What would a Google Mega Church be like?

Going off of Jeff Jarvis's book, titled What Would Google Do?, I questioned what a Google mega church would be like. He claims:

-       you need to be a platform and help people build things on top of you

-       you need to make mistakes well

-       you need to make things half-baked and learn how to use them

-       you need to listen really well

-       you need to understand that your worst customer may be your best friend, that could build a new relationship with you customers

So how would these philosophies look in a mega church?

Well first off, I would argue that a mega church could be seen as a platform already that help people to build themselves; Finding their own faith and beliefs. However, to fully be a platform that people can choose what to believe in is the exact opposite of what mega churches are today. Mega churches today are very strict about their beliefs and preaching only those concepts.

Screenshot of Appleton Alliance Church's Beliefs Page.

Like the Appleton Alliance Church, many more mega churches have the same type of Belief Page. And in order to gain membership, for many mega churches you must go through an extensive application process and sometimes even interview with the pastor so they know that you too fully belief in the same things.

However, a Google Mega Church, would welcome all people from all religions and would preach on ideas such as togetherness, and love for one another, and more motivational and positive ideas. A Google Mega Church would never deny someone for thinking or believing in something else, but rather they would want to listen to what these other ideas are that different people believe in. The Google Mega Church would collaborate with one another to find common ground amongst everyone from all different backgrounds. It's most important principle would be one of peace and love for one another. 

I think the Google Mega Church would still be religious but just in a more spiritual way. It would encourage people to find their own individualism and to become comfortable with who they are. The Google Mega Church would encourage people to focus on self improvement, rather than focusing on changing people's beliefs or religions. 

And this should almost go without being said, but a Google Mega Church would obviously be the most high-tech church in the history of mega churches. Utilizing, multiple social media platforms on the web and really going above and beyond with the technology they use during sermons/lectures. And of course they would live stream or podcast all sermons/lectures and events so that people all across the world could get involved too.

My Experience at a Mega Church

This past Sunday I decided to attend a mega church to get some first hand experience. I went to Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos, CA. As we drove up, it looked like a huge convention center. The church bought the land that used to be a golf course, so there was a lot of grass and landscaping, but in the middle there was a huge building that housed the sanctuary.

 

 

As we pulled into the parking lot, there was a sign that read:

 

So of course we put our flashers on and were directed by volunteer staff to parking spots that were close-by and reserved for first time visitors only. After we parked we made our way towards the church. The volunteers were all wearing the same bright shirts so you would know you could assist you. So we asked a volunteer where the sanctuary was. The lady was very nice and even walked us to the sanctuary doors. Inside was a grand lobby, complete with an information desk and even a bookstore!

 

One thing I noticed were two ATMs that you passed right when you walked into the sanctuary (just in case you didn't have cash for donations, they made it very convenient for you to get some).

Another thing I noticed within the first ten minutes of being there is all of the branding for the church. Every where you looked you would see some kind of logo for the church. Everything from the cones outside in the parking lot, to the ATMs inside, even on the back of every bathroom stall was an advertisement with the cottonwood logo.

Anyways, as we entered the sanctuary I was blown away by how big it was. It was auditorium-style seating with a big stage in the front and two large screens on each side of the stage. And then in the center of the room was a whole tech set up for the video and audio recordings and the lighting and everything else that was happening on stage.

They had a countdown timer on the lower corner of each screen that announced how much time until the sermon begun. And by the time the sermon started about 3/4 of the auditorium was completely full. The sermon started with some live music. Everybody stood up once the band began to play and some clapped, while others danced and sang along.

 

It was actually an exciting way to start off a church sermon. Everybody immediately got engaged and excited for what was to come next. Then after the pastor introduced himself, they even had "church news" that played on the two large screens. The news consisted of a few stories of what the church was currently working on and what events are to come.

While I didn't stay for the entire sermon, I listened to the first 40 minutes. I was actually surprised that the majority of the sermon was more motivational than religious. I mean of course the pastor referred to different sections of the bible, but if you took out those references, the rest of the sermon could relate to any one and everyone that needs a little more motivation and positivity in their life. 

