The Quiet Transformation: Changes in Size and Leadership of Southern Baptist Churches
Southern Baptist churches have undergone a quiet transformation in recent decades. Shedding the sectarian traits of small fellowships and bivocational lay clergy, SBC congregations are turning to larger churches and seminary trained professionals. This essay documents the transformation and uses the...
| Published in: | Review of religious research |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
1994
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 1994, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 3-22 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Southern Baptist churches have undergone a quiet transformation in recent decades. Shedding the sectarian traits of small fellowships and bivocational lay clergy, SBC congregations are turning to larger churches and seminary trained professionals. This essay documents the transformation and uses theory and research to demonstrate how increasing congregational size reduces membership commitment and conformity. I also argue that the surge in seminary education alters how clergy are selected, leads to less traditional beliefs, and increases the resources needed to support a congregation. Finally, I suggest that the quiet transformation is intimately tied to the raucous and well-publicized debates of the annual conventions. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511649 |