Word: superchurch
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...superchurch, a mall-size, high-profile house of worship, is the natural counterpart of the super-supermarket and the multiplex cinema. Brimming with self-confidence, these congregations -- many of them independent of established Protestant denominations -- have an increasing edge in the competitive marketplace of U.S. religion and an inexorable attraction for choosy consumers. Superchurches represent many denominational labels or no label, but nearly all are Evangelical, Fundamentalist, Charismatic or Pentecostalist, preaching a conservative theology...
Critics also grumble that superchurch clergy, astride their self-contained empires, are often completely independent of effective oversight from denominations or locally elected boards. Lyle Schaller of the Yokefellow Institute in Richmond, Ind., who counsels congregations, notes that a superchurch is guaranteed future trouble if it is built largely around a single star preacher, who will be leaving someday...
RELIGION Repent or not; the era of the superchurch is at hand...
...coincidence, another superchurch is calling at the moment: First Baptist of Dallas, the 28,000-member flagship of Southern Baptist Fundamentalism. In an unusual arrangement, the church is hiring an assistant to work under the legendary W.A. Criswell, 79 next week, as his designated successor. To the chagrin of the search committee, word has leaked out that Criswell favored O.S. Hawkins, 41, of Fort Lauderdale, but the independent-minded search committee, after winnowing 50 names, has settled on James Merritt of Snellville, Ga., Criswell's junior by 43 years. Merritt, naturally...
...nation's largest Protestant body, the 14.6 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, last week overwhelmingly re-elected the Rev. Adrian Rogers, 54, pastor of a Memphis superchurch, as president. It was the ninth straight presidential win for the Fundamentalist faction, which has used the office to build power on the boards of S.B.C. schools and agencies...