{"product_id":"the-glass-church-robert-h-schuller-the-crystal-cathedral-and-the-strain-of-megachurch-ministry-9780813589060","title":"The Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry","description":"\u003cp\u003e Robert H. Schuller's ministry--including the architectural wonder of the Crystal Cathedral and the polished television broadcast of Hour of Power--cast a broad shadow over American Christianity. Pastors flocked to Southern California to learn Schuller's techniques. The President of United States invited him sit prominently next to the First Lady at the State of the Union Address. Muhammad Ali asked for the pastor's autograph. It seemed as if Schuller may have started a second Reformation. And then it all went away. As Schuller's ministry wrestled with internal turmoil and bankruptcy, his emulators--including Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Joel Osteen-- nurtured megachurches that seemed to sweep away the Crystal Cathedral as a relic of the twentieth century. How did it come to this? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Certainly, all churches depend on a mix of constituents, charisma, and capital, yet the size and ambition of large churches like Schuller's Crystal Cathedral exert enormous organizational pressures to continue the flow of people committed to the congregation, to reinforce the spark of charismatic excitement generated by high-profile pastors, and to develop fresh flows of capital funding for maintenance of old projects and launching new initiatives. The constant attention to expand constituencies, boost charisma, and stimulate capital among megachurches produces an especially burdensome strain on their leaders. By orienting an approach to the collapse of the Crystal Cathedral on these three core elements--constituency, charisma, and capital--\u003ci\u003eThe Glass Church\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates how congregational fragility is greatly accentuated in larger churches, a notion we label \u003ci\u003emegachurch strain\u003c\/i\u003e, such that the threat of implosion is significantly accentuated by any failures to properly calibrate the inter-relationship among these elements. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMARK T. MULDER\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of sociology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mulder's scholarship focuses around urban congregations and changing racial-ethnic demographics. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eShades of White Flight: Evangelical Congregations and Urban Departure \u003c\/i\u003e(Rutgers University Press) and coauthor of \u003ci\u003eLatino Protestants in America: Growing and Diverse\u003c\/i\u003e. Mulder has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, including \u003ci\u003eSocial Problems\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Journal of Urban History.\u003c\/i\u003e He has also published pieces for church audiences and won awards from the Evangelical Press Association and the Associated Church Press for his writing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGERARDO MART? \u003c\/b\u003eis the L. Richardson King Professor of Sociology at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church \u003c\/i\u003e(Rutgers University Press), \u003ci\u003eWorship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation \u003c\/i\u003e(Oxford University Press, 2012), and coauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLatino Protestants in America: Growing and Diverse \u003c\/i\u003e(Rowman \u0026amp; Littlefield, 2017). Among several research collaborations and professional roles, he served for many years as the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal \u003ci\u003eSociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Rutgers University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50929942266130,"sku":"9780813589060","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1b2b151c-ad5f-4adc-bf87-ef0933cbe473.jpg?v=1739058047","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-glass-church-robert-h-schuller-the-crystal-cathedral-and-the-strain-of-megachurch-ministry-9780813589060","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}