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Ellen CoddensRLST 245Prof. SmithMarch 17, 2014

The Effects of Technology on the Religious Experience and Community

Arena sized buildings, jumbo screens, state of the art sound and projection

systems, auxiliary support systems, huge campuses, and congregations of more than

2,000 (Megachurch Definition). These are not characteristics traditionally

associated with churches; however, these are all common characteristics of

megachurches. Megachurches are predominately Protestant and most commonly

found throughout the United States but are worldwide as well. In fact, the largest

Megachurch in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, has over one

million members in comparison to the 43,500 members of the United States’ largest

Megachurch, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. These giant churches follow and

preach the word of God but do it in a very unique and untraditional way to reach

their enormous congregations. With the Internet as a driving force, megachurches

fuse religion and technology to perform their weekly sermons and create a

community (Megachurch). Technology is changing the way in which religion is

experienced and uses various types of technology to create a stronger community.

Megachurches use technology in a variety of ways, including website, videos,

apps and social media, to connect their congregations. As most businesses do in the

21st century, megachurches use websites to connect and communicate with their

congregations. On megachurch websites there is general information about their

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specific congregation but these websites are not just informational, they are also

interactive. Members can access sermons, news/message boards, event calendars,

donate to the church, and request prayers or devotionals. Additionally, these

websites link to multiple ways to connect with the church including social media as

well as email and group discussions. All of these different uses of technology

contribute to the size and connection of Megachurch congregations.

Streamed or televised/video sermons are the oldest way in which

megachurches use technology to connect members to their religion through

technology. Weekly sermons were aired on the radio since the early 1900’s and

shifted to televised sermons in the mid 1900’s (Televangelism). Since the birth of

the Internet, sermons have moved to the web through live streaming, podcasts, and

YouTube channels. At megachurches like The Chapel in Illinois or Lakewood Church

in Texas, sermons are live streamed for members and recorded and uploaded to

their websites to watch later. YouTube channels are used as a platform for recorded

sermons, talks, and even concerts that megachurches provide.

Smartphones and tablets allow people to take their lives and churches on the

go. Megachurch apps provide a mobile connection to the church. Apps typically link

to sermon videos, news, and resources. The Chapel App links to the church’s

devotionals, small groups, event calendar, online giving, and even an online version

of the bible (see figure 1). The app also allows people to connect with the church

through links to The Chapel’s Facebook, Twitter, and website.

Social media has taken over connections and relations in the 21st century.

Megachurches use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and

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Instagram to connect with the congregation and spread the church’s word. In fact,

Lakewood Church’s senior pastor Joel Osteen is “considered to be one of the most

influential people on Twitter” (Abrahams). These social media site not only connects

the church/pastor and its members, but connects its members with one another

creating a stronger sense of community. Because so many people use social media

sites, word about megachurches spreads helping the church community grow

bigger.

The Lakewood Church is a perfect example of how megachurches use

technology to reach out and connect with the community. Joel Osteen went to school

for media and business to become a successful television producer before taking

over as Lakewood Church’s senior pastor when his father passed away (Lakewood

Church). His technological background can be seen in the churches extensive use of

various types of technology. The church’s website is essentially a virtual platform

for the church. The homepage itself links to general information about the church,

staff, and services. Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria’s pictures are plastered all over

the website in almost a commercial/professional marketing manner. The website

also links to sermons and talks, social media sites including Facebook, Twitter,

Google Plus, YouTube, and Instagram, the ministry’s calendar, online giving, and a

variety of other resources (see figure 2). The church website has an assortment of

downloadable resources, including scriptures and prayers as well as parking maps

and hotel guides. There is also an electronic store to purchase books written by Joel

Osteen himself as well as music and other merchandise. In addition to the website,

Lakewood Church has an app that allows members to access services, events,

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support, and messages on the go. The church building itself utilizes a state of the art

light and sound system and three jumbo screens for regular weekly services (see

figure 3).

In addition to weekly services, Lakewood Church also provides numerous

other services. The Lakewood Church campus houses a library, education facilities,

and an administrative building. Classes are provided for members on topics ranging

from healthy living to expecting a baby to winning at work and home (Lakewood

Church). Support services such as anger management and counseling are also

available for members. The church even provides childcare in conjunction with their

youth ministry program.

Lakewood Church, and megachurches in general, creates this community that

provides its members with so many services and amenities that there is no reason

to look outside the community. Megachurches thrive on their large communities and

therefore strive to maintain a strong and well-connected community within the

church. The strong sense of community within megachurches is one aspect that

Robert Bellah would agree with. Community is an important concept for Bellah

because it is the way individuals interact with others. Communities “are an

important way in which individuals are led into public life” and megachurches

provide a connection to the public life within the church (Bellah, 157). Additionally,

Bellah views communities as important aspect in life because “many Americans are

concerned to find the meaning of life not primarily through self-cultivation but

through intense relations with others” (Bellah, 291). Americans find the idea of

being alone scary and in turn are drawn to communities to not only find themselves

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and meaning. Megachurch communities are focused around people connecting with

one another and the religious aspect is geared towards people finding the meaning

of their life through God.

