Breaking Ground

This Sunday marks a new era in our church as we break ground on our facility. It will be rather modest, 150 seats a couple of offices and no real education space. In the 70's and 80's we would have called it a sanctuary. That term comes from cities of refuge were criminals could go and find safety from those seeking justice against them. It's really a fitting term because if the truth be told, we are all guilty and we find our refuge in Christ and the local church represents that.

More recently, the place of our weekly meetings has been called "auditorium." Literally it is a place for gathering and hearing. Perhaps that is why so many who attend church get stuck in a passive role of being mere hearers when hearing and doing are the expectations for believers. Our gathering place is so much more than an auditorium; any school, theater, concert hall, or community center can have one of those. The gathering place for the church has deep meaning that we should consider with all heartfelt passion. What is that? Jesus gives us the insight we need in His life mission:

Mark 2:17 (NLT)
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."

The gathering place for all who serve Christ is to be nothing less than a hospital. There are so many wounds that medicine cannot heal. There are battles of the mind that psychiatry cannot win. Our fear should always be that a church be filled with people who have already bee nurtured to health and that there is no room for the sick. As we break ground, it is my prayer that we never forget that the church is a hospital, and we are to always make room for and invite the sick to see the Doctor.

Looks like a chilly day for breaking ground...dress warmly!