The Commercial Church

Author : Mary Hinton
Publisher : Lexington Books
ISBN 13 : 0739137743
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Commercial Church written by Mary Hinton and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new book on the rise of commercial black 'mega churches,' Mary Hinton examines the rich legacy of the historic black church from the dual perspectives of theology and religious education. She explores the new religious models emerging from the tradition of the historic black church and questions whether they are continuing to operate and practice according to the wisdom of this unique form of American religion. Two mega church ministries, those of T. D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar, are examined in detail with regards to how they align with black church religious history. Hinton concludes by proposing that the fastest growing religious phenomenon within and outside of the black community in the United States-the mega church-should no longer be analyzed based on size alone. Instead, Hinton urges readers to consider the ecclesial structures of churches in making appropriate assessments in determining should and should not be classified as a commercial church.

Author : Michael L. Budde
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1725218593
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Christianity Incorporated written by Michael L. Budde and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2007-02-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These days "getting religion" is generally considered a rather quaint thing of the past. "Getting spirituality," on the other hand, is the hottest thing on the market. In fact, corporate-sponsored spiritual salve is becoming the most popular prescription for the overworked and soul-weary employees. But for many Christians, this antidote has become its own epidemic. How is this epidemic infecting the church? How should the church respond as a community of believers? According to authors Michael Budde and Robert Brimlow, the church must resist becoming the "chaplain to capitalism." Christianity Incorporated reminds us that Christ-centered discipleship is fundamentally at odds with consumer capitalist priorities. The church must have a mission and a voice in society that is distinct from, rather than in chorus with, watered-down corporate spirituality. Christianity Incorporated is a wake-up call for all Christians. Courageous, current, and accessible, this book will provide guidance and insight to anyone concerned with pursuing Christian discipleship in our consumer culture.

Author : Daniel Vaca
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674243978
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Evangelicals Incorporated written by Daniel Vaca and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2019-12-03 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new history explores the commercial heart of evangelical Christianity. American evangelicalism is big business. For decades, the world’s largest media conglomerates have sought out evangelical consumers, and evangelical books have regularly become international best sellers. In the early 2000s, Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life spent ninety weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list and sold more than thirty million copies. But why have evangelicals achieved such remarkable commercial success? According to Daniel Vaca, evangelicalism depends upon commercialism. Tracing the once-humble evangelical book industry’s emergence as a lucrative center of the US book trade, Vaca argues that evangelical Christianity became religiously and politically prominent through business activity. Through areas of commerce such as branding, retailing, marketing, and finance, for-profit media companies have capitalized on the expansive potential of evangelicalism for more than a century. Rather than treat evangelicalism as a type of conservative Protestantism that market forces have commodified and corrupted, Vaca argues that evangelicalism is an expressly commercial religion. Although religious traditions seem to incorporate people who embrace distinct theological ideas and beliefs, Vaca shows, members of contemporary consumer society often participate in religious cultures by engaging commercial products and corporations. By examining the history of companies and corporate conglomerates that have produced and distributed best-selling religious books, bibles, and more, Vaca not only illustrates how evangelical ideas, identities, and alliances have developed through commercial activity but also reveals how the production of evangelical identity became a component of modern capitalism.

Author : JR Woodward
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830866795
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.93/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Creating a Missional Culture written by JR Woodward and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-09-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once upon a time, Moses had had enough. Exhausted by the challenge of leading the Israelites from slavery to the Promised Land, Moses cried out to God, "What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? . . . If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me" (Exodus 11:11, 15). If that sounds hauntingly familiar to you, you may be the senior pastor of a contemporary church. The burden of Christian leadership is becoming increasingly unbearable--demanding skills not native to the art of pastoring; demanding time that makes sabbath rest and even normal sleep patterns seem extravagant; demanding inhuman levels of efficiency, proficiency and even saintliness. No wonder pastors seem and even feel less human these days. No wonder they burn out or break down at an alarming rate; no wonder the church is missing the mark on its mission. In Creating a Missional Culture, JR Woodward offers a bold and surprisingly refreshing model for churches--not small adjustments around the periphery of a church's infrastructure but a radical revisioning of how a church ought to look, from its leadership structure to its mobilization of the laity. The end result looks surprisingly like the church that Jesus created and the apostles cultivated: a church not chasing the wind but rather going into the world and making disciples of Jesus.

