Locusts and Wild Honey

We have met so many wonderful people from churches all across the country. I hate to call favorites, but I must admit a certain affinity toward the kids from Rolling Hills Church in Platteville Wisconsin. I look forward to their return trip in a couple of weeks. I doubt I will forget the singing around the camp fire, the staying up late into the night unloading an 18 wheeler, and the enthusiasm with which they worked.

One night a local man had given me a bucket of raw oysters. The team from Wisconsin caught me sitting in front of my trailer with crackers and Tabasco sauce, shucking oysters and slurping them down for supper. I don’t think they had ever experienced oysters on the half-shell.

Check out the pictures that Jamie Dunbar took while here. Also, make sure to visit the Rolling Hills Church web site and listen to sermons by their pastor Jeff Nettles. Jeff shares our commitment to proclaiming the doctrines of grace and I’ve enjoyed listening to his sermons. Lord willing, he will accompany his team to Lakeshore for their March visit.

Their local newspaper carried the following story:

On January 9 a team of 11 college students representing Rolling Hills Church left for Lakeshore Mississippi to help a church and a town devastated by Hurricane Katrina. They were unsure of specifics like what jobs they’d be doing and where they would be staying, but they got on the road ready to do whatever needed to be done. Most of them were eager to get there and get started, but unaware of the devastation that awaited them.

When we arrived in Southern Mississippi, near the Gulf coast we began to see the damage that was caused by Hurricane Katrina in August last year. There were many buildings and businesses that were leveled or so badly damaged that they would have to be torn down. We turned down another road to enter into the residential part of Lakeshore and were surprised by homes still lying in piles of rubble or completely swept of their foundations.

The team learned that many of the houses were taken from their foundations by a wave that came in with the hurricane that was estimated between 30 and 40 feet high.

We arose the next morning and were given directions of what things Pastor Don Elbourne of Lakeshore Baptist Church wanted them to work on that week. A small group of students worked in a couple’s home sanding drywall. Others did construction inside a temporary metal church building. The men who did the construction put up walls and ceilings and they constructed stairs to a platform where the church would like to house some of the volunteers that come down.

Semi-trucks, pick-up trucks, and trailers came in with donations and the group graciously helped unload each of these, sometimes even late into the night.

A few team members worked in the store located on the churches property and run by volunteers from the church. The store was a quonset hut full of things people need and was free of charge. People living in the county could come get basic items such as non-perishable food items, clothing, toiletries, baby supplies, batteries, bedding, and school supplies. Most of the items in the store are donations from churches, schools, and people from around the nation.

Working in the store and in people’s homes provided many great opportunities to build relationships with the local people and give emotional support. Almost every person they talked to had a story. Some had encouraging stories of evacuation and survival; while others shared heart-breaking stories of losing loved ones and their homes.

A noticeable characteristic of the people in Lakeshore was the lack of complaining. Very rarely would anyone of the residents complain, but rather they were so grateful for the things that they had. Most were grateful to God just to be alive. This struck each person from the team a little differently, but overall the team got a lesson in humility. The team also learned to be grateful for what we have. The team members were made aware that we have more things than we need, and everything a person has can all be taken away so quickly.

The team worked hard through out the week and saw many things that we had accomplished, but saw years of work that still needed to be done in this community.

The volunteers from Lakeshore have been working since the hurricane hit and they become exhausted from this work that they do day after day. And they know that this work will not end any time soon.

As time goes on people not affected by the hurricane will begin to forget about the continuing struggle. As people forget, the donations will slow down and the volunteers that are coming will no longer be as numerous. But the people in Lakeshore see something bigger. They are relying on the one thing they know will not fail them, that being their faith in God. They pray that He will provide their basic needs and take care of them as they have seen already.

