One of the most highly visible changes in the American religious scene during the past five decades has been the emergence of hundreds of huge Protestant congregations that do not carry a denominational affiliation. Most of the big Protestant churches of the 1950s averaged between 1,200 and 3,500 at worship, and the majority were affiliated with a Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Reformed denomination.

The number of Protestant congregations averaging more than 1,200 at worship has at least quadrupled since 1957, and, today, many contend the definition of a truly "big congregation" is an average worship attendance of at least 3,000.

What Happened?
One simple explanation can be condensed to one word: competition. The competition among the Christian churches in the United States to win the allegiance of Americans born after 1960 is far more intense than it was in the 1950s to win and retain the loyalty of people born before 1935. The capability to reach, attract, serve, retain the loyalty of, nurture, assimilate, disciple, challenge, and equip for ministry the generations born after 1960 requires the capability to offer quality, relevance, and attractive choices. That word quality refers to the preaching as does that word relevance, but it also refers to real estate, the ministry staff, learning experiences, and internal communication.

To meet those higher expectations requires more resources than can be mobilized by 15 out of 15 congregations. To use an old cliché, "Them that has gets." The congregations with an abundance of resources become more attractive than those functioning with a scarcity of resources. One example is the minister born, reared, and educated in Lake Woebegon, where all of the children are above average, turned out to be an above average quality preacher. "Above average" was acceptable in 1957. Television has raised the bar so that today "high quality preaching" means in the top 5 percent. By definition, 95 percent of all preachers rank in the lower 95 percent. Excellence in preaching now includes relevant content, humor, passion, certainty, communication skill, and personality.

A second explanation also can be summarized in one word: death. During the past half century, most of those Americans who were content with small institutions have died. That long list of institutions includes grocery stores, banks, public high schools, churches, variety stores, hospitals, airport terminals, colleges and universities, medical clinics, amusement parks, farms, retirement centers, motion picture theaters, single family homes, post offices, and venues for the Olympic Games.

One reason is the demand for quality, relevance, and choices. One consequence is younger generations have learned to be comfortable with the anonymity that is one of the price tags on creating big institutions.

That last sentence introduces a third explanation that can be summarized in three syllables: self-image. Fifty years ago, the typical congregation in American Protestantism identified itself as a collection of families, households, and individuals. "We have 133 members, up from 117 when I joined four years ago." expressed that self-image. That statement of self-identity could include the denominational affiliation, location of the meeting place, and age of the congregation. The minister who had arrived two months earlier might introduce himself, "I'm Jack Olson and I'm the new pastor of a 250-member Presbyterian neighborhood church founded in 1924."

Today's megachurch usually compensates for anonymity, responds to the call for relevance, and offers a variety of choices by defining itself as a collection of cells, circles, classes, fellowships, groups, learning communities, organizations, task forces, and ministry teams.

Changes in Personal Loyalties
A fourth related factor in the emergence of the independent Protestant megachurch can be summarized in the word loyalty. Most adults in America in the 1950s had inherited one expression of institutional loyalty that also had been reinforced by the public schools and by World War II. This was patriotism. Loyalty to religious institutions frequently was inherited and reinforced by the culture, by nationality, by a religious periodical, by the public press, and by rallies sometimes referred to as revivals or denominational meetings.

The combination of deaths, the counter culture of the 1960s, investigative reporting, interdenominational or interfaith marriages, education, greater competition in the marketplace, the Vietnam War, scandals such as Watergate, and a variety of protest movements eroded that old pattern of inherited loyalty to institutions.

One consequence has been loyalty to personalities replaced loyalty to institutions such as political parties. Another consequence is loyalty to institutions has to be earned and re-earned. The frequent flyer awards by the commercial airlines are one example. High quality customer service is another.

Another consequence was the founding pastor of the congregation that grew into a megachurch rarely served a six-year pastorate followed by the pastorate of a stranger for seven years followed by the unintentional interim of two years. The old loyalty to a denominational tradition that compensated for short pastorates was replaced by the 25-year to 40-year pastorate of an attractive personality. The contemporary American culture tends to be organized around personalities rather than institutions. Examples include the entertainment industry, political parties, book publishing, television, major league sports, and religious congregations.

A third consequence of the erosion of loyalty to institutions has produced millions of new members for these independent megachurches. The most highly visible expression of this pattern has been and continues to be the exodus of disenchanted "Cradle Catholics." Interviews with the appropriate staff person in today's independent megachurches surface the question, "What proportion of your new people were reared Catholic?" In the North, the answers usually range between 40 and 80 percent. In the South, these estimates usually are in the 20 to 35 percent range. If the question is rephrased to, "What proportion of your newcomers were active members of another Christian church before coming here?" a typical response is, "We attract disenchanted active members, and they represent about half of our newcomers." If the next question is, "Disenchanted with what?" the half dozen most frequent responses are (1) "With their new pastor" (that is one price tag on short pastorates and/or bad matches), (2) "With the preaching," (3) "With the focus on perpetuating the past and a reluctance to make the changes required to create a new tomorrow," (4) "With the pronouncements coming from the national denominational headquarters or convention," (5) "With the absence of accountability" and (6) "With a recent decision on doctrine or practices."

