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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (18321)	12/8/2006 9:40:04 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 32591

Re: it is already Eurabia; where have you been exactly? So what? America is Jesusland already --which is worse? Megachurches' way of worship is on the rise By Jane Lampman \| Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Joel Osteen draws the largest weekly church crowd in America - 30,000, at three services. Rick Warren counsels pastors and political leaders in many countries (and has the bestselling nonfiction book in US history). Bill Hybels's Willow Creek Association mentors more than 11,000 churches. These high-profile pastors are helping shape a religious phenomenon that has taken off in the United States. The number of megachurches - Protestant congregations with regular weekly attendance of more than 2,000 - has doubled over the past five years, according to a national study released on Feb. 3. Megachurches Today 2005, a survey conducted by researchers at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut and Leadership Network in Dallas, has identified 1,210 American megachurches with an average weekly attendance of 3,612. Not surprisingly, the great majority are in the South, yet megachurches now can be found in all regions of the country. While the phenomenon has developed over decades and represents only 0.5 percent of all US churches, the rising influence of megachurches reaches beyond their own congregations. They are changing the nature of worship and developing networks that help revitalize other churches and redefine church ties with other countries. "Their influence can't be exaggerated," says Scott Thumma of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. "They set an example for other congregations that stirs them to experiment." [...] csmonitor.com