I had not received any comments to my blog in over a month. I thought people had just lost interest. Absolutely no comments after a five day run of posts on church architecture really had me puzzled. I just realized that somehow the php script that process the comments had been renamed, thus throwing a “404 file not found” error whenever someone tried to post a comment. In other words, something was broken and I fixed it. You should be able to post reply comments now. I apologize for the inconvenience. I’m sure I lost a lot of valuable feedback.

The other day I pulled several quotes from architect Daniel Lee. As Lakeshore Baptist Church looks forward to rebuilding our storm flattened buildings, I wanted to reflect on the theological implications of building a structure conducive to Christ exalting, God saturated, cross centered worship.

I showed my project coordinator, Greg London, some of the stuff I read and he took the liberty and initiative to contact Daniel Lee personally. I enjoyed my short conversation I had with him and he sounds interested in contributing to our project at some level. We have not worked out any details yet, but I am excited about the prospect.

Credenda Agenda interviewed architect Daniel Lee who, at the time, served as an Elder at the Alexandria Presbyterian Church, (PCA) in Alexandria VA. They asked him:

• Why should Christians reflect more upon architecture?
• How does an architect begin to think about creativity?
• How do you answer the pietistic objection that spending time on architecture is laying up “treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt”?
• Are there any distinctive aesthetic values of Protestantism, especially the Reformed tradition, which might shape an architectural style or vision?

In anser to that last question, Lee comments:

The Westminster Catechism declares boldly our Chief End. It is to glorify God! For me, to study God’s glory is to engage in the study of a true aesthetic. God’s glory is `the beauty of His manifold perfections’ and therein an artist or architect finds the full inspiration and direction for his work. Beauty, perfection, and excellence of form and design are the high values of any artist consecrating his work to God. We need, like Bezalel, son of Uri, to be filled with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge. But how does God impart to us such skill, ability, and knowledge of true beauty, excellence, and perfection? We must study His artistic work, the universum itself. Before us lie patterns, rules, and principles of design which spring directly from His manifold perfections. Dorothy Sayers observed “As the mind of the maker has been made manifest in a work, a way of communication is established between our mind and his.” The mind of our Maker is manifest in the creation. When we draw from the ordering principles of the architect of the cosmos, we establish a setting in which beauty can emerge.

Alas, these principles have been abandoned in our generation. But our buildings, whether in our cities or countryside must again quake with intimations of God’s great Glory through their magnificent beauty, embodiment of eternal principles in fine proportions, a sublime harmony of parts, and carefully crafted, appropriate materials. These are so deeply rooted in the stunning beauty of the created order, they will either serve God’s purposes for the redemption or condemnation of those who suppress the truth of His eternal nature and power.

Do we have a passion for God’s Glory like Nehemiah did, who upon hearing of the shameful condition of Jerusalem, sat down and wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed over its condition? With Nehemiah, let us rise up and repair our ruined cities, in the face of mockery and opposition if necessary. “He is the King of Glory, He is the King of Glory!” Bring in eternity with cultural artifacts of glory, even architecture.

Read the full interview

Before the storm, my weekly routine included listening to the White Horse Inn. Hosted by Michael Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Kim Riddlebarger and Ken Jones, the show features a regular roundtable discussion of Christian theology and apologetics. The stimulating conversation highlights sound theology as practiced in our contemporary context and often critiques American pop-evangelicalism.

Michael Horton teaches Apologetics and Theology at Westminster Seminary in California, serves as editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine, and has authored several books including, “Putting Amazing Back into Grace.”

In January, I started trying to carve out enough time in my drastically altered schedule to listen into the White Horse Inn once again. A few weeks ago, Horton interviewed David Murrow, author of “Why Men Hate Going to Church.” In the discussion, Horton made a comment about church architecture that caught my ear. Listen to the 1 minute clip ~316k. Horton observes:

“You know, how about the architecture? When you walk into a church that has strong wooden beams, or it has stone, it has something that came out of the earth, you have that sense of strength, this is going to be around for a while. You walk in, you are quiet you feel sort of like your small. This is not the time to hold hands and cry and hug each other for the next hour and a half; exclusively. It is also a time to feel small.

