An overview of Transformation

Personal

• Acquiring Faith
• Declaring Faith
• Learning and Living Faith

Church

• Prayer Outreach and Evangelism
• Baptism
• Leadership Development
• Stewardship and Gift-giving

World

• Seed new ministries (venture compassion)
• Boost existing ministries with people and resources
• Support our missionaries
• Every member embracing a mission
• Becoming a regional resource center

Expansion

• Strategic Partnerships
• House Churches
• Satellite Ministry Sites

A few years ago, a number of us went to a conference (really, helped to host it) at the big church on the hill. Dallas Willard and others come to speak, and the topic was Renovare`, which is really a fancy way of saying renovation. In essence, the question of the week was this "What are the disciplines and conditions of personal spiritual preparedness that ready us for the transforming work of the Holy Spirit?" Assuming that God wants to keep making all things new, both for our sense of spiritual discovery and for our overall usefulness to God's purposes, we do the hard work of staying current with the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.

On a lesser scale, but in much the same way, the church has to stay current with our structures and forms - even, to some degree, our buildings. As we look at the landscape of thriving, dynamic, reproducing churches, especially in our country, there are some notable commonalities. Most obviously, the gospel is spoken with strength in a context of grace and love. The timeless message, the old, old story, is still saving and bettering lives, but partly because these churches have been intentional about staying current, building bridges of relevance and, frankly, being smart about the disciplines and conditions of collective preparedness that ready us for the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

To some degree, this is even true of our buildings.

Renovation

All of this leads us into a most compelling agenda. To go and make disciples. That is the mission that drives us…always. (Not merely converts…church goers).

Whenever we talk about buildings (building them, buying them, renovating them) there will be a core of highly committed Christians who get uncomfortable. Many of us raise excellent questions. Is it worth the money? Couldn't funds be better spent on programs, personnel, outreach - the poor? The answer to that question, in my opinion, is always yes in principle. Some of the lovingest, prayingest, givingest, hardworkingest people I know would rather that we not raise and spend money on buildings. That voice is well-represented in every circle of church life, and even in the leadership.

Still, there are both spiritual and practical reasons why buildings need to be built, bought or renovated in the proper seasons of church life.

Spiritually, the Old Testament is loaded with God's strong directives about tabernacles and temples. There is no suggestion that God can be contained by holy buildings, as if God is so small or needed shelter or something. But there is the suggestion that God made himself manifest in a condensed and powerful way in holy places - the schekinah of God was please to dwell in these holy places. The people could pray to God anytime, but they could approach God in a more direct fashion by visiting the temple. So we find many chapters, even the whole book of Ezra, devoted to building projects. And in God's specifications, these were not modest structures. These buildings were intended to put the glory of God on display.

As we move to the New Testament, the early church was still mostly made up of practicing Jews, undoubtedly still making temple pilgrimages until the temple was destroyed by the Romans. As a whole, the church met in synagogues and homes, gathering where they could, and later in caves and catacombs when our faith was outlawed as it spread around the Roman Empire.

As far as New Testament teaching, there's a new motif. The Holy Spirit, who has been with us, now is within us. We, by faith, become the dwelling places for the sheckinah of God. We are walking temples, set apart to put the glory of God on display.

So buildings aren't as central to the unfolding picture.

Nonetheless, buildings that house God's church have practical and spiritual significance. Buildings are practical to the degree that they are functional (in some ways ours is, and in other ways it isn't). Buildings have spiritual significance to the degree that they foster and promote our spiritual hopes and imperatives. Do they help us answer our commission? Do they actually help us to worship God? Do they elicit confession and devotion and awe and wonder and prayer and transformation?

Some people say "no. I could experience God's transforming presence just as well in my own kitchen or in the woods, or in my car." For others, these houses of prayer and praise, fellowship and gospel teaching are still permeated with God's presence and flush with the stuff of spiritual renovation.

All that being said, the leaders of the church believe that this room need renovation. The particulars are carefully listed. The timeline is fluid, depending on contributions, but some things have already happened. We'll have a vote in May about the more expensive parts of the project, after accurate bids have been given. We'll have blueprints and pictures around, as we have for the last few years, so that the curious can see what the renovation team has envisioned in an unfolding way for close to a decade. This is not a new notion, but now is the time.

Because some people aren't into buildings - the simplicity of their own homes being testimony to their disregard, - we know that some will prefer to give money and participation to other aspects of this vision.

Because many of us do care about building, and some of us are even embarrassed that more care is given to the stylish upkeep of our own homes than to this room by far, for many this project is overdue and is certainly due the attention and investment that the vision call for. We hope to make this room more functional and beautiful - evocative.

So follow your heart. Like with the whole vision, follow your heart. Pray and follow your heart.

Different aspects of this vision will light up different ones of us in different ways.