Theological Sunglasses

The following is a dialogue I initiated with some of the leadership at my home church as they are in the process of re-constructing a new building. I think it is something for us all to consider:

I took a short course in January titled Christian Worship. In it, one of the areas we discussed involved the messages we convey about God and about who we are as a community of faith and a people of God, even in the simple things such as service structure and physical setting (in this case: church building). In most cases (intentional or not) we communicate a lot about who we are and what we value based on these things. For example, we gather as community in what most would consider an auditorium, in which chairs are in rows all facing forward toward a stage. Just the idea of an auditorium conveys the message that we are here to listen/watch some "performance" in which the most important things take place at the front. Thus, there is a sense that participation is severly limited, with the hope for attentive listeners. It becomes difficult to even see who we are as we gather in community because we have traditionally designed it in a way that says, "you may only look forward." One of the questions we had to wrestle with as a result of this class was/is, "What message does an auditorium blueprint convey about God and about ourselves as a people of God? What does it say about what we value as important/vital to the life of the community?"

Our professor used one church he encountered simply as an example. First of all, the leadership there decided to be intentional about calling the place where they gathered for worship--a sanctuary. There are many messages behind something so simple as a name, not the least of which is the message that this is a meeting place between God and his people, a place of refuge, rest, and renewal. The sanctuary was then intentionally designed with the "stage" at the center with the chairs circled around it. The idea is to automatically convey that we gather as a community in which what we say and do here impacts us all as we interact with each other in worship. It is an aspect which I am convinced cannot be achieved in an "auditorium" setting (at least the way churches have done it in the past). Then, at the center was some form of podium, along with a good size table, and an in-ground baptistry (what I picture is something like what exists at Metro but inside--this one also had rock structure around it, I guess for beautification purposes). Before construction began on this building the leadership wanted to make a point with the connection of these three things to the center of the sanctuary. They wanted to convey that they are a people of the Word. The Word of God is central to who they are and central to revealing who God is. They also wanted it to be emphasized that we come together as a people of God around a table. Around the table we lay our differences aside and we join together to commune and feast with God because he has welcomed us to the table with him. Finally, they wanted to emphasize that baptism, as initiation into the life of God, is at the heart of who they are as a community and at the heart of who they believe God calls them to be.

I realize this is not a very thorough analysis but I thought it worthwhile to bring to your attention. This is not a critique on my home church as much as it is an attempt to dialogue about how we approach what we do with theological lenses on. I can't help but think that Metro is in a very unique situation right now. How many churches get the opportunity to redesign the community meeting place in light of who God is and who we are as his community in this world? After purchasing a building most churches only get the chance to add on, they don't get to completely redesign an already existing building. Unfortunately, I think it is easy to continue with what we have always done as churches without considering the theological implications and the messages proclaimed in them about what we value and who we desire to become. I realize any of these changes would be significant and maybe even drastic in many peoples eyes compared to what has always been done at Metro, however I believe thinking about these things is too important not to reflect on how it might shape the Metro community as you move forward from this point into the future. My goal is not to change things but to help you consider and reflect on what might be some new ideas in light of what I have recently learned this semester. It is not about making change for change's sake but about exhausting all means as leadership to mold and shape people into the image of God in Christ that we might share the good news of the gospel to His glory.

Based on my experience in this class, I will no longer think the same, even about the things we have tended to deem insignificant (such as physical setting) in the past. I hope others will be open to thinking in these ways too. It's a new day and I think there is something to wearing these theological shades.