It was really interesting to see how the effectively used technology throughout the duration of their sermon. By incorporating a live band and "church news" into the sermon, it kept people engaged. They also used the screens to put up closed captioning for the patrons that couldn't hear as well. What was even cooler, was to watch people pull out their ipads and smartphones to follow along in their bible app.

Here's a picture of a couple following along with their bibles, the wife has an actual paperback bible, while the husband had a bible app on his ipad.

For a more in-depth review of how mega churches are effectively using technology to gain more success, be sure to read by essay posted in scribd found here.

What is a Mega Church?

A megachurch is defined a religious church with a large congregation (an average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more) that usually has Protestant affiliation. In the US along there are around 1,600 established mega churches, however, there are many more in other countries all around the world. In fact, mega churches are most popular in Brazil, Korea, and a number of African countries. Click here to see a list of global mega churches.

Distribution of mega churches across the United States.

In the US most mega churches are found with urban or suburban cities, with the size of these churches ranging from 2,000 to 40,000. Lakewood Church in Houstan, TX is an example of a mega church with a congregation size of 40,000. However, there are mega churches in other countries that are even larger than the ones here in the US. For example, in Korea, there is one church that claims to have over 250,000 people attending weekly sermons. 

Starting in the 1970s mega churches began to explode, becoming overnight successes. Once these churches become a certain size, they become self-generating and they continue to grow as more and more people invite their friends and family. 

While size is the most attention-grabbing characteristic of these mega churches, they have a number of other defining characteristics. Almost all mega churches have a conservative theology, although there are some atheist or motivational mega churches that are starting to emerge. Below are tables from the Hartford Institute for Religious Research that give a breakdown of the denominations of these churches:

The groups in the table below account for 80% of all megachurches.

Nondenominational	40%
Southern Baptist	16%
Baptist, unspecified	7%
Assemblies of God	6%
Christian	5%
Calvary Chapel	4%
United Methodist	2%

In terms of theology of the congregation, the label that 336 megachurches, surveyed in 2011 by the Hartford Institute, selected to best fit their membership's orientation were as follows:

Evangelical	71%
Pentecostal	8%
Charismatic	5%
Seeker	5%
Missional	4%
Moderate	4%
Fundamentalist	1%
Other	1%

 The goal of these mega churches is to promote an atmosphere that makes religion fun and engaging. All mega churches share one thing in common, they are entertaining. Many of them have live rock bands to accompany the sermons. And other churches stress the laid-back atmosphere and do not emphasize dressing up to go to church.

Most churches use a number of online platforms and mediums to connect with a larger audience than the people that physically attend the sermons. Many mega churches have live-streaming or podcasts that people can watch from the comforts of their own home. This is how some churches have begun to have international followers.

 
To sum it up, mega churches are gaining success because they have found an effective way to combine past traditions with the innovative technology of today. Some researchers have even gone on to suggest that mega churches are becoming more and more popular because they are catering to the cultural shifts of today's industrialized society.


See the below articles for more information:

The Rise of the "Megachurch"

More Americans Flock to Mega-Churches

For even more articles, go to Christianity Today

The Online World of Mega Churches

http://www.scribd.com/doc/213030620/The-Online-World-of-Mega-Churches

I Didn't Change, I Just Found Myself

As this Apple, Google, Facebook class (RLST 245) is coming to an end, it is interesting to reflect on everything we have learned. I came into this class thinking I was going to learn more about the companies of Apple, Google, and Facebook, and how they work and how they came to be, etc. And I did my all means. But I realize now, after walking out of the last class of the term, that the thing I learned most about was myself.

 

While signing up for this class 10 weeks ago I was so confused as to why it was under the religious studies department. I couldn't see what these technologically advancing companies had to do with religion. Then on the first day of class my professor answered that exact question. He started to talk about the Self and individualism and gave a brief overview of the people and ideas we were going to discuss in this class. My mind was blown. I realized that I had never really given much thought to my religion, other than knowing I don't believe in any specific religion.

