The first church I ever pastored was in a small community in the Brazos Valley of Texas. It was a simple wooden chapel, with white siding and a metal roof, the floors were original to the sanctuary from when it was built in 1851. The church was called Zion Methodist, and its humble abode and modest strappings would not be what one would think when reading the word Zion. You see, Zion in the Bible has two different meanings, it was the hill on which the city of David (Jerusalem) was built. But it also describes the heavenly city or kingdom of heaven established by God. Either way, when one first walked into this humble place of worship, trodding upon the ancient floorboards of days gone by, very little imagery would invoke the city of Jerusalem or the Kingdom of God. But that was because worship hadn’t started yet!
If you were to park yourself in one of the old wooden pews and simply sit for a while on a Sunday morning you would notice a few things. You would notice Ms. Kathy, who would most assuredly come up and greet you with a smile and a hug, then make her way to the front of the church to help lead music, kicking off her shoes in the process. You might notice Ms. Heinrich arriving with a carload of neighborhood children who would burst through the doors of the church and go running for the fellowship hall for a plate of cookies and homemade lemonade. Mr. Truitt and Ruby Stuckey would eventually make their way inside, sitting in the same spot they had sat for over 70 years together. He refuses to get a new hearing aid, but if Ruby likes the sermon, then he will be happy. Here comes the Stovers (Dwayne and Christine), with their kids eager to see what the children’s sermon would be, Dwayne will lead adult bible study and Christine will lead children’s Sunday school. Here would come the others, the Darbys, the Wendts, the Grissetts, the Mims, the Evans, the Monohans, the Jones, the Barlings, the VonDomelens, the Wethingtons, and the McGintys. Before you would know it that humble chapel would be full of laughing voices, smiling faces, bible studies, songs being sung, testimonies given, and warm fellowship. In other words, the church.
One’s first impression of Zion Methodist would most likely be of skepticism and boredom. They would find no beckoning balconies, no state-of-the-art audio-visual system, there would be no parking attendants outside, no massive edifices that invoke its holy purpose, no stained-glass windows, no coffee bar or snack shack, not even cushy chairs with cup holders or gift bags. Just simple wooden pews, a well-tuned piano, a humble altar, and a pulpit, all under an illuminated cross. But it would be the people that would snap one out of their premature judgment. Songs of praise would echo as this humble space turned into a place of worship, and while the number of congregants would vary from 30 to 50, it would seem like a mighty multitude. Why would one jump to judgment? Maybe because we have too long embraced the wrong definition of “the church.”
To many, the church is a building, an edifice created with the idea of worshipping God in mind. And while this, in itself, is not necessarily done in bad faith, it is done in error. When we begin to see the church as merely a building, then our goals and purposes begin to change. If the church becomes the pews, then the goal becomes to fill them, if the church becomes the building, the goal becomes to solely focus on the structure. We are encouraged to build newer and newer spaces to keep up with the times and cultural shifts. But by doing so we expend resources, energy, and focus in the wrong direction. Because when the church becomes merely about the building, it turns into an idol that strays us from our true purpose.
The Disciple Luke writes in the Book of Acts the following, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his blood.” The word “church” in this passage in Greek translates to “ekklēsia” which means, “an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting; a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly of those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body of Christ.”
Do you see anything missing from that definition? There is nothing in that definition describing a permanent building or space. That is because the Church is the “Body” of Christ, the communion of believers gathered in worship. Now, notice I said community! You don’t want to be one of those who claim, “I can worship God by myself and have church on my own!” That is also a false definition of the Church and an entirely unbiblical way of worshipping. We are called to communal gathering and worship of our Lord, but the space is merely the necessity of location. When the building becomes the place of honor as opposed to Christ himself, then we begin to falter in our priorities as Christians. We begin to focus on the brick and mortar as opposed to the hearts and souls of our fellow believers and those searching for Christ. The church dwells within all of us who have accepted Christ as their redeemer and should be expounded from us when we go out into the world.
Now, a disclaimer, buildings are indeed important! Spaces that are created to facilitate worship are indeed a way of honoring God. But if the construction, usage, and upkeep of such buildings are taking the place of discipleship, then the building is no longer serving its purpose, it has taken over the Holy purpose of God, in other words, an idol. If your sole reason for going to church is so you can experience the music, the coffee, the lights and sound experience, the traditional rhapsody, the contemporary culture, and not to encounter Jesus, then you are going for the wrong reason. You are merely going to church to serve yourself, and not engage with the Holy Spirit and fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ or encounter the risen Lord.
Our ekklēsia’s should not be built merely upon foundations of concrete and stone, they should be built upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is not a building, nor an institution, it is a movement of the Holy Spirit upon a gathering of believers and seekers. We must unchain ourselves from the obsessive dependency upon the “perfect” building. Or think that merely creating a “new” space will bring the masses in. The masses gathered upon the plains and city streets to hear Jesus preach and speak. Why should we assume that anything less than the truth of Jesus will continue to change lives, save souls, and redeem the lost? A building never made a disciple, that is always done by an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.
May our foundation be built not upon stone or brick, but upon the Word and Love of Jesus and the promise of his return. Such a foundation shall never falter or fail and will last forever. It will be a true Zion.
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Pastor Mike McVey
Minister – First Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ACS Chaplain – United State Coast Guard, Station Galveston TX
