UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

Imagine yourself in this situation, it is Sunday morning and you are heading to church. It is a fairly large church with many people attending and many services are offered. You notice the lead pastor is arguing with one of the younger pastors. The conversation itself seems a bit loud and inappropriate for the location but it is not the first time it has happened, and no one elseseems to notice. The following week, you attend a different church that is smaller in followers. You notice the lead pastor arguing with a younger pastor. Everyone is watching the conversation at this point since it seems as if it is uncommon to happen at all. What is the difference? Why arepeople more tolerant in larger churches? Research shows that Narcissistic pastors of larger churches have less dominant followers than smaller churches. The reason for this is that there is a fear that if a narcissistic pastor were to leave the church, the number of attendees would drop because of their devotion to the pastor. In this case, having an understanding of why a pastor caneither reduce or increase church attendance.