“Now you walk into an evangelical mega church, the colors are definitely pastel or more gravitating to the soft, the friendly, warm the soothing, the light. The furniture is soft, pillowy. Carpet instead of stone. In fact there really isn’t any stone or brick or anything like that. ” (Kim Riddlebarger interjects, “or if it is, it is one eighth of an inch thick and glued to a wall”. laughter)

Right, a man can walk into a lot of churches and feel like he is walking into a ladies parlor.”

As Lakeshore Baptist Church rebuilds our storm flattened buildings, I want to take care not to build a structure that caters to an emasculated church culture.

This week as I began thinking about church architecture, I mentioned architect Daniel Lee. He observed, “What I sense and see in my own involvement in the religious community, and in my reading, is that most Christians cannot begin a conversation on architecture.” At the risk of sounding cynical he notices that,

“The architecture that churches are building today is as confused as the tastes, and faith, of building committee members. Building committees, or other deciding powers, want inexpensive construction that solves basic functional needs. As they select their architect, they are often most concerned with how many churches he has designed, or whether he is well known. It would be nice if he is a believer but they are looking, first, for a safe choice. They feel inadequate to assess philosophical or artistic aspects inherent in their task and simply hope for the best. The results we are seeing are disappointing, and the church is missing important opportunities to create significant new architecture.”

As Lakeshore Baptist Church plans to build all new buildings, I want to think about how the structure we erect can reflect our chief end, which is to “glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Some may argue that the house exists as nothing more than a material necessary evil, but Lee explains,

“Church architecture serves to frame and enhance our worship, in a way that honors the One we worship. Churches are buildings shaped, crafted, and set aside for the very special purpose of our corporate communion with our covenant God. But as works of art, they also speak to the larger culture around them. This is because architecture symbolizes, within the fabric of a community, the social hierarchy and aspiration–or the actual position–of the institution housed within it. It reveals, through artistic means, the relationship between larger transcendent constants and the immanent issues we confront in daily life. And, it provides a meaningful setting for our daily social and spiritual interactions.”

When Katrina took our church buildings, we realized something we had always halfheartedly affirmed - “the church is not the building.” We also learned, on the other hand, that buildings do come in handy. Focusing on the preached word becomes difficult while sweltering in 100+ degree temperatures, standing in ankle deep mud, or swatting a cloud of biting gnats. We will rebuild. As we do so, I pray that our theological confessions will shape our progress. Let us reflect the glory of God through our relief efforts in the community, our proclamation of the gospel of grace, and even through our building plans.

Daniel Lee reminds us,

“To be made in the image of God means to be creative and artistic. Our places of worship should be beautiful works of architecture. It is possible to worship God in a gymnasium or lecture hall, because if people are truly seeking him, God will meet them there. But to worship in such architecture is to suggest that our purpose is either recreational or cerebral. We should build spaces crafted specially for a human-divine encounter with God. Our churches should help us focus our spirits on God in worship. Let our worship be a spiritual love feast, and may our banquet hall be appropriate to a King.”

Read the full interview: Is There A Christian Architecture?

Leonard Sweet gives Ten Commandments of Architecture for the Postmodern Church in his article, “Church Architecture for the 21st Century.” Overlooking my discomfort with his use of the “postmodern” label, I think he makes some interesting recommendations.

10. Thou shalt not make a graven image.
9. Thou shalt not create ugliness.
8. Thou shalt design for all senses.
7. Thou shalt have a sense of place.
6. Thou shalt get real.
5. Thou shalt build a living church.
4. Thou shalt get the church out of doors.
3. Thou shalt love thy setting.
2. Thou shalt build smart churches.
1. Thou shalt create new God-glorifying spaces.

Read the article: Church Architecture for the 21st Century“