Gerardo Martí: What the Fate of the Crystal Cathedral Teaches Us About Church Growth

By SI Filings
Mar 04 2022
Books
Church Growth
Megachurches
Crystal Cathedral

 "Gerardo Martí is professor of sociology at Davidson College and co-author of The Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry.” - C.Leaders

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There are 2 Comments

Bert Perry's picture

Bert Perry -

Is that a mega-church requires a mega-pastor with mega-gifts, gifts that are not necessarily listed in Paul's lists of qualifications for ministry in 1 Timothy and Titus.  So I would dare suggest that striving for a mega-church would tend to lead people to skip character steps required for the pastorate, and thus make the congregation less able to react Biblically to the stresses of life.

Hence, these giant churches tend to implode in a hurry at times.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Steve Newman's picture

Steve Newman -

This quote is telling: 

Another challenge Schuller struggled with, said Martí, was “he did not really know how to minister to people who did not have a Christian background. He really leveraged people who already were tithing.

The "mega" church can win the lost, but seems to specialize in seeking the sheep. Are we teaching the believers and the next generation that size is not equal to success?