The growth of the megachurch and its emergence in the cultural marketplace is relevant to the understanding of the relationship between popular-secular culture and religious culture in the United States. This study examines the ways in which popular-secular culture is used in the megachurch and how it is changed by the church. The findings help to further our understanding of the importance of cultural products and how they can be used with purpose by institutions. Through an analysis of observations, interviews, and historical research I analyze how megachurches co-opt and change popular cultural products. Analyses are done through the lenses of musical, co-option, postmodern, and culture industry theories. The combination of history and theory provides for a meaningful interpretation of the phenomenon. This study argues that the purposeful administration of a co-opted cultural product by an institution results in a changed cultural product that can be used to guide followers. Style combines with instrumentality to triumph over substance.