A fourth consequence can be seen all across American society. Back in the 1950s, most of the adults either were content with or did not seriously object to nonprofit institutions or profit-driven corporations being administered by a "top-down command and control" organizational structure. That was compatible with the system of governance of the Roman Catholic Church in America, the Methodist Church, and the Episcopal Church. A common thread in governance was individual members could make a unilateral decision to depart, but if a congregation chose to leave, it could not take title to the real estate, even when the members had paid all of the costs associated with the purchase of the land and construction of the facilities. That reversionary clause in all three of those large religious bodies currently is being challenged in civil courts.

Back in the mid-1950s, the two predecessor denominations of the United Methodist Church reported about 320,000 members annually switched their church affiliation by intradenominational transfers of membership. In recent years, that annual number is, give or take 10 percent, 110,000. Those individual United Methodists who are disenchanted with a top-down system of governance are free to leave. Many choose an independent megachurch where all decisions are made locally, not by distant authorities.

A substantially larger number of ex-Catholics also point to the system of governance when explaining their decision to join an independent megachurch. They did not trust those in positions of authority in the Catholic church. They do trust the persons in authority in their current independent megachurch.

The Impact of Technology
For those who are counting, a fifth explanation for the emergence of so many independent megachurches can be summarized in one word: technology. Henry Ford can be identified as the No. 1 change agent. Ford was determined that an automobile could be designed and assembled at a price the ordinary worker could afford. It required only a few decades for the combination of a low-cost motor vehicle and the political pressure for good roads to create the new regional institutions that replaced the neighborhood grocery store, bank, single screen motion picture theater, physician's office, hardware store, church, new car dealership, five and dime variety store, and drug store with a large regional successor.

One consequence was the demand for convenient, accessible, and safe off-street parking exceeded the supply. Tens of thousands of Protestant congregations faced six choices: (1)
purchase adjacent property for parking, (2) relocate, (3) merge with another congregation, (4) become a multi-site church, (5) dissolve, or (6) grow older together with fewer members.

By the early 1960s, the value of a surplus of off-street parking was widely affirmed by those responsible for (1) revitalizing the retail trade in the central business district, (2) designing the new suburban shopping centers, (3) organizing what would become a very large Protestant congregation, and (4) creating what became known as "fast food restaurants."

While this aspect of technological change is in its earliest stage, projected visual imagery means every Protestant congregation today that so chooses can look forward to a sermon this coming weekend that will be delivered by a preacher who ranks among the top 2 or 3 percent in America in quality, relevance, and delivery.

Relationships and Succession
During the past half century, the old emphasis in the American culture on functions and tasks gradually has been eroded by a greater emphasis on interpersonal relationships. One example is in several Protestant traditions in the 1950s the members referred to "our new preacher." A major criterion for evaluation was competence in the pulpit. Today that reference often is to "our new pastor." For many, the No. 1 criterion for evaluation is skill in interpersonal relationships. One consequence is the1950s was a more compatible culture for a series of three-year to five-year pastorates. The current American culture places a high value on the continuity of long pastorates. In the 1950s, much of the continuity in a congregation was in the common ancestry (family ties and/or nationality) and place of residence of the members, the denominational affiliation, the Sunday school, the real estate, and social class. Today much of the continuity is in long-term interpersonal relationships such as in small face-to-face groups and long-tenured paid staff members.

One consequence is most of the independent Protestant megachurches in America enjoy the long tenure of a senior pastor or team leader, often the founding pastor. Frequently the successor is not a stranger but the son or son-in-law of that long-tenured pastor or the senior associate minister. What do those three have in common? Each has had time to fully understand and affirm the distinctive culture of that megachurch, to earn the respect and support of the paid staff, and to win the loyalty of most of the volunteer staff before becoming the successor. One alternative is to choose a stranger who brings a different rule book as the successor and watch the numbers go down.

The Rising Tide
Protestant worship attendance in America has doubled since 1965. What is sometimes described as the Fourth Great Religious Reawakening in American church history began in about 1960. The arrival of the first generation of Christian churchgoers in America who decided to search for their own church home, rather than inherit their parents' religious affiliation, dates back to the early 1960s. The growth of the current evangelical movement in American Protestantism dates back to the late 1960s. The competition among the churches for future adherents began to replace the call for greater interchurch cooperation during the early 1960s. The growing support by white Protestants in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the racial integration of white denominations and white congregations gradually began to be replaced in the mid-1960s by a new respect for the demands for ethnic identity and ethnic self-governance.

One reason that rising tide of church attendance failed to lift all the religious ships in the harbor was the conflict between perpetuating the past and creating the new. Most of the ships carrying today's independent megachurches were designed, were staffed, and began to accept passengers after 1960. They were among the chief beneficiaries of the rising tide, and that tide continues to rise in the early years of the 21st century!

For more than four decades, Lyle E. Schaller has served as a parish consultant to hundreds of congregations and scores of denominational agencies. His newest book, From Cooperation to Competition (Abingdon Press, 2006), elaborates on several themes in this article.