The Megachurch in the Landscape: Adapting to Changing Sale and Managing Integrated Green Space in Texas and Oklahoma, USA
In: Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and EcologySearch for other papers by Susan Bratton in
Current site
Google Scholar
Christian megachurches in Texas and Oklahoma, of 4000 weekly attendance or greater, vary in green space design from impenetrable to highly accessible, and from predominantly mowed lawn to sophisticated plans incorporating a variety of outdoor recreational and ritual spaces. The most complex layouts include sites for baptism and prayer, as well as small natural areas. Conscious expression of practical theology or Christian symbolism in the green space is correlated to higher landscape connectivity and diversity. The recent appearance of large church campuses, exceeding 50 ha, has resulted in sporadic innovation, while for many large congregations green space remains an underutilized resource. Five theological questions for religious campus planners include how does green space: 1) express God's beauty; 2) honor providential environmental services; 3) teach about the relationship between God, humanity, and the environment; 4) provide connections among God, nature, the congregation and the neighbors; and 5) provide for the needs of others?
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Bratton Susan. 2008. Environmental Values in Christian Art. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.
-
———. 2009. Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife. Scranton: University of Scranton Press.
-
———. 2010. “Anti-imperial Themes and Care for Living Nature in Early Christian Art,” in van Houtan Kyle S., Northcott Michael (eds) Dominion and Diversity. Wipf and Stock Publishers, pp. 113–138.
-
Cox Harvey. 2009. The Future of Faith. San Francisco: HarperOne.
-
Dorrien Gary. 1998. The Remaking of Evangelical Theology. Louisville: Westminster/John Know Press.
-
Forman Richard. 1995. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions. New York: Cambridge University Press.
-
Gorringe Timothy. 2002. A Theology of the Built Environment: Justice, Environment, Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
-
Guinness Os. 1993. Dining with the Devil: The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
-
Hellmund Paul, Smith Daniel. 2006. Designing Greenways: Designing Sustainable Landscapes for Nature and People. Washington, DC: Island Press.
-
Independence Preservation Trust. 2009. Independence Texas. Houston: Independence Preservation Trust.
-
Inge John. 2003. A Christian Theology of Place. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishers.
-
Jackson Peter. 1994. Maps of Meaning: An Introduction to Cultural Geography. London: Routledge.
-
Jenkins Willis. 2008. Ecologies of Grace: Environmental Ethics and Christian Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
-
Kantzer Kenneth, Wells David F., Beers V. Gilbert. 1984. “Hard Questions for Robert Schuller about Sin and Self-esteem” Christianity Today, August 10, 1984, 28: 14–20.
-
Kieckhefer Richard. 2004. Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
-
Lane Belden. 1988. Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press.
-
Loveland Anne, Wheeler Otis. 2003. From Meetinghouse to Megachurch: A Material and Cultural History. Columbia: University of Missouri Press.
-
Murray Lois Smith. 1972. Baylor at Independence. Waco: Baylor University Press.
-
National Research Council. 2005. Valuing Ecosystem Services: Toward Better Environmental Decision Making. Washington: National Research Council.
-
Ndubisi F.2002. Ecological Planning: A Historical and Comparative Synthesis. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
-
Pahl Jon. 2003. Shopping Malls and Other Sacred Spaces: Putting God in Place. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press.
-
Patterson Eric, Rybarczyk Edmund. 2007. The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.
-
Putney Clifford. 2001. Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
-
Scully Vincent. 1991. Architecture: The Natural and the Manmade. New York: St. Martin's Press.
-
Selman Paul. 2000. Environmental Planning. London: Sage Publications.
-
Shook Kerry, “Our Vision,” Fellowship of the Woodlands Website (accessed May 2010).
-
Sibley David. 1995. Geographies of Exclusion: Society and Difference in the West. London: Routledge.
-
Singer David. 1980. “The Crystal Cathedral: Reflection’s of Schuller’s Theology,” Christianity Today, August 8, XXIV no. 14: 28–29.
-
Smith David. 2000. Moral Geographies: Ethics in a World of Difference. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.
-
Spirn A.W.1998. The Language of Landscape. New Haven: Yale University Press.
-
Thuma Scott, Bird Warren. 2010. “Not Who You Think They Are: A Profile of the People Who Attend America’s Megachurches,” Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Website, (accessed April 2010).
-
Thuma Scott, Travis Dave. 2007. Beyond the Meagachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America’s Largest Churches. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
-
Vaughan John N.1985. The Large Church: A Twentieth Century Expression of the First-Century Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 233 | 28 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 76 | 4 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 19 | 8 | 0 |
The Megachurch in the Landscape: Adapting to Changing Sale and Managing Integrated Green Space in Texas and Oklahoma, USA
In: Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and EcologySearch for other papers by Susan Bratton in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Christian megachurches in Texas and Oklahoma, of 4000 weekly attendance or greater, vary in green space design from impenetrable to highly accessible, and from predominantly mowed lawn to sophisticated plans incorporating a variety of outdoor recreational and ritual spaces. The most complex layouts include sites for baptism and prayer, as well as small natural areas. Conscious expression of practical theology or Christian symbolism in the green space is correlated to higher landscape connectivity and diversity. The recent appearance of large church campuses, exceeding 50 ha, has resulted in sporadic innovation, while for many large congregations green space remains an underutilized resource. Five theological questions for religious campus planners include how does green space: 1) express God's beauty; 2) honor providential environmental services; 3) teach about the relationship between God, humanity, and the environment; 4) provide connections among God, nature, the congregation and the neighbors; and 5) provide for the needs of others?
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 233 | 28 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 76 | 4 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 19 | 8 | 0 |