The Rise of the Mega Church and Superstar Pastor

American religious culture fascinates me, in particular, the mainstream religion of America: Christianity. The rise of the Mega Church is a phenomenon that is difficult not to bring up when discussing this topic. These Churches have huge congregations, televised sermons, and pastors who enjoy celebrity status. Not to mention the sermons are conducted in stadiums that hold thousands of people. So how did a particular sect of Christianity get to this point? I wanted to relate this crazy phenomenon to our class, as the history of Jerusalem may have helped shape Jewish and Christian values. I discovered that there is historical evidence that connects the origin of certain traits in Christianity and Judaism with the rise of the MegaChurch and Superstar Pastor.

Chapter 8 of Armstrong’s book outlines the destruction of the second temple and the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. Christianity was a new religion then and directly tied to its Jewish past. I argue that the Roman intolerance of Judaism and Christianity in Jerusalem during pre-Constantinian times forever changed both faiths.

Fraught with persecution and destruction of their holy places, worshipers of Judaism were forced to change their faith from being based on a sacred space into a religion based in community and tradition. After the destruction of the temple mount, Armstrong discusses how Rabbis “stressed that charity and compassion could now replace the old animal sacrifices” held at the temple. They also taught their “fellow Jews to experience God in their neighbor”(156-157), instead of sacred space. God was present wherever godly interaction in the community was. Christians in the same period thought even less of holy space. They were told not to worship the physical world, but to live a moral life so that they could experience heaven. Community and disassociation with sacred spaces are attributes still present in Christianity today. Lakewood Church, one of America’s most famous megachurches, preaches to a community of 10,000 people in a converted sports stadium. Their pastor Joel Osteen enjoys celebrity status which leads me to my next speculation.

The idolization of a person, Jesus Christ began in Jerusalem. John the Baptist asserts that Jesus is the “Word,” a “divine man,” and a “heavenly presence” directly tied to God (160). All forms of Christianity worship Jesus in various degrees. While it may be a stretch to compare celebrity pastors like Joel Osteen with Jesus Christ, the fact remains that many people idolize this person. His words carry weight. Not as much as Jesus’s word, but Joel Osteen's preachings and celebrity status influence followers of Christianity. 

Hopefully, my discussion of the origins of a religious community, a transition from scared physical space to imagined sacred space, and the idolization of a person shed some light on how the MegaChurch gained prominence in America. A lot of time has passed between biblical times and today; however, the era still affects how religious ceremonies are conducted and how followers view authority in the Church. 

I included a video of one of Joel Osteen preaching and a picture of the interior Lakewood Church. The man is so famous that there is a successful Joel Osteen impersonator out there.

Works Cited 

Armstrong, Karen. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. Ballantine Books, 2005.