New Church Model Isn’t: Multisite Is Regurgitation of the Model They Hated

Forrest ChristianChange, Organizations Leave a Comment

This continues my examination of American Evangelicals’ organization of their churches, both lay and clergy. One of the big things in the Evangelical world, a real “game changer” they say, is the multisite church. You’ll hear them say things like “twenty years ago, the Holy Spirit was moving and doing a big thing. And people listening to Him said, ‘It’s …

Manhattan Bridge under construction-1909

Megachurches are Liturgical

Forrest ChristianOverachievers Leave a Comment

This starts my new thing on Evangelical church organization. If you’re not interested in American Evangelicals, you may be lost. Megachurches are most highly liturgical of any church. Those with televised satellite churches are even more so. Confused? Thought that megachurches eschewed liturgy for free and loose? Here’s why I say this. Liturgy is the branding of the church of …

Strong Pastor vs. Democracy in Christian Church Groups

Forrest ChristianOverachievers 1 Comment

The church growth industry has led to the highly effective Mega-church model in the United States but has embraced the (actually) new model of Strong Pastor which has led to absolutist authoritarian leadership within the evangelical church growth movement. An examination by focusing on the Christian Base Communities in the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America. Part of a series on Church Organizational Structure and Democracy.

Church near Junction City, Kansas. ca. 1942. John Vachon, photographer. US Library of Congress collection.

Elliott Jaques on the Problems of Church Organization

Forrest Christianelliott jaques Leave a Comment

Many of the work-levels people have worked with churches on their organizational issues. This includes the Church of England and the Illinois association of American Baptist churches. (Anyone know of more?) Let’s take a look at what some of them have said. Elliott Jaques, who coined the term “mid-life crisis” and was an accomplished psychoanalyst in addition to be a …

Blueberries in woman's hands. c) donatellasimeone. Via Fotolia

Is Your “Giftedness” Making You Sicker

Forrest ChristianUnderachievers 3 Comments

“Marcy” recently wrote about looking for a new psychotherapist in Northern Indiana, and talked about some judgments that she had about some of her previous therapists who didn’t fit with her. One of Marcy’s old therapists, with whom she did good work, wrote a book with the late Warren Rule, an Adlerian who for years was at Virginia Commonwealth; this …