Building the Church #2
The Building
Several years ago a Christian businessman was traveling through a small mid-western town in order to find a mechanic to look at his car. Finding one, he noticed a partially built church across the street from the mechanic’s garage. Inquiring about this church, he was told that the church was in the process of building an addition onto their old sanctuary. It was obvious that the work had stopped for some time. He was told that the church had run out of money and because of the economic downturn the church was not able to complete the project. It was not difficult for this traveler to find the pastor of that church and inquired about the dream and vision of the people of that congregation. He then asked the pastor how much it would be to complete the building project. I forget now the exact amount but it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That Christian businessman pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for the entire amount and handed it to the pastor. That man was Richard DeVos founder of the Amway Corporation.
We are talking about building the church—the physical structure, the facility that is made of brick and mortar, drywall and studs. Last week we also talked about building the church, the most important and primary aspect of building and that is “building up the people to the place of Christian maturity.” This, we discovered is the attitude, the priorities, the heart, the vision and the passion that makes people “a people after God’s own heart.” While the physical structure is of secondary importance it is important nonetheless. While your family is of ultimate importance to you, your house is still very much a high priority, isn’t it?
In a similar fashion our church building gives us a sense of being at home when we are with the family of God. I am coming to realize more and more the importance of the church building as the central focus from which our Christian witness and work emanates. Like the ‘Linc’ or other sports stadiums, the church is the hub around which the spokes of our ministries and programs revolve. A beautiful church structure in which the people are spiritually dead is a pathetic sight. An alive, Spirit-filled, vibrant, enthusiastic church whose physical building is a functional as well as aesthetic, and where the ambiance leads to praise and worship, evangelism and discipleship, is a huge asset to any church ministry and body life.
The reality is that while the Spirit of God is alive and working in and through our church, ie people; our church building at SUMC is a very frustrating inhibitor to the work that Jesus has called us to do. With that being the case, what are we going to do about it? We answered that question a couple years ago when we embarked on the 3rd phase of our building visions in the 1980s. We have a sanctuary, we have classrooms, and now we need a Fellowship Hall, a Family Life Center. Now a Family Life Center comes in all shapes and sizes. Our past buildings were built to meet only the current need at the time…. and these were huge undertakings of faith and trepidation for us. The problem is that we quickly have outgrown them and need more space. In recent years we have tried creative ways to use the space we have, and little seemed to resonate with the congregation. Probably the only exception to major positive results was the adding of our 3rd Sunday morning worship service at 10am.
The bottom line is that we ascertained to build not just what we could afford but to plan a building for what we needed, not just now in 2008 but for 2018, in anticipation of further growth in ministries and people. Right now we are scrambling for classrooms on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights. We are scrambling for ample parking places. We are scrambling for seats, as our sanctuary is full at both 8:15 and 10am with only the 11:15am traditional worship service having room for appreciable growth.
Like Solomon we are faced with a monumental task. When we built this sanctuary there were those who declared that it was too big a project that we couldn’t afford. And I agree that it was way to big a project for us—but not for our God! Like Solomon we too are inexperienced for the most part and we have learned that like children each building project us unique and very different than the others. But listen to David’s words again, “Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the Temple is finished.”
I am talking about building the physical church of Jesus Christ right here in Sicklerville while we build the real church, the redeemed people of God. Here again David’s words, “The task is great, because the palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God.” David then goes on to say how the government treasury is going to support this building project, and what he personally is going to give out of his own pocket to see this Temple become a reality. [This is a good model for our elected government officials!] David follows this with a challenge, “Now who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?” Please notice something very important. The source of giving is not from financial abundance, not from economic nor business sense, not from financial investment strategies. The source of giving is a consecrated heart and life to Jesus. It is well documented and true even in our church that for the most part, the people who have money don’t give it while those who don’t have it to give are the very ones who give it anyway! The connection between giving and a consecrated heart is interwoven between the two. The issue of giving our money to the Lord and His work is not a financial issue but a spiritual issue. The conversion of our hearts and the conversion of our wallets, pocketbooks, and bank accounts are closely linked. David reminds us in verse 14, “Everything comes from you [God] and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” And verse 11, “For everything in Heaven and earth is yours.”
We see in verse 9 what happens when people consecrate themselves first to the Lord. The leaders of the families, clans, and tribes gave toward the work of building the Temple. Look at a very telling verse 9, “The people rejoiced at the willing response of the leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.”
As a theocracy, the Israelite government gave money to build this Temple to God. We in America are not a theocracy and therefore have no government money to resource our building. Our money comes from the free-will, love offering of God’s people who have consecrated hearts and a vision for ministry. I love David’s prayer. Let me lift up some of this to you. Verse 14 “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this?” The 3rd part of verse 17, “And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.” Verse 18, “O Lord…keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever and keep their hearts loyal to you.” These are expressions of a pastor’s heart!
Earlier in his life King David had another experience in building and giving. We find this story in 2 Samuel 24:18-25 where David is building an altar. Instead of David paying for it, Aruanah offers to give everything to King David that he needs to build this altar…. the oxen, the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood, and even the threshing floor so that David could offer his burnt offering. David would not have to pay for anything. But notice what David says to Aruanah, the Jebusite, “No, I insist on paying for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” An offering without sacrifice is not much of an offering.
I have to admit that I have wondered what it would be like to have someone hand me a check for the full amount for building our Family Life Center. But then the Lord reminds me that that way is the easy way. No faith, no trust, no hard work, no labor of love, and no sacrifice. That’s the easy way. Like taking a pill and looking like Arnold, all buff and cut. It doesn’t work that way for there are no spiritual lessons in that way, no spiritual growth in that method. God’s ways are not easier, they are better and we become a better, stronger people of God. The key is obedience.
This church is not mine nor is it yours ultimately. It belongs to Christ and He will build His church. It may not be tomorrow but He will build it. If we are obedient it will be sooner than later. If we are not obedient, He will still build His church but it may be somewhere else. Our God has given us an awesome privilege and opportunity to make tremendous spiritual inroads into our community. God calls us to give to make this a reality. To give out of our abundance and out of our lack. To give generously and to give sacrificially. He calls us to say with David, “I will not give to the Lord my God that which costs me nothing.”
The task is daunting but our God is greater. Words from Jeremiah bring us confidence, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
God’s future is now. Will we be obedient, individually and corporately, allowing God to build His church in and through us?