Redeemer family,
Two weeks ago, we launched into an Epiphany sermon series on Practicing a Reordered Imagination. Thus far, we have contemplated:
In the coming weeks, we will examine:
Beholding - The Gaze of Our Eyes
Food - The Fruit of the Ground
Time - Temporality & Transcendence
Embodied Attention - Digital Limits
Narration - Restored Through Story
Eucharist - The Mystery of Presence
The first bit of underlying logic motivating this series is the conviction that we human beings live out of our imaginations. Many of you have heard me say this before and I have written elsewhere, “From the imagination springs desires; from desires flow actions, which over time wear grooves into habits; from habits develop beliefs that justify; and from beliefs come doctrine.”
We are homo imaginari.
The second bit of underlying logic is the conviction that our imaginations can be molded, shaped, and changed by our practices. The human imagination is dynamic, not static.
Therefore, our practices (especially the ones we take for granted) are of profoundly deep importance to the spiritual wellbeing of our souls.
Now, what does all this have to do with Redeemer’s search for a building?
If Winston Churchill was correct when he said, “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us,” then the location and shape of Redeemer’s future building will have an immensely formative effect on us. We will choose and shape a building, and thereafter the building will shape us.
And so as we pray and seek the Lord’s guidance and provision for a building, what sorts of things might we ask of our Heavenly Father?
We might ask for a building that is affordable and functional. Yes and Amen.
But we might also ask for a building that, location-wise, places us in close proximity to neighbors who are in need of the hope of the Gospel. Few things will shape a missional imagination more than regularly experiencing missional encounters with neighbors who do not yet have faith in Christ.
We might also ask for a building with a kind of beauty that points us to the beauty of God and hospitable architecture that points to the hospitality of God.
As we evaluate various potential buildings, one of the most important questions we can ask (after “Can we afford it?” and “Does it have the space we need?”) is “What kind of people would this building shape us to be?”
Redeemer family, I met with our Search Team this morning and I’m so grateful for the wisdom and expertise of the people on this team. While we don’t have any concrete updates for you as of yet, I am encouraged by how the process is going.
Let’s continue to pray together for the Lord to provide whatever building He deems best for us.
In the Father’s Love,
