Jace: When Church Becomes A Tourist Attraction
It was Thanksgiving of 2005 and I had just flown red-eye from Atlanta to London for a week’s stay and to visit my bride-to-be at Queen Mary University. Because I was so excited to see Jade and visit London I could not squeak out an ounce of sleep on the flight over. However, Jade was kind enough to allow me an hour long nap before we began our adventures through one of the most magnificent cities in the world.
Having seen so many incredible places, we finished our day of activities with a trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The place where London mourned the death of Sir Winston Churchill. But also the place where the world watched the wedding of the century. As Prince Charles of Wales and Lady Diana were married there. A place so full and rich with history, the splendor and majesty of the building was beyond words. A cathedral dedicated to Paul has been on that exact site for over 1400 years! A renowned tourist attraction and I was there.
Actually both Jade and I were there to participate in a worship experience. However, not only did we have the opportunity to participate in worship, we had the opportunity to sit in the choir! As I sat in the choir and looked out at the 100 or so people gathered to worship in the auditorium that could easily seat closer to several thousand, I had a thought. A God-thought.
Have you ever had a God-thought? You know in the Book of Isaiah when God says, “Your thoughts are not my thoughts, and your ways are not my ways”? A God-thought is something like that. A thought or action that falls on you like a ton of bricks straight from the heart of God. Something so provocative that no one in their humanness could have thought it. It was a thought God had and He just happened to share with you.
As I sat in the choir of the great cathedral built to St. Paul and I looked around at the few gathered to worship, and the many gathered to just look, to visit, to take pictures, or video, I had a God-thought.
I was sure that when the Cathedral was being built, the intentions of those who sculpted, painted, and designed the interior and exterior of this magnificent building had no intentions of making this a tourist attraction. This building that had once been a life-giving church, was more of a testimonial to what God once did in that city, in that building. I thought about how incredible it must have been to see the pews full on holidays such as Easter and Christmas, and Sunday’s in between. And how people would have shout-forth in song, and possibly dance as well. And how people would have set all distractions aside to listen to the word from God, and learn about Him, His only begotten Son, and His Spirit.
But now, the building seemed “life”less. It held anything and everything except spiritual “life”. Now, people visit to say they’ve been where God once moved mightily. Not to experience the mighty God.
And you know, as I think back, I wonder. How do I know this is not going to happen to our church? How do I know that in 5 years, or 10 years, or 100 years, or 200 years time, that the same thing is not going to happen to our church? There are no guarantees. It wasn’t on Pastor Jason’s to-do list when he started gathering families to come alongside him to build Renaissance Road Church.
I once heard someone speaking in reference to a lifeless church, “This is what happens when the church stops being the church, and the church just starts doing church on a Sunday. When we just start going through the motions of some ritual or obligation.”
Even if we have great music, great technology, great staff and volunteers. When we stop being the church, as Jesus called us to be, and the church stops being passionate about the things Jesus has called us to be passionate about, then we become nothing more than a tourist attraction.
We need to ensure that our hearts beat for the same things Jesus’ heart beats. And that it beats for those who are far from Him, to come back to Him, so they can know life change.
