Posted on 08/30/2021 2:16:10 PM PDT by 11th_VA
(RNS) — Services at an influential Nashville-area megachurch were disrupted Sunday (Aug. 29) after the wife of the church’s founding pastor stood up and accused his successor of conspiring against him.
During a 9:00 a.m. service at Grace Chapel in Franklin, Tennessee, pastor Rob Rogers apologized to the congregation for an ongoing conflict with the Rev. Steve Berger, Grace Chapel’s founder.
Berger, who nearly three decades ago founded the church — whose members include Tennessee Governor Bill Lee — stepped down as lead pastor in order to start a discipleship program for influencers in Washington, D.C.…
The apology from Rogers was repeatedly interrupted by outbursts from the congregation — including one church member who called for a prayer of repentance. After that prayer, Sarah Berger got hold of a microphone, walked on stage and began berating Rogers, who she said had not repented “for sinning against my husband.”
“It has been made manifestly evident that there’s been an endeavor to cancel the founding pastor of Grace Chapel,” she said. Berger accused Rogers and Bright of labeling her husband as a “Christian extremist” and said the couple would be leaving the church, where Steve Berger had assumed an advisory role as “founding pastor” after naming Rogers as his successor. Steve Berger caused controversy following the Jan. 6 insurrection, blaming antifa activists for storming the Capitol. Berger, who had been in Washington that day to attend a pro-Trump rally, later apologized for those remarks during a Facebook video…
Several high-profile churches have seen private disputes go public recently, often involving the successor of a well-known pastor. McLean Bible Church faces a lawsuit… At Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis, the successor to influential pastor John Piper resigned over the summer after ongoing internal conflicts in the church and a school Piper founded...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Devil is very busy.
Humans are easy pickings...
I guess the new management threatened her rice bowl.
At least they’re not whipping out swords and lopping off heads or tossing bombs at each other, like a certain “religion of peace” is prone to
First Baptist Dallas went through a messy transition after Criswell stepped down after 40 years at the helm. A couple of pastors cycled through and there was a lot of dissention until the third one stuck.
And it can’t get much messier than what happened at Coral Ridge after D. James Kennedy. Billy Graham’s grandson split the church, banned Kennedy’s widow from the facility, and ended up defrocked (adultry). The church is a fraction of it’s former membership and stature.
I’ve never understood the draw of ‘megachurches’.
How do you have fellowship with thousands of other people?
You may as well just go to a rock concert.
The church is not the people in the pews being “entertained.” I go to a large Baptist church and by pooling our resources and people, we are able to have a mission field all over the world and in our own backyard.
Mega churches do the brainwashing technique with the music and the crowds and the charismatic speaker....think Jim Jones...
Interesting article on the music element here:
https://academic.oup.com/shm/article/25/2/271/1739124
Well, I’m glad. But when I see these churches on television, it just doesn’t seem like my cup of tea.
This article attempts to attack the notion of brainwashing by music, unsuccessfully imho—and has a lot of interesting history.
The last time I was in a large church like this, it WAS a concert. Full band, lighting smoke machine, etc.
Not my scene. We have a home church group and we volunteer for some outreach programs.
They can keep the big, flashy Millennial church program. Heck, they even had a coffee/latte bar and barista in the lobby.
I don’t know - I was raised in the Presbyterian church, and I recall ‘losing myself’ and experiencing euphoria at times during certain hymns - but the old hymns were inspired by deep thought and consisted of real poetry.
I’ll have to read the paper, but the abstract suggests overthinking to me.
Not all “megachurches” are the same. I have gone to this particular church for about 18 years and I have met thousands of people. But there are people who sit in the pews every week and know no one. They don’t serve in any particular capacity.
Megachurches just scream grifters & Joel Osteen to me.
A rock concert would totally have a better vibe.
As far as I am concerned the best churches are the ones that have congregations that number in the hundreds. When you get to the size of a congregation that the minister or pastor does not recognize active members you are no longer able to function as a religious comunity that is looking out for each other and you end up leaving the door open for predator’s that look at the devout and religious as the perfect victims to take advantage of.
I don’t actually disagree with all of the messages of people like Osteen and other megachurchers I’ve heard.
I just don’t think it’s the best way to reach people in a lasting and meaningful way.
This is a fundie church in a rich rich rich area
Very strict
Also very works oriented
And kind of pc on race especially
Aren’t they all nowadays.....I live two miles west of this church
They also have a school there.....
A friend of mines middle school kid went there and at a school sponsored outing he texted
“When do the hot chicks get here “
The teacher saw the text and he was expelled ....
Crazy people..
There is a place where super strict sexual Puritanism. Meets political correctness about objectifying girls
That boy hit that third rail
I’ll pass.
I try to explain to folks here that private schools sadly are not the answer....
That said I know decent folks who go there...
Don’t be ignurnt
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