With all the talk we hear about tithing, Malachi 3, et al, one would think that modern church organizations would actually be consistent with the Bible they claim as their source for understanding God’s priorities.

The sad fact in all this is that most ignore how the Old Testament system of the tithe went ONLY for the purpose of meeting needs of five classes of people; orphans, widows, strangers, Levites and priests. None of the tithe went for the upkeep of the temple structure or for synagogues, conrary to popular belief among the masses of professing believers who hardly ever dust off their Bibles if they dare to read it for themselves.

Although believers have the right to possess a building in common, the most common error is in the priorities in the giving of those people who attend and support the organization. The New Testament is filled with examples of believer’s giving used almost exclusively for the purpose of meeting needs of people, never for buildings. The example of the first century church should serve as a light to believers today. Instead, most practice a paradigm handed down through the ages by an inferior and anti-scriptural, religious system that has been in practice for 1700 years of human history.

What so many professing believers miss when handing over the primary, largest portion of their giving to their church organization is that they’re basically lavishing their own giving right back upon themselves by way of direct benefit from the facility, its people and the programs they support with their tithes and offerings. That’s not giving at all. It’s membership dues.

Ah, but we’re bound to hear the retort that most church organizations have benevolent outreaches, etc., and that they serve a benevolent purpose to believers and communities. Well, God was never interested in partial obedience to His commands and the examples He set forth in His written word., as the man found out whose intentions were good, who reached out and caught the Ark before it fell off the cart, and yet was struck dead for his act originating from good intentions.

God’s demands for our obedience can’t be convoluted with good intentions. So long as a group supports their facility and its staffing as a secondary priority in relation to our first priority toward one another and the unbelievers in their respective communities, then we all have the freedom to support such things.

An additional, negative note in relation to the topic of religious facilities, enjoyment of an edifice complex at the expense of intimacy seems to be a worthwhile sacrifice in the minds and hearts of many professing believers.

What a tragedy indeed.

Darrell

I said, “You don’t NEED a new Bible case. You want one. You NEED a Bible, and you have one.”

Maybe I’m reaching here, but is this exactly what we have been discussing?

I am woefully ignorant when it comes to the the worship conditions of our Chinese brethren. I have always imagined it was like I commented above, worshiping God is the focus. Thinking about buildings might seem silly to them…they have to contend with simply seeking a safe place to worship. But if they could have a nice safe building, no matter how modest, to call their own, wouldn’t that be a blessing? But what I view as a blessing, they might view as an extravagance that isn’t necessary for the vitality of their worship. My lens is a purely western one. Sometimes I’m more a product of my environment than a reflection of my God.

Now, I am not an anti-Western person, I’m tired of that whole mentality of bashing my country, but you are right when you mention that their spiritual growth puts us to shame. We have the idols of excess and comfort to overcome, among a myriad of others. I’m afraid we have taken our blessings for granted in this country. And we have completely forgotten our God. Truly, this is becoming a godless nation. Some can take me to task for that, but the evidence is irrefutable. Anyway, when it comes to buildings, it’s all about comfort and prestige in some cases. The church I mentioned in my first comment, the one that grew and got a bigger facility…it was embarrassing. We had guest speakers from our denomination coming just to preach in our new complex. The sermons usually started out something like this: “It is such a blessing to be here. God has richly blessed you with this wonderful new building…” Truly, it got uncomfortable. (Think Bellvue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN, I’m sure you can Google it…our ‘remodel’was fashioned after that.)

Are those types of buildings necessary? Absolutely not. They are a distraction, in my opinion.

But, how did God feel about Solomon’s temple? Was he pleased? Was it excessive? Did people meet inside it enough? I always thought it was built so ornately so as to glorify God (and God was the master architect, right?) Is that the case with these mega churches? I wonder…

Please do post those additional articles. I value your opinion.

Are Buildings Necessary?
I’m not sure that I could agree with you, Lynn, that “buildings are a necessity.” In most settings that I have witnessed, perhaps 99.99% of the church buildings that we build, most are used only a couple of hours a week. It’s a huge waste of resources: cavernous “worship centers” with parking lots (especially in America), to be used for a miniscule 4–6 hours out of a 168-hour week. That’s really poor stewardship, isn’t it? Even here in Britain, we have these large, ornate chapels and churches built to last for a thousand years or more, and only a handful of people gather in them each Sunday for two or three hours at best. From my perspective, buildings may be a tool (if fully utilized in Christian ministries like feeding the hungry, teaching/caring for children, etc), but I wouldn’t say that they are a necessity for the ekklesia or gathering of God’s people. Our Chinese brothers and sisters simply do not have such luxuries and yet their spiritual growth puts the West to shame.

