- P-ISSN0023-3900
- E-ISSN2733-9343
- A&HCI, SCOPUS, KCI
ISSN : 0023-3900
The New Face of Large Congregations: Creative Innovations in Four Megachurches in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
Abstract
Seoul is currently the megachurch capital of the world, though with stagnating attendees. The stagnation is mainly due to mounting criticisms surrounding the inordinate amount of wealth possessed by the megachurches. Hence, the author decided to study four reputable megachurches in Seoul that are still thriving as stable congregations, while defying increasing accusations. About 743 survey questionnaires were collected and analyzed from these four megachurches. The results show that these churches came up with innovative ways that highlight their pure intentions in deepening their relationship with God by: (1) better understanding God’s words (expository preaching based on Biblical literalism); (2) selflessly praying to God for others’ health (healing ministry through intercessory prayers); (3) fulfilling God’s message of promulgating the Gospel (slimming of the congregation while denying admission to switching members); and (4) striving to renounce worldly possessions and the desire for power (owning no church property and limiting the tenure for senior minister and elders). Their creative dedication to service reveals their purpose of pursuing God’s kingdom and realizing his righteousness in the world, thusly proving that megachurches are not in fact merely corporate businesses or interest groups, but vital organizations that are capable of carrying out God’s command on a grand scale.
- keywords
- megachurch, innovation, spirituality, tithing, religious market, expository preaching, religious switching, Biblical literalism
Reference
Brouwer, Steve P., Paul Gifford, and Susan D. Rose. 1996. Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism. London: Routledge.
Chaves, Mark. 2006. “All Creatures Great and Small: Megachurch in Context.”Review of Religious Research 47.4: 329–346.
Chaves, Mark. 2011. American Religion: Contemporary Trends. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Durkheim, Emile. [1912] 1965. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Translated by Joseph Ward Swain. New York: Free Press.
Einstein, Mara. 2008. Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a Commercial Age. New York: Routledge.
Gallup Korea. 2004. Hanguk-ui jonggyo (Religion in Korea). Seoul: Gallup Korea.
Haskell, Donald Millard, Kevin Flatt, and Stephanie Burgoyne. 2016. “Theology Matters: Comparing the Traits of Growing and Declining Mainline Protestant Church Attendees and Clergy.” Review of Religious Research 58.4: 515–541.
Hempton, David, and Hugh McLeod. 2016. “Secularization and Religious Innovation:A Transatlantic Comparison.” In Religion and Innovation: Antagonists or Partners? edited by Donald A. Yerxa, 126–140. London: Bloomsbury.
Hoover, Stewart M. 2000. “The Cross at Willow Creek: Seeker Religion and the Contemporary Marketplace.” In Religion and Popular Culture in America, edited by Bruce David Forbes and Jeffrey H. Mahan, 145–160. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Jenkins, Philip. 2002. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, Philip. 2006. The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kim, Eun-Ho. 2009. “The Renewal of Service and Church Growth—A Case Study of Oryun Community Church.” DMin diss., Knox Theological Seminary.
Kim, Sung Gun. 2007. “Korean Protestant Christianity in the Midst of Globalization:Neoliberalism and the Pentecostalization of Korean Churches.” Korea Journal 47.4: 147–176.
Kim, Sung Gun. 2010. “Jonggyo-wa haengbok—Hanguk sahoe-ui gwalli/jeonmunjik-ui sarye-reul jungsim-euro” (Religion and Happiness—A Case Study of Managerial/Professional Job Holders within Contemporary South Korean Society). Damnon 201 (Discourse 201) 13.4: 127–157.
Kim, Sung Gun. 2015. “Church Growth Movement: A Protestant Experience with the Rise of Megachurches.” In Korean Church, God’s Mission, Global Christianity, edited by Wonsuk Ma and Kyo Seong Ahn, 128–136. Oxford: Regnum.
Kim, Sung Gun. 2016. “Class Disparity and Prosperity Gospel in Korea after the IMF Crisis.” Asian Journal of Religion and Society 4.2: 37–48.
Kim, Sung Gun. 2017. “The Place of Evangelical Protestantism in the Korean Public Sphere.” Damnon 201 (Discourse 201) 20.2: 143–170.
Martin, David. 1990. Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America. Oxford: Blackwell.
McGavran, David. 2005. The Bridges of God: A Study in the Strategy of Missions. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock.
Roberts, Vaughan. 2011. Authentic Church: True Spirituality in a Culture of Counterfeits. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Rognlien, Bob. 2005. Experiential Worship: Encountering God with Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress.
Sargeant, Kimon Howland. 2000. Seeker Churches: Promoting Traditional Religion in a Nontraditional Way. London: Rutgers University Press.
Schieman, Scott. 2010. “Socioeconomic Status and Beliefs about God’s Influence in Everyday Life.” Sociology of Religion 71.1: 25–51.
Shah, Rebecca Samuel. 2016. “Religious Innovation and Economic Empowerment in India: An Empirical Exploration.” In Religion and Innovation: Antagonists or Partners? edited by Donald A. Yerxa, 176–193. London: Bloomsbury.
Smith, Christian, and Michael O. Emerson. 2008. Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stark, Rodney. 2008. What Americans Really Believe: New Findings from the Baylor Surveys of Religion. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
Thumma, Scott. 2006. “Exploring the Megachurch Phenomenon: Their Characteristics and Cultural Context.” Accessed November 21, 2016. http://hirr.hartsem. edu/bookshelf/thumma_article2.html.
Thumma, Scott, and Dave Travis. 2007. Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America’s Largest Churches. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Thumma, Scott, and Warren Bird. 2009. “Megafaith for the Megacity: The Global Megachurch Phenomenon.” In The Changing World Religion Map, edited by Stanley D. Brunn, 2331–2352. London: Springer.
Thumma, Scott, and Warren Bird. 2015. “Recent Shifts in America’s Largest Protestant Churches: Megachurches 2015 Report.” Accessed November 21, 2017. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/2015_Megachurches_Report.pdf.
Twitchell, James B. 2005. Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., an Museumworld. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Usunier, Jean-Claude, and Jörg Stolz, eds. 2014. Religion as Brands: New Perspectives on the Marketization of Religion and Spirituality. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Wellman, James K., Katie E. Corcoran, and Kate Stockly-Meyerdirk. 2014. “‘God Is Like a Drug…’: Explaining Interaction Ritual Chains in American Megachurches.”Sociological Forums 29.3: 650–672.
Yerxa, Donald A., ed. 2016. Religion and Innovation: Antagonists or Partners? London: Bloomsbury.
- Downloaded
- Viewed
- 0KCI Citations
- 0WOS Citations