Are Church buildings an impediment to growth?

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

— Winston Churchill

My brother-in-law is an architect and since he began his studies some years ago, I was reminded of the quote to the left by Churchill. 

Taking this quote at face value and I see how this is very true for the Church. For instance, if you build a sanctuary that has pews all facing one direction and set up like a lecture, then when you enter the space you will expect to be lectured to. This passive form of participating shapes the way we understand how we are to "be the church". Church becomes a practice of cognitive work that hinges on the ability of the preacher to hold your attention for any period of time. We walk out of worship critiquing before we reflect on what we just experienced. We say things like, "good sermon" or "why don't we sing more songs like that?" or "I don't like this part of worship". And why should clergy expect any different?

When we build a building that feels like a movie theater, then we are going to have a congregation expecting a good show each week.

We have built Protestant church buildings in a way that shape us. Architecture is a powerful sermon, and that same sermon is preached every hour of every day of every year. So I give a little slack to the people who argue about the color of the carpet in the sanctuary. Carpet color may sound like a silly argument, but as Churchill points out, the shape of the building shapes us. 

My clergy peers and I talk about how to change the church and what the future of the church will look and feel like. We are talking in the same way previous generations talked about changing the Church. We talk about programs. We talk about sermon styles. We talk about pub ministries and young adult ministries. We talk about relevance and authenticity.  Could it be that perhaps what has been traditionally seen as one of the greatest assets of the Church, our buildings, are our among our greatest liabilities? 

It is hard to out preach brick and mortar.

Green Eggs and Ham and the Spiritual Practices

I have read Dr. Seuss' classic allegory titled Green Eggs and Ham a few dozen times in my life and each time I have read it I assume the reason that Sam-I-am refuses to eat green eggs and ham is because it is new. We talk about how we do not like new things and even how the plate looks a little odd to try green eggs and green ham. (I confess I am not sure if 'green' also modifies ham in addition to eggs.) Who like to try new things? Especially food. 

Then I began to listen to my Church tradition, United Methodism, and I began to consider that perhaps green eggs and ham was not a new dish at all. Perhaps green eggs and ham was a dish that has long been around but Sam-I-am is resistant to the past, not the unknown future. 

It makes me think about the green eggs and ham of the Church are not limited to the "new" ways of doing things but very much a resistance to try the recipes of the past. 

When was the last time you sat in silence? Fasted? Contemplated on one thing for longer than 15 seconds? Journaled your thoughts? Engaged in Bible Study that challenged you rather than just affirm you? Divested of your material possessions? Practiced simplicity? Consider worship as something that is offered rather than something to be judged and assessed? Allowed the Scripture to read you rather than you read the Scripture? 

I wonder if we in the Church might be the Sam-I-Am's not by turning our nose up at the "new" but at the very ancient? 

I have toxins that a celery/prune juice cleanse cannot purge

In our culture's endless pursuit of immortality and illusion of control over the things of our world I have experienced a detox cleanse. For one week I attempted the Master Cleanse. It was okay. I am not adverse to these sorts of cleanses, but I have to admit that I have toxins that even the Master Cleanse cannot purge. 

We all have toxins that cannot be purged through a bodily cleanse. I know that we all are convinced that if it is not material than it is not "real". The grip of Aristotle's understanding of forms married with materialism and the supremacy of the scientific world, we are willing to talk about and even entertain a cleanse of our material body but resist (or discount as less important or less "real") a cleanse of our Spirit. Again, I confess that I have toxins that require a different detox. 

Enter the spiritual disciplines. 

I have the toxin of anger. I have the toxin of envy and pride. I have the toxin of lust and the toxin of idolatry. I have the toxin of violence. And no amount of lemon juice can detox my Spirit. 

Buy organic, great. Drink celery and prune juice, awesome. Workout and sweat our the toxins, super. But let us not fall into the trap that the way to the healthy life is just to be free from bodily injury and illness. Cancer can form on areas that cannot be measured on the PET scan. Our hearts can be beating normally but be hard as stone. Our vision can be 20/20 and still be blind. Our teeth may be perfectly clean and inline but our tongue can be full of venom. We may be slim but carry crushing weight. We may able to hold complex yoga poses but still remain inflexible. The healthy life is more than the body.

We all have toxins that a celery/prune juice cleanse cannot purge.

“For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”

— Jesus in Luke 12:23