About a month ago I put my hand up to say "Yes, I support the idea of building a church building". Since then I've been feeling like this was not the right thing to do. Over a couple of weeks I trashed around some ideas and wrote this to the head cheeses of the church I hang out with.
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I’ve decide I can no longer support building a building. Not this building and probably not most other buildings. I have come to this conclusion not because of anything the leadership has done or decided but because of an evolution in my own thought about the issue. In other words “it’s not you it’s me”.
In short, I have decided until such time as we have no other way of being church other than a way that costs us more than the cost of building a building; I would rather not build a building.
I have written a quick explanation of the thinking behind my decision which is mainly for my own benefit so feel free to skip it.
The church component of the building
In the past I have thought we have to build a building the question. I no longer believe we have to. The church in China, the early church and most of the churches I've been a part of have all thrived or at least survived without a building.
Not only is God of course outside of a building but God asks to worship God without a building.
Exodus 20:24-26 You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it. You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it."
The eventual building of a temple was inherently problematic. Solomon resorting to slave labour is but one example.
When Jesus set up his ministry he went outside of the temple system and was baptised by John in the wilderness.
The early disciples had no desire to recreate a temple like building for their own worship instead using their own houses.
Today, house churches continue to thrive in places like China, many churches meet without buildings.
The community centre component of the building
I realise the building is much more than a place of worship but also a gift to the surrounding suburban community. Simply, out of all the needs that our world has I cannot in good consciousness prioritise the need for the people of our suburb to have a community space above so many others. The opportunity cost of this gift to the community of our suburb is what could be gifted elsewhere, like a "gift" for a community in the third world.
Nothing would make me prouder than being part of a church community that owned property that generated income which was given to those in need. Each week we could hang a picture of the hospital, school or housing our money had bought with "Church Building" written underneath it.
When I look at the cost of the building and compare that to the cost and hassle of hiring space I just cannot justify it.
In Conclusion
I realise that this is not the view of the rest of the church community and I have annoyingly come to this conclusion "mid process" so to speak when the question of should we build has already been resolved (although perhaps not irreversibly so). Therefore in future meetings I will abstain from voting.
5 comments:
I've gotta be careful reading blogs only of people with whom I agree :P I've never been involved with a church at the process of deciding to build, so I've never voiced my opinion into such a process. I am much more at peace with my current church who meets in a community hall, than a previous church who built and then spent immeasurable effort (and significant cost) worrying about that building.
In reality, I feel that the 'community centre component' is overstated. In the above example, 'other' users and uses of the building came a poor second cousin to 'main' uses, i.e. by the church.
I've just remembered: While chatting with a co-volunteer at Dunsborough Leavers 2008 where I said to him something like "I genuinely hope your church does not decide to build, and continues to meet in (some building owned by someone else)".
I fear that if your congregation is in the financial position of being able to start building their own church then they have already compromised the social side of the Gospel of Christ and will soon be pursuing the mission side mainly to make more money, although they will never admit to that.
I've cobbled together a visual inspired by your post which I would have sent to you if you had an email address and not been a blog whore. You can find it at...
http://revjph.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/letting-go.html
I speak as a priest who once was comfortable in the established church in England but who is now an itinerant internet priest living hand to mouth and completely dependent on the generosity of friends, but who is enjoying the alleviation from the sin of hypocrisy that this lifestyle brings with it.
Great blog by the way. I am certainly going to link to it from my blog.
Hello Mad Priest,
Thanks for the comment and picture. To go in to bat for my congregation for a bit the choice they face is somewhat complex. They have been gifted some land and some money specifically for a building and part of that land is leased out earning money for a building. In many ways it's a bit like deciding whether you should buy a car for a couple of hundred dollars when the value of the car is closer to twenty thousand dollars.
I'm pretty sure there is no way we'd consider raising all the money for a building when it could be spent on other things but, when the cost of the building becomes relatively small it is a lot easier to say yes.
Tough issue. I haven't gone to a church with a building since I was a teenager, which is only partly deliberate. And weirdly, I have begun to think I miss a building, I miss there being a place that church stuff is happening through the week. That's not a very good reason to support building one, but I'm surprised that I'm ambivalent in my old age.
Don't get me wrong having your own building is great and not having one can be a major hassle. But they are expensive things and the question is always if we lived with the hassle what lest could we do?
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