Our very reliance on buildings as our places of worship stems from our missiological (mis?) understanding fo what we think church is all about. It isn't about inviting to people to come out of their comfort zones and into a strange space to sing unfamiliar songs and hear a lecture about living a life of purpose and destiny. Somehow, we still believe that somehow a non-churched person (who we automatically assume isn't following any other valid spiritual journey) that is need of being programmed with our information might suddenly realize their need for church and then come strolling in. Thinking missionally requires to lose the manfactured "Us" and "Them" mentality of the modernist church.
I'm suggesting we should live missionally and build into people's lives, gathering them into a community as living stones, rather than using our time, budgets and energy in the effort to place them into a building of gathered stone.
Neighborly support in a time of crisis, a ride to work when the car dies, food when there is nothing in the cupboard; can of these events take place in the several hundred seat auditorium with fancy slide presentations and rock concert light shows? I would dare to suggest that even the well-intended ministries we run are dominated, designated and restricted by the facilities we have.
If we need to use space for our ministries - why not the ones that are already created out of and for the local community culture? Aren't those places created by the very people we are seeking to living in community with, to walk and suffer and rejoice and have fun with? Life takes place in the street and the cafe, in the bar and concert hall - not in a business park off of the expressway with stadium seating.
Jesus states very clearly his idea of true worship in John 4 and Matthew 25:31-46. How could we morally consider building another auditorium when there is a child starving or homeless? Just who do we really do our style of "worship" for?
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