Shaun Groves
My pastor and friend, Andy, made a joke at my expense at the conclusion of last Sunday’s service. When I was out of town. When I was unable to defend myself. Coward.
He announced that he’s put together a building committee. Then he went through the list of its members, detailing why their expertise and experience makes them an asset to the team. This guy’s a realtor. That guy’s a contractor. On he went like that until he got to my name.
I am on the building committee, not because I’m qualified or expert at anything, but because, as Andy put it, I dislike buildings.
He thought that was funny. Becky did too. Irony can be pretty funny and I admit that me on a building committee is truly ironic.
I wouldn’t say I dislike buildings though.
I don’t dislike buildings. I’ve never once struck or talked down to a building of any kind, be it a bank, post office, grocery store, whatever. Not once.
I don’t love buildings either. Not once have I and a building sat down for coffee; me confiding and it drinking in my secrets empathetically. We’ve never had a building over for dinner or made sure a building was one of the first to hear our good news.
I’m indifferent to buildings. I use them. And they stand there quietly and let me.
It’s people I care about. I care about them enough to disagree, fuss and fight, and beg forgiveness. On good days I care about them enough to give them my time and energy, words and ears and even my cash.
On good days. For people.
But not buildings.
People contain and carry around with them the mind and compulsions and character of God Himself. Buildings are just the places people gather together out of the rain, away from the outside noise for a little while, to hear God and talk to God together in ways they just can’t alone.
Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.” Luke 17:20-22 THE MESSAGE
The kingdom is among us in the local elementary school where we currently meet up every Sunday: the assembly of the saints. I see the kingdom on the shelves of our food pantry too: So no one has need among us. I hear the kingdom at the conclusion of every service, in the clanking of metal chairs being hung on their racks to be wheeled back into storage for the millionth time: serving in the small things side-by-side. The kingdom is with kids learning about Jesus in classrooms that belong to the city and not us: this is not our home. The kingdom stays behind when we leave the building cleaner than we found it: salt and light. The kingdom is among us when, instead of church shoppers drawn to a sign or steeple, neighbors and friends join us because they want to be with us, they trust us: the favor of all men.
Buildings are fine. I could take ’em or leave ’em. But people? I like people a lot. The kingdom is among them. The kingdom is already among us. That’s a good thing to remember when preparing to break ground.
Andy’s joking aside, he and I both know why I’m on the building committee: Because I’m afraid we’ll forget. And so is he sometimes.
Jonathan Blundell says:
Don’t ever forget! Never!
Jason says:
I’ve always been leery of the churches that seem more interested in the big buildings than the people who are in them. I think you’re right on the money with your feelings on them. 🙂
Laura says:
Our church just moved into our “building” and we wanted to call it “The Building where Life Church meets”.
My son drove by with his grandma and she said “Look, there’s your new church” and he said “No that’s just a building the people are the church”! Something is sinking in!
NancyTyler says:
What a great opportunity for your church to have you on the committee! No chance of you ever getting sucked into agreeing to an onsite Starbucks or other fun things like that.
I was talking to a friend today who’s on a church building committee. He’s an artist and the rest of the committee is made up of engineers. All those left brains are totally steamrolling him. That’s the culture of that church and the DC area though. It’ll be different for you.
Hey, wouldn’t it be something if you could take your building committee colleagues on a Compassion trip before drawing plans and setting up the capital campaign?
benstewart says:
That’s an awesome idea! Does Compassion have a program to take church building committees on trips overseas? That might change the focus of some of their capital campaigns, you think?
Shaun Groves says:
That IS a good idea. Not sure how that would happen, who would pay for it and when we’d get the time, but…maybe a virtual trip to some of the churches Compassion partners with. Hmmm.
Ron says:
I was on staff in a church that self destructed over a building. I am pretty certain we will answer for that. God forgive us.
benstewart says:
I honestly think there is a group of people who can be drawn into the Church and find places to serve at a church with a large building, production gear, etc.
However, I also feel that there are a lot of churches who have “steeple envy” (as Rob Bell would say) who focus on the building rather than the ministry that can come from the building. Too many smaller churches look at bigger churches and think “I want that” and so they make it their #1 goal.
Churches with a lot of stuff need to be churches who both teach and practice the art of giving… MAJOR giving. I don’t think it is inherently bad to have stuff as long as you are giving the proper amount away. (And, “proper amount” isn’t a certain amount dictated by a Biblical law but rather something the Spirit will reveal.)
This is where I think the breakdown happens. Just like it is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven it is harder for a rich church to keep their focus in the right place.
dubdynomite says:
I hope that some day soon, there can be more balance in the way that churches handle facilities. Foremost, that the resources to maintain a facility do not require the majority of the ‘income’ they receive.
