Love and humility are keys to the successful discussing of one of today’s hot-button issues—Venues.The tail has been wagging the dog!Venue: “The scene or setting in which something takes place.”
Venue’s purpose: “Facilitate what is intended to take place.”
Logic would seem to suggest that whatever is taking place ought to determine the appropriate venue, that we should begin with the “something,” or purpose, and find the best possible venue to serve that purpose. But in the church, purpose often drops through the cracks as we argue over venues.
Question? Can we be bold enough to climb out of the historical (or contemporary) rut and rethink this issue of venues in the light and context of the church’s purpose in the earth?
The appropriate venue for a swim meet is a swimming pool. The appropriate venue for mountain climbing is a mountain. The appropriate venue for sledding is snow! Need I go on? Do you see the connection between purpose and venue?
We have been hoodwinked! We have been led astray because we have been too vague about our purpose. Rather than argue over venues (down to the color of the carpet) let’s backtrack and get it right. Let’s clarify our purpose in some detail, and then seek the best possible venues for fulfilling our purpose. (I would suggest that it will require more than one venue to fulfill our purpose. Just think about it!)
I have seen venues of practicality, venues of opportunity, and venues of necessity. I have also seen mystical venues, traditional venues, and historic venues. From pristine white or brick chapels with steeples reaching for heaven to cavernous tabernacles reaching for the past—whether there are bats in the belfry or ghosts in the cemetery, none have anything to do with the defining purpose of authentic Christianity.
The purpose of wineskins is to contain wine. We fuss and fume, even divide, over so many things that really do not matter. Bottom line, we are the wineskins, and Jesus is the wine. Some of us are tall; some of us are short. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Some of us are old; some of us are young. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
We would be wise to hear the pragmatic over the mystic when considering venues. I am writing to you today (composing this book) on my PC. No other venue can compete with a the practicality of a computer when writing a book!
Nothing exceeds the church in the developing of impractical facilities—facilities that do not facilitate the purpose of the church. God does not dwell in glass cathedrals. Such facilities that do not facilitate actually constrain, choke, the intended purpose of God.
Time with China’s underground church has clarified the relative unimportance of venues for me. Third world experiences help me to see into the creativity born out of necessity. Adjusted values plus adjusted worldview equal adjusted priorities!
Our brethren in India, Africa, and other places weave palm fronds together, and construct thatched roofs to protect themselves from the scorching, blazing rays of the sun. It is all-too common to need to start all over again following the damaging monsoon rains.
Those who are blessed just a little more build humble structures from homemade mud bricks, thatched roofs, and spread cow dung over the dirt floor, which hardens and keeps down the dust. They need central meeting facilities because they are too poor to have a home large enough to host a gathering. As many as six or eight people might sleep on the floor of one room, like puppies. Pastors often live in lean-tos at the back of the church building. Meeting places absolutely must be within walking distance, for walking is their only mode of transportation.
Meanwhile, back in the USA, I received a call and made an appointment with a young man who told me that he was called to preach. (I should have immediately been suspicious!) When we met he asked me to “provide apostolic fathering.” I agreed to invest myself in a relationship that, hopefully, would be helpful to him.
He was very ambitious, and it was immediately evident that I would likely be walking with him through a breaking process that would not be pleasant.
Not long after, he informed me that he had rented a storefront, purchased a sign, and ordered chairs and office furniture (for both him and his wife). They would begin Sunday morning and Wednesday evening meetings soon. (So much for “fathering!” I was a figurehead on his flow chart.)
Learning from my own experience, and by walking with others, I knew that I could not rescue him from impending disaster, that all I could do was pray for him to survive the next months, and be there for him if he wanted me.
He proceeded to preach twice a week, and his wife taught Sunday school. The congregation: his wife and children, plus zero! Several weeks went by, and not one person came. (Those poor kids!)
He called in a panic one day to tell me that he had no money to pay the rent or make the payments on the furniture and sign—no money for groceries. “What should I do?” he asked. I counseled him:
• Get a job
• Vacate the building
• Get a job
• Return all of the furniture and sign
• Get a job
• Meet in their home
• Get a job
I didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear, so I did not hear from him for some years. Deja Vu! Sad!
Could it be that our understanding of “church” is confused with the facilities in which we meet?
Here are some points for your consideration:
1. The first work of the church is to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the nations. The best venue is among those who need to hear.
2. The second work of the church is to disciple the nations. The best venue for discipling is in life’s daily activities.
3. The third work of the church is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. The best venue for equipping is time with the equipper(s).
4. The fourth work of the church is to assemble (connect) the saints. The best venue for assembling living stones is relationships.
5. The fifth work of the church is citywide celebration. The best venue for citywide celebration is an auditorium or stadium.
6. The sixth work of the church is interaction (leaven) with the world. The best venue for interaction is where we work and play.
7. The seventh work of the church is to glorify God in all of this. The best venue for glorifying God is in the shadow of the cross, in front of the empty tomb.
The church is first incarnational, and second missional.
• What facilities are necessary to the fulfilling of this purpose?
• What facilities might be distracting from any one of the above issues of purpose?
• Can traditional church settings and practices work against our kingdom purpose?
• Does moving from a hall to a home really represent kingdom advance?
• Do righteousness and justice have any bearing on our financial stewardship?
• How tender and sensitive is our conscience?
Now we are asking the right questions.
The above is an excert from Chapter 8 of CHURCH & KINGDOM HERE & NOW - DON ATKIN - An Apostolic Critique of the 21st Century Church
http://donatkin.com/publications.html
Editors Note: Only the REAL church building CAN stand up! We are the dwelling place of the most High God. Any Venue we choose must first assist us to achieve the purpose of why we have been left for on this Earth. What do you think?
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