Author : Williston Walker
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 662 pages
Book Rating : 4.35/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A History of the Christian Church written by Williston Walker and published by . This book was released on 1918 with total page 662 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Robert C. Palmer
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807827437
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.36/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Selling the Church written by Robert C. Palmer and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Palmer analyzes an extensive set of data drawn from common law records to reveal a vigorous and effective effort by the laity to enforce the statutes of 1529. Motivated by both economic incentives and traditional ideals, the litigants used the statutes to compel the residence of their clergy and to make the commercial activities of lease-holding and buying for resale and profit the sole province of the laity. Inserting the rector back into the parish. Palmer shows, dramatically altered the economic, educational, and religious context of parish life."--BOOK JACKET.

Author : Len Wilson
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426725043
Total Pages : 227 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Wired Church 2.0 written by Len Wilson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2008-08-01 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wired Church 2.0 is the go-to guide for church staff and volunteers coordinating multimedia digital technology for worship, the classroom, and marketing. Covering everything from website design and trends in digital media to selecting and training your media team. Wilson and Moore were on the leading edge of media ministry with their 1999 volume The Wired Church: Making Media Ministry. Wired Church 2.0 is the guidebook for a new generation of technology, addressing new multimedia trends, including blogs, podcasts, streaming video, and more. Wired Church 2.0 is a comprehensive how-to book written in an easy-to-understand "dummies' guide" style. Church media coordinators will learn about the technology, costs, methods, and tricks-of-the-trade for producing high-quality web and video elements for worship, education, and marketing. Len Wilson and Jason Moore run Midnight Oil Productions, a cutting-edge media ministry agency based in Grand Prairie, Texas. They have authored several books together, including Design Matters: Creating Powerful Imagery for Worship (2006), Digital Storytellers: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship (2002) and The Wired Church: Making Media Ministry (1999), all from Abingdon Press.

Author : Jeanne Halgren Kilde
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780195179729
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book When Church Became Theatre written by Jeanne Halgren Kilde and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2005 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1880s, socio-economic and technological changes in the United States contributed to the rejection of Christian architectural traditions and the development of the radically new auditorium church. Jeanne Kilde links this shift in evangelical Protestant architecture to changes in worship style and religious mission.

Author : Nelson Searcy
Publisher : Baker Books
ISBN 13 : 1441213198
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Maximize written by Nelson Searcy and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maximize is the ultimate how-to book for pastors and church leaders who long for their churches to be fully resourced to carry out ministry initiatives without financial strain. Pastor Nelson Searcy provides an innovative, step-by-step plan for turning first-time givers into extravagant stewards of God's resources. Shining a light on the often taboo subject of money, Maximize will explore what causes someone to give for the first time and what leaders can do to systemize and maximize these gifts while growing strong disciples. Readers will learn how to -cultivate first-time givers -motivate people to tithe -develop an ongoing stewardship system -follow up with givers the right way -develop multiple giving options -shepherd the five types of givers in the church -educate people to grow in the grace of giving Stewardship is an essential part of discipleship. This revolutionary yet biblically based guide will chase the money discussion out of the darkness and bring it the attention it deserves. Every pastor needs a copy of Maximize!

Author : Amanda Porterfield
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190694599
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.93/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Business Turn in American Religious History written by Amanda Porterfield and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-07-19 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Business has received little attention in American religious history, although it has profound implications for understanding the sustained popularity and ongoing transformation of religion in the United States. This volume offers a wide ranging exploration of the business aspects of American religious organizations. The authors analyze the financing, production, marketing, and distribution of religious goods and services and the role of wealth and economic organization in sustaining and even shaping worship, charity, philanthropy, institutional growth, and missionary work. Treating religion and business holistically, their essays show that American religious life has always been informed by business practices. Laying the groundwork for further investigation, the authors show how American business has functioned as a domain for achieving religious goals. Indeed they find that religion has historically been more powerful when interwoven with business. Chapters on Mormon enterprise, Jewish philanthropy, Hindu gurus, Native American casinos, and the wedding of business wealth to conservative Catholic social teaching demonstrate the range of new studies stimulated by the business turn in American religious history. Other chapters show how evangelicals joined neo-liberal economic practice and right-wing politics to religious fundamentalism to consolidate wealth and power, and how they developed marketing campaigns and organizational strategies that transformed the American religious landscape. Included are essays exposing the moral compromises religious organizations have made to succeed as centers of wealth and influence, and the religious beliefs that rationalize and justify these compromises. Still others examine the application of business practices as a means of sustaining religious institutions and expanding their reach, and look at controversies over business practices within religious organizations, and the adjustments such organizations have made in response. Together, the essays collected here offer new ways of conceptualizing the interdependence of religion and business in the United States, establishing multiple paths for further study of their intertwined historical development.