I went to a seminar today that some interesting topics. Well, some more interesting than others! A gentleman named Dan Cook spoke. Dan began a ministry years ago called Building God’s Way. They help Christian schools and churches with buildings and with being good stewards of their existing buildings. Dan came to know Jesus a little more than 20 years ago. He was an architect at the time. He told us that prior to coming to Christ, he had worked with over a hundred churches in helping them build new buildings. In all of those projects and countless meetings with church leaders he said no one had ever told him about Jesus. He said, “I knew about prayer because at the end of the meeting they would say, ‘you can leave now, we’re gonna pray.'” Dan said they never shared Christ with him. In his words, “I was simply a tool to help them get their new building so they could keep doing church.” Ouch!
When “church” becomes a building instead of the people, we’re in trouble. In most churches congregations, the building is the focus. It is where much of our money goes. The building should be a means to an end, not the end! It provides a place for us to meet, fellowship, encourage one another, pray together, teach, gather, share communion, and build relationships. Sports analogies are overdone, but the building is the locker room, not the playing field!
How many times do we drive to the building, sit in the building, admire the building, and then leave. We do this and think we have been good Christians for the week since we “went to church.” We know that Christ cares deeply for His church (He died for it!). That is theologically correct. Where we get it wrong is to asume that the building we call “the church” is what He died for. When we start to think that way our priority becomes our building instead of the people for whom He died. Satan can get us out of the Kingdom business when we focus all of our energies and efforts on ourselves. Thank you Dan for the reminder today of what we are to be about.
A Pastor's Thoughts 