Also that they are not only building a theater or an auditorium to be used 2-3 days per week, standing empty the remainder of the week. I’d like to see some creativity in design that makes the facilities multipurpose; in such a way that they can use them to serve the community directly.
I would also like to see the interior design move toward practicality instead of trying to be impressive. I think a building can look nice without dumping money into impractical decorations and furnishings.
Shaun Groves says:
Your paragraph #2 is exactly what we’re trying to do. We have a food pantry but there are dreams of expanding it’s services in time to include things such as literacy and job training, cottage industries, parenting classes, child care, counseling, and the like. We have a lot of generous and talented people in our church and community we think could make those dreams happen, and the thought is that the building we’re planning would be for those programs and that the “church” would just use it as a place to meet. So instead of paying ever-increasing rent to a school district to use their building, we could use that money to build what some have called a community center that we use for church gatherings as well. I’ve seen this other places. It’s not that unusual, actually.
And, dude, we’re in agreement on your paragraph #3 too I think. You’re dead on. I think the method sends a message. And a building is only a method. We have to ask ourselves every step of the way what message it sends. What does it say about priorities, about how members should use their own finances, about what matters? We’re asking how the building can reflect our answers to these questions. You’re totally right.
Shawn B says:
I slept in a church building in lake Katrine, N.Y. with permission of the pastors and after signing a insurance release. It was a real blessing, I am hoping that happens often on my trip because even campgrounds tend to be ridiculously expensive at 30 dollars a night.
Jim Black says:
Good discussion! The building we are renting is a new experience for us. I’ve been church planting for 17 years and we’ve met in 8 places, but never had a 7 day a week building. We’re nervous about it. We don’t want the building to become a monument; we want it to be a useful tool that helps to launch a movement that can’t be contained.
So we’ve been trying hard to make it available to the community, as well as other faith communities and ministries, not to raise money, but to serve them. And it’s working – we’re NOT raising money!But it’s exciting to see what God is doing and how He is providing for it all, as we continue to give away what He has given to us. The beauracrats don’t understand, and it doesn’t make fiscal sense, but we are trusting God…
Shaun, you played a concert in our little place ;ast Spring (Praxis Cafe)…you were a part of how God is blessing us and letting us know that He is present and involved…
Peace,
Jim
misty says:
My husband and I have taken to calling what most consider ‘church’ to ‘the building’. WE are the church – not the building.
We are presently not attending a building. Have you ever seen the movie ‘The Second Chance’? If so, that is the kind of building that we want to attend. Sadly, we haven’t found one.
There are quite a few churches around our area that focus on ‘missions’. But, they are focusing on international missions. Which is awesome!! We also want to be part of a building that is all about local missions. We want to be part of a building that is out in the community day after day helping the people. We want to be part of a building that supports others who want to do local missions.
We have considered starting a house church. There are others that we know who do the jail ministry with us who feel the same. Who feel that the buildings in our community aren’t doing the work of Jesus.
I don’t know what the answer is…. but, I agree church is NOT the buidling. WE are the church.
Shaun Groves says:
What city are you in, Misty?
Yesterday I asked on Twitter and Facebook for the names of churches that are using most of their buildings to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community around them. I got quite a list going. Maybe something on the list is in your area?
Vicki in NC says:
Shaun, any in Charlotte, NC?
Shaun Groves says:
You guys can go to my Twitter account and see all their URLs. I retweeted them as people sent them on to me. Quite a list. Hope it helps!
Brad Ruggles says:
Well said Shaun. I too share your indifference towards buildings…they are a tool and can be used to accomplish amazing things for God’s kingdom. They can also turn into a multi-million dollar anchor that drags behind us.
I’ve seen a lot of great buildings used for Gods glory in my day. And I’ve seen plenty of very pretty and expensive anchors.
misty says:
Shaun, for some reason my reply button is not working so I will just do this the ‘old fashioned’ way. :~)
I live in Oak Ridge, TN which is just outside of Knoxville, TN.
Unless I missed it I did not see any in my area…unfortunately.
What city are you in, Misty?
Yesterday I asked on Twitter and Facebook for the names of churches that are using most of their buildings to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community around them. I got quite a list going. Maybe something on the list is in your area?
benstewart says:
Here in Nashville Fox 17 News did a short story on churches who meet in non-traditional locations that featured the church where I serve. It’s a neat little story, but my favorite part is a quote from one of our co-pastors: “…our vision is never a building, it’s always people.”
That’s not to say that GHC will never build a permanent structure–he and I were just talking the other day about the opportunities that can come from having our own place–it’s just that building is not the first priority of the church. Plans for a structure should be birthed out of a need from within the community.
I’m just happy to follow that type of leadership here in Jesusland. I am also hopeful that we can keep that outlook long-term.
You can watch it here: http://bit.ly/2ZaVT.