Rather than responding to your other questions in this comment section, I’m going to post two additional articles: “What about teaching?” and “How did the early church handle its rapid growth?” I hope you don’t mind.

Also, our church here in WA does small groups in people’s homes. These groups are actually fairly structured in that the reading/studying of the Word is required…and the food ain’t bad either! But the setting is intimate and God is honored.

I think there has to be a conscious effort to remain a ‘church body’and not become an organization in the commercial/committee sense of the word. And if the church is growing quickly, it can be hard to do. More people will naturally require more organization. Then the building needs to be enlarged, then comes the budget committee, then the children’s programs, then…like you said, mega church madness.

What did the early church do when it was busting at the seams? Did they gather in huge numbers like we see in the monster churches today? I know when the apostles preached many were added to their number, but did they continue to meet in such large numbers or did they break off into smaller groups? Committees, so to speak, were formed to help with the care of the widows and other needs of the church so that the apostles could devote themselves to teaching, how did they keep the intimacy/fellowship as the church grew? Was it an issue? Or did the apostles assume/know that the people would fracture off (not in a bad way) into smaller groups for fellowship and teaching? I’m curious.

Also, what’s the point of having the gift of teaching, if teaching is not to occur in our gatherings. One last thing, while Hebrews doesn’t explicitly mention the reading of scripture, Paul commanded Timothy to give himself to the public reading of scripture and the teaching of sound doctrine:

13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

There are a multitude of passages that encourage the teaching and speaking gifts. If we are not to use them when we gather, then when ought we to use them? Only in one on one scenarios? It would seem that when the church gathers together, that that would afford a perfect opportunity for teaching. Certainly it doesn’t have to be done behind an elevated pulpit that is removes teh “clergy” from the “laity”. What do you think?

I agree, Hebrews 10 paints a picture of fellowship. But the early church did have public teaching, right? But that was teaching, not worshiping, right? Is there a distinction to be made between the two? But maybe I’m off track here…

Worshiping in spirit and in truth? I don’t think it’s the time-constrained services where the announcements have to be over by 10:55 so the sermon can be finished by 11:45 on the dot (for the lunch crowd). It also isn’t the first half hour of the service where the building committee chairman comes up and tells us “Where we are in our giving”. Nor do I think it is the ‘mystery’, pageantry, or formalism of some churches where prayers are recited, bits and pieces of the Bible are read as per a calendar, and tradition abounds.

Worship is believers in Christ, one on one with the Lord. It’s fellowship where we laugh and cry together. It’s sharing God’s Word with each other, building each other up. Sometimes it’s disciplining each other or counseling each other. It’s being always mindful of the grace that has been extended to us by God and, in turn, extending grace to our brethren. And this ‘living worship’as I call it, can happen in your car, my dining room table, your living room, the field you help your neighbor plow, or under the car your helping your buddy fix. It’s living what we believe to be true: That we love and serve a wonderfully gracious God and we want others to share in what we have.

Worship is practicing the presence of Christ in our lives. If God is glorified in a church setting, no matter what size, then it is wonderful. But I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I think it’s becomingly increasingly rare. It’s the scripted, ultra-planned, bent-on-growing-the-church, concert type of ‘worship’that leaves so many wondering what it truly means to worship.

If the focus is on buildings then worship will continue to get pushed into the periphery. But if our focus is on living worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, then God will not only be glorified, he might actually provide a building…:)

Obviously we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together to hear the public reading of scripture and the teaching of sound doctrine.

Go back and look at what Hebrews 10:24-24 really says. There’s nothing in those verses about gathering to hear Scripture or teaching: just an exhortation to get together with other believers for the purpose of encouraging one another and stirring one another to love and good deeds. See, we’ve been sold a bill of goods that Hebrews 10:25 means to show up at a particular address every week, file into nice, neat rows like good little church members, listen to the preacher, put some money in the plate, and don’t ask too many questions about why we do what we do.

What do you think?