I was reading the Leadership Journal, a magazine on church issues, today. Most of the material in this quarter's issue concerns how we use space and facilities to be the church. Amidst mixed signals and ideas, and through some personal reflection I began to wonder if there really was one way to "do" church. A few decades ago, you knew what you had to do. Build a church with a sanctuary, some education rooms and a place to eat. End of story except for blessing those who would wander into your building. But recently that story has been changing.
Today you can get lost amongst all the choices out there, and there is no longer a clear path to follow. Coffee shops for Christ, retail stores on a church campus, multiple use facilities, and invitations for the community to use the building for *gasp* non-Christ-centered events! Wow, my head started to spin as I read and thought about all the uses that churches were being put to. And that is not even mentioning all the talk I have been hearing lately about using non-Christian buildings to do church.
There is a song that I used to sing as a child, and I think that I am going to teach it to my kids so that they can remind me of a very important fact. It goes something like this: "The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people."
It may interest you to know that the bible is fairly quiet on what the church "building" is supposed to look like. What it primarily focuses on however, is what the church people are supposed to look like. I may be preaching to the choir here, but its time for us to realize that the building and furnishings will not bring people into the presence of God. Those doing the furnishing will! We could have the best looking facility in the world where people would understand that they have entered something sacred and feel uplifted. But that whole feeling can be destroyed by those present with the furnishings. On the other hand, you could invite someone into a run-down, falling apart clap board shack anywhere, and they will enter into the presence of God provided that those gathered are seeking to be the people of God.
We have tremendous freedom in this world to furnish or not furnish the church. We can build great buildings, ordinary buildings, or no buildings. We do need to be creative and intentional about how our space is being used--especially now when times are so hard. But it starts with our hearts and our desire to bring people to God. That must be first and foremost before we even think about what our building says or stands for. Then, when we are seeking to be the people of God and not just "do" church, we have the freedom to be creative and reach people through the building because we are already the church through our obedience.
16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice. (Psalm 51:16-17, The Message)
