Tag Archives: churches

Will big church buildings become dinosaurs?

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cathedralThe future of the church, specifically churches of Christ, has been a popular topic recently. I guess it’s always a popular topic, but articles detailing different aspects of our present and future realities seem to come in spurts. A lot is being said these days about what is happening with younger generations and what will become of the church.

I’ve been talking with a number of people about the future of church buildings. I’m optimistic about the future of the church; less so when it comes to buildings.

Back in January, Thom Rainer wrote a piece called The Death of the Mall and the Future of Church Buildings. It echoed a lot of the things that I’m seeing and hearing.

Rainer referred to an article about the decline of shopping malls and forecasts of what is to come for them. Rainer then said:

The Boomer generation has been the generation of bigness and sprawl. Their parents, in the aftermath of World War II, moved numbers of them to the new and massive suburbia. Large malls would soon follow. Most large megachurch buildings were constructed primarily for the favor of the Boomers.
But the children of the Boomers, Generation X and, even more, the Millennials, have been pushing for more intimacy and smallness. They triggered the unprecedented growth of Starbucks. They have been the key movers in social media, which has fostered a new online intimacy.
Among the Christian Millennials there is a desire for greater intimacy in church. They are in many ways triggering a new small group revolution. And though they may not have an explicit aversion to large church facilities, neither are they attracted to them.

There is a generation that sees big buildings as a plus and small buildings as a hindrance. And there is a generation that sees things just the other way around. Rainer notes:

A Boomer church leader looks at a small building and limited acreage and sees challenges. He sees the limitations of size and space. A Millennial leader looks at the same building and acreage and sees opportunity. He immediately thinks multiple venues, multiple services, and multiple days.

And he ends his article with a line that I hadn’t heard before: “After all, only college football stadiums are utilized less than church facilities.”

So what do you think? Are big church buildings destined to become a thing of the past? If so, will that be a bad thing or a good thing?

 

photo from MorgueFile.com

The Silver Bullet

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ammunitionWe are always looking for the silver bullet, that magical solution that will cut through even the most complex situations and solve our problems. Christians can often be guilty of this, especially when talking about how to turn around a declining church.

You’ve heard the candidates:

  • We need to be more progressive. We need to stamp out liberalism.
  • We need to use instruments in our worship. We need to stop emotionalism in our worship.
  • We have to let women do more in our assemblies. We need to get our men more involved in our assemblies.
  • We need to hold on to our traditions. We need to let go of our traditions.
  • The answer is megachurches. Or house churches. Or cell-based churches.
  • The answer is planting new churches across ethnic and racial lines. The answer is making existing churches more diverse.
  • The answer is revitalizing inner city churches. The answer is strengthening urban churches.
  • The answer is none of the above. Or all of the above.

It’s enough to make your head spin. Maybe I’m just not smart enough to figure out which bullet out of this huge box of ammunition is the one made of silver. But I think we’re looking for something that doesn’t exist.

At some point, we have to stop and ask God how we can best serve right where we are. I guess that we need a few people trying to figure out the best solutions for everyone everywhere, but I know that we need more people focused on what is right in front of them.

We need to be serving people. We need to be telling people about Jesus. We need to be desperately pursuing holiness. We need to be more like God. We need to spend less time pontificating and more time practicing what we believe.

We need to decide to know nothing but Christ and him crucified.

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

Seems like a good place to start.