I've been thinking lately about "church buildings" and their eternal value. Its been on my mind about what they are good for, the many views that people have of them and the contextual use in todays world. This thought all came about because of a conversation I was involved in with about a pastor wanting to put a steeple back on a building when it had been removed years before. As the three of us talked I had to remove myself from the conversation as I was about to go off on the vanity of wanting to put a steeple on a building for around $100,000 when people are dying physically and spiritually!
Now I do want to say that this church and pastor do great things for the kingdom, but when it comes to this choice, I want to say I totally disagree with it. This leads me to ask the question of, why do we let the culture and the idea of business define our choices with the church? There is a saying that goes something like this, "so goes the culture, so goes the church". The culture defines for the most part the churches choices in what they spend money on to how we reach people with the good news. Just take a step back and see how the overall business of the church is handled or even sit in on some staff meetings. I once had a guy after a church service say that "we need to run the church like a business, since its like a business"
The Pastor as CEO mentality and so on looses what Jesus modeled for us as our good/chief shepherd (see John 10:1-11 & 1 Peter 5:4). I have never heard a CEO dying for his "employees", but a shepherd will die for the sheep as will a friend, for Jesus said "greater love has no one then this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). This is an over welling theme in the scriptures that should never be ignored or over shadowed by anything. The title of this blog comes from Matthew 24 and the disciples pointing out the buildings and how beautiful they are, but Jesus in contrast to there words says, "Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down." (24:2). The disciples looked to the building, the ascetic beauty and even there misunderstanding of what the temple really meant and was for, but Jesus was talking about something greater, his second coming (not getting into this here; maybe another time).
I want to just talk about our need to refocus as Christ's body into a heavenly mentality not an earthly mentality (2 Corinthians 4:7-12 & Philippians 3:7-11). What we find of value will be what we spend money and time on. This is true across the board and can be good, but also can be bad depending what we focus on. If buildings and worldly things then bad, but if Jesus and his kingdom then very good, for Jesus said we can not serve two masters but one (Matthew 6:19-21 & Luke 12:13-21).
With all this said.......
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the Father" (Hebrews 12:2)