First we started off with the Apple section. We read a biography about Steve Jobs called Steve Jobs written by Walter Isaacson. We learned about Jobs' background/ history, his personality, his ambitions and how Apple came to be. We connected Apple to religion by describing Apple's products to be an expansion of the Self. It is through these devices that we are able to maximize the Self.

Next we read Robert Bellah's Habits of the Heart. In this book, Bellah defines individualism in America. He differentiates between expressive and utilitarian individualism and talks a lot about having choices. He coins the term sheilaism, which refers to a religion in which you choose what you want to believe in.

After that we moved into our Google section. We learned about Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the creators of Google. We learned how Google aims to not only organize information for a search engine, but that they are focused on connecting the world. We discussed the many up and coming products Google is working on and the implications of such products. We even read the book titled I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59, written by Douglas Edwards. We connected Google to religion by describing it as a platform for the self. Google enables us to choose what we want.

 Lastly, we moved into our Facebook section of the class. We watched The Social Network and learned all about Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg. We learned how Facebook is also focused on connecting people and even had discussions on how Facebook is changing social interactions and expectations (Sherry Turkle). We connected Facebook to religion by describing is as a container for the Self. It is a place we are able to showcase our autobiographies.

Finally, we ended on the book titled You are Not a Gadget, by Jaron Lanier. This book explained how the Self and Individualism is becoming a critique of technology and the way we use technology. Lanier touches on his fears of the affects of technology on the Self.

As I mentioned before not only did I learn about all of these companies but I learned about myself. This class brought awareness to my use (and dare I say dependence) of technology and forced me to form my own thoughts and opinions of what I think and how I feel about today's technology and the technology that will arise in the future. I have found my own version of Sheilaism (Sheaism) and stepped outside the bubble of "the norm".

The Way the Internet Portrays Me

With the overwhelming growth of technology these days, one has to step back and reflect how it is affecting us and our relationships with others and even our expectations of each other. In the book titled You are Not a Gadget, Jaron Lanier expresses some of his concerns about today's internet usage.

As a computer science pioneer Lanier used to be a huge supporter of the internet, but since the growth and evolution of the Internet has taken place, Lanier has become disenchanted with the online world. While Lanier states some extreme opinions in regards to today's Internet, I have to say that he is not completely off base. His main concern is that as more online platforms for the Self arise, such as Facebook, we are producing a limited conception of who we really are. He claims that Facebook has limited our devotions of individuality because we can only express ourselves in the way the software will allow us to, which means our selfhood is being downplayed. In other words, if these large domains are incapable of capturing us, some of the Self is lost.

While some might argue that it's not the technology's fault, but rather the user's fault, Lanier would counter-argue saying that Facebook limits your expression to a single format. Rather than using a single online platform, Lanier is encouraging his readers to invest more in what they produce and put online. The following are a select few of his suggestions (pg. 21):

• If you put effort into Wikipedia articles, put even more effort into using your personal voice and expression outside of the wiki to help attract people who don't yet realize that they are interested in the topics you contributed to.

• Create a website that expresses something about who you are that won't fit into the template available to you on a social networking site.

• Post a video once in a while that took you one hundred times more time to create than it takes to view.

• Write a blog post that took weeks of reflection before you heard the inner voice that needed to come out.

• If you are twittering, innovate in order to find a way to describe your internal state instead of trivial external events, to avoid the creeping danger of believing that objectively described events define you, as they would define a machine.

 In a previous blog I posted about Sherry Turkle and her views of the "Innovation of Lonliness". Her views support Lanier's feelings/ ideas about today's internet. And I agree with both of them that we are limiting ourselves by conforming to a pre-structured platform and editing out the parts of us that we don't want people to see. I fully support Lanier's call for reflection, so that we can all keep our individuality and not loose site of who we really are.

My Very First Website!

Below is a link of the website I made! It is an html format of my blog post titled "Google is Everywhere".

http://growingperspectivesatlu.neocities.org/index.html