Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century
    The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century
    The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century
    Ebook247 pages7 hours

    The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century

    By Stephen Ellingson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Religious traditions provide the stories and rituals that define the core values of church members. Yet modern life in America can make those customs seem undesirable, even impractical. As a result, many congregations refashion church traditions so they may remain powerful and salient. How do these transformations occur? How do clergy and worshipers negotiate which aspects should be preserved or discarded?

    Focusing on the innovations of several mainline Protestant churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, Stephen Ellingson’s The Megachurch and the Mainline provides new understandings of the transformation of spiritual traditions. For Ellingson, these particular congregations typify a new type of Lutheranism—one which combines the evangelical approaches that are embodied in the growing legion of megachurches with American society’s emphasis on pragmatism and consumerism. Here Ellingson provides vivid descriptions of congregations as they sacrifice hymns in favor of rock music and scrap traditional white robes and stoles for Hawaiian shirts, while also making readers aware of the long history of similar attempts to Americanize the Lutheran tradition.

    This is an important examination of a religion in flux—one that speaks to the growing popularity of evangelicalism in America.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateSep 15, 2008
    ISBN9780226204925
    The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century

    Related to The Megachurch and the Mainline

    Related ebooks

    Social Science For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Worship Bands

      May 19, 2023

      As Christians, we love the hymns and psalms that embed the Word of God in our hearts. There will always be an important place for them, but with our God-given creativity, we will keep on inventing new ways to express our worship to Him. With this ar

      3 min read

    • Article

      My Wild Night At Weed Church

      Jul 31, 2019

      My Wild Night At Weed Church
      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Jan 1, 2021

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Asbury Revival

      Mar 23, 2023

      Most church services end with a hymn and a prayer and the congregation goes home, lingering only perhaps for friends to chat over coffee served at the back of the church. On 8 February, after a Wednesday morning service on campus at Asbury University

      6 min read

    • Article

      Man of Science, Man of Faith

      Sep 22, 2017

      Man of Science, Man of Faith
      14 min read

    • Article

      ‘Minister Of Music’: Courtney Bryan Fuses Protest With The Sacred

      Nov 15, 2023

      When Courtney Bryan was 5 years old, growing up in New Orleans as the youngest of three children, the piano became another way to communicate without speaking. She calls it her first communication.  She has been faithful to it, as it has been to her,

      4 min read

    • Article

      At Fellowship Church, Faith Knows No Creed Or Color

      Jul 19, 2021

      The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, founded in 1944, transcends barriers of race, color, and creed, uniting instead in a shared humanity.

      4 min read

    • Article

      For Church-shy Black Millennials, Music Festival Offers Faith

      Apr 26, 2019

      Church is not always their choice, but black millennials increasingly have other outlets, such as music festivals, for expressing their spirituality.

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Megachurch and the Mainline

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Megachurch and the Mainline - Stephen Ellingson

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1