years back and it's in the heart of Houston, "inside the loop". On the south side of town, down near NASA-JSC, one of the megachurches erected a 137' tall cross, lit with spotlights at night. How they got away with that as near as it is to Ellington Field, I'll never know. I think they were even in a "competition" with a rival megachurch on who could build the biggest (or most obnoxious) mega-cross.

However, it's also interesting to note, that within all the suburban conservatism around here that there's also a very large Hindu Temple (Sri Meenakshi Temple) right in the middle of them all.
I have to wonder how badly the cons have reacted to it :evilgrin:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. Lakewood Church got a sweetheart lease deal from the City of Houston.

That cross sounds like a definite aviation hazard.

And I've been to that temple in Pearland. Very interesting place. There is an American lady there who gives tours. She married a man from India and converted.

There's also a white marble Hindu temple off of 59 (SW Freeway) near Stafford that is an international group of Shiva devotees. They speak Gujarat. The group acronym is BAPS.

I grew up in Houston so I'm used to being around different ethnic groups. However, I moved to the middle of nowhere in East Texas, and I wish I was impolite enough to tell people I go to the church of "Our Lady of None Of Your Goddamned Business".

:evilgrin:

[kentauros]

24. I suppose, being East Texas, you could always say you go to the Holy Survivalist Church

Or maybe the Church of Dale :evilgrin:

I remember reading somewhere that the Indian population of Houston is the second-largest in the country and possibly for the continent. SW Freeway at Hilcroft is India Central, so I don't doubt there being another Hindu temple down there :)

There's supposed to be a rather large Buddhist temple somewhere in town, too, but can't remember where it is. You have to have an appointment to visit it, if I remember correctly.

Oh, there's a Baptist megachurch just outside the loop at Voss and Woodway. They have their own school so they get a public-funded and maintained school zone, too. Here's a close-up of their "facilities":
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=29.757518,-95.499113&spn=0.004415,0.00832&t=h&z=18

[Manifestor_of_Light]

30. Megabaptist 2. Yes I know where it is.

They spent $38 million building their sanctuary some years ago.

Megabaptist 1 isn't too far away. It looks like a big generic office building at the corner of I-10 West and Loop 610.

Jade Buddha temple is off far west Bellaire, just past Dairy Ashford. It's a Mahayana temple. I have been there many times. They have meditation and discussion on Sunday mornings. I don't know about appointments for other times of day. They have a large hall with a large porcelain Buddha in it and a smaller hall with a thousand armed Kwan Yin, where the English speaking group meets.

There is also a temple that has various statues placed around the outer rim of the room, and you buy incense or a red candle. I think it's sort of a one stop shopping place for worship. They have Shakyamuni Buddha, Kwan Yin, and a bunch of other gods.

It'll be a cold day in Hell before Pimpleface Osteen does any meaningful charity work. He's not even properly trained as a minister.

[kentauros]

31. I'll have to look up that Buddhist temple.

I used to shop at the Chinese market out there (Diho Plaza) so I've probably passed it and didn't know. It sounds like a really nice and tranquil place :D

I wonder how the rich would react if their church was small and gave away all their millions in donations...

[madamesilverspurs]

26. The first mega-church in this area

opened for business about twenty years ago. Way too big-box for me, and marketed like a sports team. Anyway, an aquaintance moved here from another city and found himself in need of some counselling; one of his friends suggested that mega-church. He showed up for the session and was stunned when the pastor began the session by producing a file with his financial records in it, ostensibly obtained (without his knowledge or consent, by the way) from a mega-church in the city he'd just left. Long story short, they tried to manipulate him into signing over all of his family's assets. He incurred their wrath when he came to his senses and walked away without giving them a dime. And they still pester him for "donations".


-

[piratefish08]

28. god hates the downtown traffic. he's more of a 'burbs kind of guy.......

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. They need large parking lots

and, as others have said, if they're run as a business, they want people who have spare cash to donate, and so they'll look for people who already have a car.

[RT Atlanta]

32. Six Flags over Jesus

Is what my friends and I like to call those "churches"

Sorry, do not have anything substantive to add to this discussion.

[backscatter712]

33. When Neal Stephenson wrote Snow Crash...

he thought that churches (like Rev. Wayne's Pearly Gates) would be run like McDonalds franchises.

He was only slightly off the mark.

They're actually like big-box stores.