ABSTRACT
The Christian church in the twenty-first century is a most complex entity. Indeed we may very well ask how a relatively small group of followers of Jesus Christ evolved over 2000 years into a “church” of so much diversity and schism that it is hard to recognize any kind of cohesive structure. According to Wikipedia there are in excess of 38,000 distinct denominations of the Christian church. 1 There are at least two reasons to be interested in understanding the Christian church. It is arguably the most successful religion in known history. The Church is also big business. It is a primary consumer of the services and products that acoustical firms and media systems sales and integration companies have to offer. Understanding the Church in all its complexity is critical if we are to succeed in providing the Church with services and products appropriate to its mission.
