Temples or Tombs?

How the 'need' for buildings and properties tends to corrupt the Church

Where in the New Testament do we find the disciples of Jesus building temples, synagogues, or churches?  Where do we find them taking offerings to purchase property?  On the contrary, we find that the Lord's disciples frequently sold their property to meet the needs of the poor among them, that they met in public places and in their homes, that Jesus Himself warned that those who follow Him would often find they had no place to rest their heads, that they would be driven from the synagogues, and worship has to do with spirit and truth and not location.

Did the early Church not erect synagogues because they were unable?  Or because they understood something that was later forgotten?  I will not set out here to show that buildings are in themselves sinful or forbidden by the Scripture, there exists no such verse. I will lay out an argument that owning buildings or properties by an assembly of believers will tend to corrupt the message of the gospel, corrupt the understanding of what Church is, and will tend to corrupt the leadership of the assembly.  It may be possible to avoid such dangers; it may also be possible to avoid temptation while preaching in a brothel, but a mature disciple would avoid boastful overconfidence while walking through the devil's playground.  Indeed, the Scriptures admonish us to "flee temptation."  We ought to avoid giving opportunity to the world, the flesh, and the devil.  What opportunity is there, you ask, in church buildings? 

• Involving the Church with the State
• Money, or more precisely, the need for money.

The first reason the assembly of the Lord ought to avoid owning buildings or property is entanglement with the State.  For a church to own property as a church basically requires incorporation.  The church must go to the State and ask permission to do what they imagine God wants them to do.  Is the will of God subject to State approval?  Of course, the State expects certain concessions for its permission.  Did you ever notice that the articles of incorporation include a clause that nothing in the articles or bylaws is to be contrary to the laws of the State?   So much for Jesus is Lord.  Hail Caesar!  Did you know that once you incorporate, the believers do not own the property but the corporation, which is a "legal person" and a creature of the State?  That is how the Federal Government regulates the contents of the Sunday sermon.  By law, the church cannot endorse political candidates or be heavily involved in political issues.  I am not in favor of Christians becoming involved in politics, but that is not because I believe that the God has nothing to say about what goes on in the world.  If you don't think this is a problem today, check out what happened to Indianapolis Baptist Temple.   Disciples of Jesus must maintain that Jesus and only Jesus is Lord.  We can not bow down before the golden image at the command of the State.  And if you think that the fierily furnace doesn't await us in this nation -just wait!

In regard to MONEY: The acquisition of property will tend to effect the goals and actions of an assembly of believers.  An example of this is what I personally saw happen to a "Coffee House" youth ministry.  It began in the 70s as a part of the tail end of the Jesus Revolution.  In a rented downtown storefront, a Christian couple with other  disciples, opened a Saturday night youth ministry where they would invite Christian bands and others to come and "minister."  Soon, they were given the opportunity to move into an old YMCA building which they could rent for $1 a year.  Sounded great, right?  The Lord blessed, right?  Only one small problem, the building was huge.  The physical needs of trying to maintain an old structure as well as trying to heat the place in the winters of Wisconsin put a huge stress on those trying to serve the Lord.  The focus of everything now became the building: heating the building, fixing the building, renovating the building.   The place was so huge that the "Coffee House" experienced "mission creep."  First, they added a bookstore.   Not that another Christian bookstore was really needed - but they had all this room and they had to figure out what to do with it.  We should be good stewards of what the Lord had given, right?  Next, the Methodist church across the street decided that running a homeless shelter in their basement was "messy" and that moved into the old "Y". 

However, in spite of everyone's intention to serve the Lord, the needs of the material overwhelmed the spiritual.  Volunteers came and then left, having been burned out by the ministry's leaders trying meet the needs of the building, and meet city code.  Appeal after appeal went out, first to Christians, then churches, and then to the city in general, for money to keep the lights on.  Then, the day came when the owner of the old building decided to sell it to the city who wanted a parking lot on that location (cities and businesses always prefer parking lots to homeless shelters.)  Now, they had to buy a building to accommodate all their ministries.  With a new (old) building and mortgage came even greater needs for money.  The new building would also have to be renovated (more volunteers burned out and up.)   More conflicts with the city.  Now, even lawsuits against the city, as the ministry sought to stay in their building in the downtown business district.   The beginning of the end came after a coalition of the city and community businesses bought out the ministry's downtown center for $500,000.  Another blessing, right?  But long ago the focus had shifted from people to property.  Those in leadership no longer were able to discern the mind of Christ.  Finally, spiritual blindness and death brought an end to "ministry." 

I was there.  I was involved. I saw the carnage that comes when we take "the way that seems right unto man."  In church after church I have seen the same thing reflected in budgets and board meetings.  What starts with the Spirit ends in the flesh, as we again and again choose our ways and our wisdom over the wisdom that comes from above.  If you want to dance to the devil's tune, you will have to pay the piper.  The mere fact that we begin to think that we NEED money to "keep the church going" proves we have been corrupted.   Buildings and properties are of this world and require the currency of this world to obtain and maintain them.  This NEED for money will always tend to corrupt.   What pastor does not at times take into account his church budget when considering the content of his sermon?  Perhaps not always consciously, but there is always present the concern to not offend the big donors, always the temptation to teach tithing as the way to God's blessing.

More recently, I was serving as a pastor of a small SBC Baptist church.  After having been there for a few months, a delegation of the leading members invited me to a meeting to share some concerns.  It seems some of my sermons were too long (more than 20 minutes) and some visitors were not coming back.   The need for a user-friendly church was emphasized and I should take care to make people comfortable.  The implication was clear.  It takes money to pay the bills.  It takes members to get the money. 

It is this very perceived need for money that James condemns when he says,

For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? (James 2:2-7)

Why would Christians show preference for the rich? MONEY! They think they need MONEY!

It was at this point I realized that the institutional church cannot be revived or reformed.  The very legs that support it; the professional clergy, and the institutional and physical structures, are the very things that tie it to this world and hinder the disciples of Jesus from accomplishing His work.

"Ministry" that requires the things of this world is of this World.  Did Jesus or His disciples require grand auditoriums to preach the gospel in?  Did they require hospitals to heal the sick in?  Did Jesus require warehouses for His food distribution program?  If you say, "Of course not, He was the Son of God," then you have condemned yourself out of your own mouth.  Jesus and the early Church did their works in the power of the Spirit.   The fact that we think that buildings, properties, corporations, seminaries, and money are essential or even desirable, proves that our ministries are neither dependent on or empowered by the Holy Spirit.  As soon as we think we need the things of this world to do the work of God, we have turned from God to the World! And it is such a simple switch for us to make.  After all, we were raised in the world.  All our lives we have been taught by our parents, by teachers, by television, and by society at large that "WE CANNOT DO WITHOUT THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD."  So, we thoughtlessly bring this strange fire of worldly wisdom into the tabernacle of the Lord.  We would do well to remember the fate of Nadab and Abihu.