This is thinking in public, a program dedicated to intelligent conversation about

front-line theological and cultural issues with the people who are shaving them.

I'm Albert Mughal, your host and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

in Louisville, Kentucky.

Today I'm joined by two guests, Drs. Gerardoardi and Mark Mulder.

Professor Marty is chair of sociology at Davidson College in

Davidson, North Carolina.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Pepperdine University,

and then his PhD from the University of Southern California.

He has authored or co-authored eight books focusing especially on contemporary religious issues.

Professor Mulder earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

and is the chair of the Soci department at Calvin University, where he also teaches in their urban studies and ministry studies departments.

In addition to his teaching, Professor Mulder has published numerous scholarly articles and books that also focus on social change and contemporary American religion.

Professors Marty and Mulder have co-authored a new book, The Glass Church, Robert H. Schuller, The Crystal Cathedral, and

the strain of mega church ministry, which is the topic of our conversation today.

Professors, welcome to thinking in public. You know one of the most interesting questions even as we get started here for me is how the two of you came to collaborate on this book.

That's not an instantaneous decision. Something has to explain how this came together in your minds and then eventually in the book entitled The Glass Church.

How did that happen?

Well, Gerard O'night have been collaborators on a number of projects for a long time.

And what brought us together probably more intimately was another project called

the Latino process congregations project, which is Lily funded and we are co-direct, we continue to be

co-directors of that. And while we were working working on that Gerardo actually pitched this idea so I'm going to let him kind of explain

...