If you read some commentators and scholars, evangelical megachurches are places where Christian nationalism, patriarchy, white supremacy and a bunch of other ominous things happen. They might even try to evangelize you!
It seems like Barack Obama is trying to correct that misconception. Here is a taste of Adelle Banks’s Religion News Service piece on a recent Obama speech on democratic pluralism:
Obama suggested ways to develop the practice of pluralism, including starting groups where children or adults can work together on particular actions.
Obama cited the nationâs megachurches as an example, inserting a bit of humor as he described some of the nationâs largest congregations.
âIf you show up at one of these churches, they donât start off peppering you with questions about whether youâve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,â he said.
âThey donât quiz you on the Bible. They invite you in, introduce you around, give you something to eat, tell you all about the activities and groups you can be a part of, from the young adult social club to the ballroom dance group to the menâs choir, which for those of you not familiar, thatâs where they put folks whose voices arenât quite good enough to be in the main choir but who are allowed to perform maybe once every fourth Sunday.â
He said that âbig tentâ philosophy could be instructive.
âThe point is, megachurches are built around âletâs get you (in) here, doing stuff, meeting people and showing you how you can participate and be active,ââ he added. âOnce that happens, then they can have a deeper conversation about faith in a way that folks arenât spooked by.â
Read the entire piece here.
What’s most important is to become part of the social in-group which makes it harder to leave when you’re confronted later with incoherent doctrine and theology.