Page 102 - tesis
P. 102
According to critics of NPCs this commercial aspect, consciously or subconsciously is linked to premises of the neo-liberal market economy (IO1). Other authors underscore that these criteria respond more to the leaders\u2019 vision. Miller notes that the success of these pastors is their visionary capacity which rests on their strong dependence of the Spirit and the expectancy of what they will receive from God according to the scriptures. As a result they often build a strong organizational structure around themselves.46 Broadly speaking these forms of church administration are different to the more empirical model of the administration of church affairs common among traditional Evangelicals.\u000AAnother feature of the enterprise vision of these churches has to do with the way they carry out their pastoral work towards their congregation. As leaders they function as managers and as a result they do not have such a close relationship with their parishioners. They distribute the church\u2019s administrative tasks and delegate the pastoral aspect to the other leaders. Freston says that this same situation is observable in Brazil. Neo-Pentecostal leaders illustrate the tendency towards a connection between the religion of the middle class and the modern managerial approach. These not only absorb the business world but also professionals in this field become transformed into religious leaders (1998b:12-13). Some of the pastors of these churches told the researcher that the work of the pastor is channelled through the cell groups. These lay people are the ones who look after the members of the church, and they pastor each other.\u000A4. Churches which attract young people\u000AA good percent of the population of these churches is composed of relatively young people. This characteristic is more visible among those who worship at the \u2018Iglesia Casa de Dios\u2019, which was not included in the investigations for reasons which have been alluded to. The NPCs under study have many young couples between the ages of twenty-eight and\u000A 46Donald E Miller Available at http://www.pulpitandpew.duke.edu pp. 9-10.\u000A89\u000A