Without a strong community, megachurches would not survive. Their

function is based on their community and involvement of the members. Even Bellah

believes that “patterns of loyalty and obligation that keep the community alive”

(Bellah, 154). Membership provides this sense of loyalty and opportunities to get

involved or volunteer with the church creates obligation, which keep the community

alive. Additionally, megachurches provide services for the individual to better their

own Self. Lakewood’s classes or counseling are services that are intended to

improve one’s Self. Because members can look to the church for improving or

developing the Self, the overall community is strengthened. Megachurch members

have a majority of their needs met through their church and therefore never feel the

need to leave their community for anything else. Individuals are able to develop

their Self and be a part of the megachurch’s community satisfying people’s personal

needs.

On the other hand, traditionally religious individuals would believe that

while a strong community is great, the Megachurch style takes away from the

personal religious experience services are intended for. With live streaming

sermons and recorded videos, there is no longer a need to physically attend the

church’s service. The message or word of God is still being preached, however, the

pastor is preaching to a crowd of 2,000 plus memberswhich takes away the

personal aspect smaller churches traditionally provide. The community created at

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megachurches is so large that members become numbers rather than individual

people known personally to the pastor as in small church communities. If a family

were to leave a megachurch, no one would notice, but if a family were to leave a

small church, the community would notice the absence.

Furthermore, megachurches create an environment that is more like a

business than a place of worship. The sanctuary, or room where the service is held,

looks more like a concert or sports arena rather than a church. The pastor becomes

“something more akin to a CEO of a large corporation than a wise rabbi.”(Suttle).

Services resemble concerts or TED talks with live streaming, lights, and screens

instead of traditional religious services in quiet sanctuaries. The line between

religion and consumerism is blurred with megachurches.1

Again, the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, is a perfect example of the

ambiguity between business and religion in megachurches. Weekly services and

sermons are televised broadcasts, live streamed, ad recorded. The service is more

like a television show about the word of God with advertisements about Lakewood’s

services available for members mixed in with the sermon itself. Joel Osteen and his

wife Victoria are portrayed similar to a celebrity couple across the Lakewood

Church website. During sermons, Osteen directs his attention to and talks directly to

the camera rather than to the audience physically in front of him, which creates a

lack of connection between the attending members and the pastor. To really show

Lakewood’s business side, their website has an online store to purchase books and

1 Ironically, the Lakewood Church was just recently in the news for having 600 thousand dollars in checks and cash stolen from the church along with credit card information for members. Stories like this in the news are typically regarding businesses not churches.

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other various merchandise. Lakewood Church gives off a business impression with a

hint of religion mixed in.

Megachurches are the product of religion fusing and progressing with

technology. Megachurches use websites, videos, apps, and social media to connect

members and the church. The Lakewood Church, America’s largest megachurch,

uses technology to provide its members with numerous services ranging from live-

streamed sermons and online giving to links to Facebook and Twitter.

Megachurches use technology to connect members, which creates a strong

community. Providing various services, like counseling or personal development

classes, also strengthens the community because members do not have to leave the

church community to obtain said services. Bellah would agree that the community

created by megachurches is beneficial for individuals for both improving the Self

and creating relations with others. In contrast, traditional religious viewpoints or

technology critics, like Jaron Lanier, would believe that technology is taking away

from the personal experience of religious services and acting as businesses rather

than places of worship. No matter if you personally think megachurches are good or

bad development, it can be mutually agreed that megachurches are changing the

way religion is experienced and are creating a community through the use of

technology.

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Figures:

Figure 1: The Chapel App

Figure 2: Lakewood Church online homepage

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Figure 3: Interior view of a sermon at Lakewood Church

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References:

Abrahams, Tom. "The Era of the IPad Preacher." : Hi-tech Preachers Gaining a New Generation of Followers. ABC Inc., 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8549916>.

Bellah, Robert N. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life: With a New Preface. Berkeley: University of California, 2008.

Hlavaty, Craig. "$600K Stolen from Lakewood Church." Houston Chronicle. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/600K-stolen-from-Lakewood-Church-5306422.php?cmpid=htx>.

Lakewood Church. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://www.lakewoodchurch.com>.

"Megachurch Definition." Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. <http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/definition.html>.

"Megachurch." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megachurch>.

Suttle, Tim. "The Failure of the Megachurch." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Sept. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-suttle/the-failure-of-the-megachurch_b_954482.html>.

"Televangelism." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televangelism>.

"The Chapel." The Chapel. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://www.chapel.org>.

IHRTLUHCEllen Coddens