Of Malls and Megachurches

Malls are everywhere in America. Enter your local mall and what will you likely find? Well, there are certainly variations, but there is also a lot of commonality. Malls are America's monuments to consumerism. They are the gathering places of individual taste and personal preference, of spending and using. Malls provide a whole variety of products from the obscure to the profane, from the delightful to the decadent. Most anything you want can be found at a mall ... and "what you want" is king.

Malls typically have similar features, even if the particulars vary. They generally have a food court of sorts, places where you can get the necessary designer coffee and other sustenance you need to keep going. There is usually a bookstore where you can buy trinkets and knickknacks ... and books, of course. Beyond that there is a host of choices. Truthfully, malls don't typically have what you need; they have what you want. For instance, you won't find a supermarket in most malls even though everyone needs to eat. In fact, most of what you need can be found outside the mall in smaller establishments at cheaper rates. Still, malls rule when it comes to consumers. You see, the notion of personal choice and the smorgasbord of "I want it my way" has its own allure.

It's an interesting thing with malls. They tend to be the gathering place of the community. Large numbers of people assemble there. On the other hand, there is very little in the way of communing that occurs there. Oh, you might go with your wife or husband or kids. Often small groups of youth will meet there and pal around. Still, there is not much in the way of interaction. You will come and go and no one will know that you were there. Despite the centrality of community, malls are not generally the place where you build relationships with your community. No, despite the large numbers of people, they are very individualistic.

Malls, then, are simply places where people gather without actually getting together to meet their own desires and satisfy their own felt needs. They like the variety offered and the convenience of one location. They like the appeal to their own wishes. They are willing to pay a higher price for what they want without indulging in interaction because malls are America's monuments to consumerism.

Megachurches are everywhere in America. Enter your local megachurch and what will you likely find? Oh, wait, this sounds familiar. I'll tell you what -- go back to what I just wrote in the previous paragraphs and substitute "church" for "mall" and you'll see a serious correlation. Oh, sure, there are some differences. Malls, for instance, cater to materialistic consumerism while megachurches cater to spiritual consumerism. Malls have a smorgasbord of goods while megachurches cater to a smorgasbord of therapeutic programs and individualistic services. Still, there is a lot of points of correspondence.

Is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem with this?