Big New Building And Me

 Once the Prescott church had settled in to it's new building it gave me time to reflect on that building. After the initial crowds for conference and men's discipleship had waned. Once we all had found new seats to sit in. After a short time in the new conference center I began to notice something. I began to feel like that building felt sterile. It was big, it held a lot of people, it was high tech, and it felt more like a museum than a local church.

A big building changes everything for the local church. It changes the sound and the feel of a service. It changes how the pastor interacts with the audience. It makes ministering to individuals harder and less personal. It changes how Sunday school is conducted. Everything was new and clean and perfect. And it felt like visiting someone's perfect home where you cannot touch anything or do anything and where the greatest sin is to make a mess.

Last night I was enjoying our pastor being back home and I was looking around at our enormous and bright new building. It is big, it is bright, it is sparkling, it is clean, and it sucks up sound like an audio sponge. I won't go so far as to describe it as sterile. But it definitely changes a lot about the feel and the spirit of our church.

One reason why our church is still warm feeling in our gigantic conference center, AKA our church, is the warmth and friendliness and the love of the San Antonio saints for one another and for new people. The hospitality and the openness is tangible. I have gained a few pounds from all of the fellowship that I have enjoyed since I moved here.

This big new building will change us as a local church. It will change how we worship. It will change how our pastors minister. And once the rush of the new building wears off we can have this new building for our church home, not just for conference. 

Church buildings are for the church. They are a place where common people can assemble to be in the presence of God. We get what we need to keep going. And we learn how to love others.