Redeemer Family,
As we anticipate our Vestry voting on whether or not to close on 1801 Park Ave. and prepare to fast and pray for wisdom and discernment in this process over the next two weeks, I want to share something that I’ve been thinking about because I wonder if some of you have been thinking about it too.
How do we cultivate an appropriately biblical and healthy mentality towards the idea of owning a church building?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently for three reasons:
Redeemer has never owned a church building before; this is new territory for us as a parish.
I’ve noticed that some people have a tendency to overvalue and idolize church buildings.
I’ve noticed that sometime people tend to undervalue and disparage church buildings.
Overvaluing and idolizing church buildings often looks and sounds like the following:
We’ve “arrived” as a church once we own a building.
Owning a building makes us a “real” church.
Obsessing over the look, feel, style, vibe, historicity, legacy, prominence, cost etc. of a building.
Undervaluing and disparaging church buildings often looks and sounds like this:
All this talk about a church building takes away from the real work of ministry.
Capital campaigns are just squeezing rich people for money.
The early church didn’t own a building, so we don’t need to either!
The first often comes from a place of pride (and frequently, comparison to other congregations). The second comes from a place of fear (that only scrappy, tight-budget church plants practice the authentic Gospel).
Before I go any further, let me just say that I empathize with both kinds of people! On the one hand, there is something special about putting down roots in a neighborhood and investing in a long-term home for our congregation. On the other hand, church buildings can become idolatrous barriers to the humble work of ministering the Gospel of Jesus.
It seems there is a healthy tension that must be held if we are to be truly, biblically faithful in our posture towards a church building.
Here are a few perspectives for your consideration:
God takes place and home deeply seriously for his people. God made a home for the first humans in the Garden of Eden. It was sin that cast them out and made humanity wandering, restless, nomadic creatures. Humans are made to have homes. We see this theme again and again in through the Old Testament, especially in God giving the promised land of Canaan to the Israelites. Exile and losing the land was a devastating blow to Israel. They lost their home. Of course, what Israel was to learn during their exile was that their true home was in God. But that does not mean that having a physical home is not important! In this sense, we must take the “both/and” nature of a sacramental worldview seriously. Our spiritual home in God is real AND our physical homes are important too. Revelation gives us a most compelling and beautiful picture of this p when God renews and remakes the physical world to be a place where he dwells with his people forever and ever.
The Incarnation tells us something about the nature of being a church in the city. As Eugene Peterson translated John 1 in The Message, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” When a Christian family buys a house or a church buys a building, we have the opportunity to follow in the way of Jesus and incarnate the presence of God to our neighbors.
Never love the gift more than the giver. One of the significant sins of Israel was an over-identification with their land (specifically with the temple in Jerusalem) and an under-identification with the living God and His commands. In short, Israel loved the gifts of God more than God himself. This is the great temptation that always accompanies any kind of material possession. God has given you many wonderful things. Now the question for you is, how will you respond? With a life of thanksgiving, gratitude, and generosity? Or with a life of obsession, selfishness, and greed?
Ownership can bring stability. In the same way we know that a family is the people and not the physical structure, we know that the church is the people, not the building. But, can owning a home help a family thrive? You bet it can. Because once the question “Where is home?” has a settled, secure answer, the family is able to turn their attention and energy towards other important questions. The same dynamic is at play in churches. “Where is home? Where will we gather? Will there be room for children? Can all of our members easily access the building?” Once these questions have settled, secure answers, a congregation is free to ask other, more interesting, outward-facing questions like, “Who are our neighbors? What are their needs? How can we be of service?”
Owners think differently than renters. Locals think differently than tourists. I’ve been both, and I bet many of you have too, and we know the difference. Tourists and renters are (usually) not making a long-term investment in a place. They are there to visit, to see, to take, to sample, and then leave. Owners and locals view the same little patch of planet earth differently. Good owners and good locals love their place. They care deeply about the long-term good of a street, a neighborhood, and a city. Their heart is invested and they are willing to sacrifice for the good of their place.
Redeemer family, my concluding thought (and one that you’ll hear more about in the future) is this: The process is the point. What I mean is this: the discernment process, the prayer process, the seeking-the-Lord process, the feasibility process, the due diligence process… these all are part of our spiritual formation. As we engage the process, we are invited to meet and be met by God and grow through the uncertainty, the curiosity, the wonderful, the faith, and the trust.
Let’s not waste the process and try to fast-forward to the end of the movie.
If there was ever a good time to grow healthier in the way we think about church buildings, neighborhood relationships, the city of Richmond, and the long-term health of our parish, this is it!
I love you all dearly and we are in this together.
In the Father’s love,
