The Megachurch Phenomenon

by: Zeb W.G.

Danny McBride’s HBO series The Righteous Gemstones follows the antics of the Gemstone family and their televangelist empire. Religion has never been above lampooning, but McBride’s take seems to blend a respect for the followers of the practice with jabs at the often-hypocritical nature of its practitioners. This is really the focus of the show, as much of the plot follows what happens when one of the Gemstones receives a video of himself doing drugs with prostitutes as blackmail. The story of the hypocritical preacher is not an uncommon one, and even appears in the Bible’s Matthew Chapter 23. But what inspired the low deeds of the Gemstone family?

One major association with televangelism is the idea of the “megachurch”. These buildings are huge, with Joel Osteen’s 60,000 square foot Lakewood Church being one of the most well known. Unfortunately, the look of this church does not exactly remind one of the glory of God like the works of the past.

Lakewood Church                                          Cathedral of St. John the Divine

I spoke with the Right Reverend Dan Edwards, former Bishop of the Diocese of Nevada about Televangelism as a whole, and he had a lot to say about the concept of the megachurch. The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the largest gothic cathedral in the US (and sixth largest in the world), explicitly had no congregation until relatively recently. According to Edwards, the purpose of this cathedral, as well as its counterparts, is an act of architectural praise for God. These large churches are sites for special large events, such as celebrations for religious holidays or funerals (with James Baldwin and Jim Henson being among those whose services were held here). Even when a congregation was created, it was only about forty people. Mega churches, by contrast, are more akin to personality cults. They are made to hold thousands of people at once, but the number of people in attendance makes it both easy to meet people and hard to get to know them. When we consider the fact that Lakewood was formally the home of the Houston Rockets, we see a significant difference in the buildings’ original purposes. But even funnier is the fact that the Gemstones’ church was formerly a sports arena too. 

We do have to wonder where these preachers are getting the money that allows them to purchase 60,000 square foot sporting arenas, as well as the many high-end vehicles and private planes we see the families flaunt. Gemstones Ministries, a network of churches run by the Gemstones, receives a humble 1 million dollars in donations weekly ($3 million on Easter and Christmas), but this is somewhat conservative. Some of the real-life mega churches can bring in much more, with Life.Church of Oklahoma bringing in $2.7 million weekly in 2018. John Gray of Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina gifted his wife a $200,000 Ferrari Urus for their eighth wedding anniversary and was met with intense social media backlash. But $200,000 is chump change when compared to one of the more infamous of these church leaders, Kenneth Copeland. Copeland has a net worth of $760 million and he is not afraid to spend it or defend it. He claims “it’s a biblical thing,” comparing his wealth to that of Abraham, one of the key figures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Copeland purchased a private jet from Tyler Perry in 2015 for $20 million with church donations, claiming it would stop him from getting “in a long tube with a bunch of demons”. Whether the demons are regular people or some entity which resides in passenger planes known only by Copeland is unclear. What is clear, however, is Copeland’s belief that those who donate to him will find a “hundredfold” return on their investment through the power of God.

Another interesting point Edwards brought up was the fact that almost none of the modern televangelists or megachurch owners are representing any denomination of Christianity. Early American televangelists such as Billy Graham and Pat Robertson were both Baptist ministers from North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. Modern sector leaders run explicitly nondenominational churches, such as Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen. This is another commonality with McBride’s characters in Gemstones. The family never mentions any denominations, nor do any of their churches display any loyalty outside of Gemstone Ministries.

It is these elements which McBride pokes fun at in the show. In addition to using Osteen’s church as a model for Gemstones Ministries’ main stage, the first season involves Eli, the Gemstone patriarch, purchasing a large section of a shopping mall to convert into a church. An explanation for the Ministries’ earnings are demanded by a member of the family, and of course, the personal failings of the Gemstones themselves are front and center. The adult children of Eli often throw fits when they don’t get their way (such as being told they will not be taking one of the three private jets to Jerusalem for the weekend). The second season sees another target in a competing mega-preacher couple who intend to open a Christian timeshare resort blandly named “Zion’s Landing”. This naming is an obvious parody of the often-perceived grifters like the aforementioned Kenneth Copeland.

The Righteous Gemstones is set in North Charleston, South Carolina, a tried-and-true bible belt state. It is not surprising to know that televangelism as a practice took off in the American South, especially after the introduction of the television. When Copeland’s “prosperity gospel” and the poorer, more religious southerners combined, it created the self-fueling beast we know today. It is this background that makes Gemstones so compelling. It is a familiar story to the one we have watched unfold in the United States for generations, proving that in order to be a televangelist on television, McBride has done his fair share of research.