ChurchScape: Megachurches and the Iconography of Environment

Buildings and landscapesare as much a part of the Christian church as its creedsareflecting the faith and proclaiming God. The architecture of the church'sstructures and the curating of its groundsare unique windows into the church's history and the shape of its theological commitments. Birthed in the iconoclastic spirit of the Reformation, the scapes of Protestant churcheshave experienced massive shifts in design and scope. From humble beginningsasmall buildings and cemeteriesachurches today can occupy thousands of square feet across hundreds of acres. The modern megachurch, with itsextensivecampuses,parking lots, and sprawling lawns,has changedhow we think about the church and its spaces. Form follows function, and theology is in both. The shifts inscale,style, and symbolwithin the church's common spacesreflect changes in ecclesial priorities, even as theyformthe theological imagination in new ways. In ChurchScape , Susan Bratton chronicles the story of the Protestant church's transformation of landscape and building. Citing the influence of college campuses on megachurch architecture, Bratton examines the features that are a part of many megachurch complexes, including waterscapes, iconography, and outdoor art. Taking readers on a cross-country journey to over two hundred churches, Brattontracesthe movement from the small parish building of the nineteenthcentury to the extensive complexes that form today's churchscapes. As she moves from church to church, Bratton describes howallthe church's spacesabuildings,greens, gardens, and gatewaysatogethershape its practices, name its beliefs, and form its life together. Bratton's work offers the first historical and theological analysis for the megachurch and itsphysical planners and planters. She demands that all of us look with new eyes at the ways the church may be an innovator without being disruptive, a place of communitywithoutbecomingexclusive, and a site of abundancewithoutdecadence. The church-in-place mustconsider how its scapes and spaces reflectits sacred life.