A Brief Dialogue Concerning Church Buildings

Corey:  We Christians are to be the presence of Christ in our cities and not our buildings. Sadly, this is the case though in America: the World knows us not by our love but by our buildings. We should never relegate this privilege to wood and stone, to do so is returning to the types and shadows of the Old Covenant.

Rather, the People of God are the living Temple now, built without hands, a true Family filled with adoptions who are full brothers and sisters in Jesus.

I am convinced that the most biblical, public setting to accomplish the Mission, cultivate koinonia, live as a true family, grasp the full nature of the indwelling Spirit, and humble the pride of man is gathering in ordinary homes of Christians.  This is because it forces us to constantly live in the awareness of our daily need for God’s sovereign grace

The first-century followers "got" that and that's the old path we need to return to.

Joel:  If we are postmillennial and believe in the triumph of the Gospel, then we should expect to see gatherings in great buildings across the world over time. That is what happened, the Church triumphed in Rome and the Church flourished.

Corey:  I am, as you know, a walk-over-broken-glass-barefoot postmillenialist, but that doesn't mean I then necessarily believe huge sacred buildings to be in our future.  Those great buildings that were built have had a good long run of 1,700 some odd years in some parts of the world, and we only see darkness and isolation in those areas. Beautiful structures, but empty and dark. 

We desperately need the Spirit to return us to the conviction of believing what the Bible says of us, and act boldly in faith; and what is said of us is that, we –  the Congregation of Christ – are THE Building now (the mobile Tabernacle), and we need not pant after any other. We need to ask for the grace to stop trusting in our idolatrous buildings! It's difficult, I know, but this is one of those things that have changed in the New Covenant. We no longer depend on and adore a permanent, inanimate building(s). But rather, we trust a living, moving Temple, that is Jesus, whom we are in! 

We need the mind of Marcus Felix who wrote to a pagan friend in the 2nd-century saying, "You mistakenly think we conceal what we worship since we have no temples or altars...How can anyone build a temple to Him when the whole world cannot contain Him? Isn't it better for Him to be dedicated in our minds and consecrated in our hearts rather than in a building?" 

We have seen, and will see in the future, the Gospel triumph when the Family of God embraces the model, or the template, for normative church structure laid out for us in the pages of Scripture. By that I mean, small, intimate groups eating together, serving and encouraging one-another daily, and discipling their communities. THAT is what initially pulled down the walls of Rome (and, consequently, what will give the conquest in China in due-time)

Also, I can't agree that the Bride flourished after pulling down Rome. I'd say it actually went into a decline at that point. Don't get me wrong, some wonderful things were done, like pagan sacrifices being put to a stop, but in general it began to stagnate and drift from obeying the Word. 

I'll leave ya with a quote from Rodney Stark, from his book For the Glory of God: How Monotheism led to Reformations, Science, Witch-hunts, the End of Slavery

"For far too long, historians have accepted the claim that the conversion of the Emperor Constantine caused the triumph of Christianity. To the contrary, he destroyed its most attractive and dynamic aspects, turning a high-intensity, grassroots movement into an arrogant institution controlled by an elite who often managed to be both brutal and lax. ...Constantine's 'favor' was his decision to divert to the Christians the massive state funding on which the pagan temples had always depended. Overnight, Christianity became the most favored recipient of the near limitless resources of imperial favors. A faith that had been meeting in humble structures was suddenly housed in magnificent public buildings."