Doors

I am a photographer of opportunity.  I throw the camera in the car and head out on trips and don’t quite know what I will see.  Doors fascinate me.  They seem to invite us in yet also keep us closed off.  There is always a curious wonder about a door, what is behind it?  

Recently I visited a friend in ministry and toured the church he pastors.  I pulled up to the lot and saw a large structure, giant parking lot and multiple double door entrances welcoming me to come in.  I went up to the front door and the first three doors I tried were locked.  The last single door was open, so in I went.  He took me on a tour and we saw the gymnasium, dining hall, two large kitchens scads of small classrooms and several large rooms.  As we walked the halls on a mid week day, the giant facility was a ghost town.  There were a few staff walking about, one couple of adults having a conversation in a casual seating area and that was pretty much it. 

What is the purpose of a church building?  Some buildings and their architecture are artistic and esthetic beauty within a community.  Some are generic buildings that serve a worshiping population once or twice a week.  A few offer the families of the church day care for their children.  How does a church justify two kitchens, large rooms and volumes of space when just down the road parents struggle,  families and individuals don’t eat and children walk home after school to empty houses?  

How far have we come?  

In Acts, the people of God gathered in rooms all over the city, they opened their doors and their hearts to each other, they ate together, talked together and shared their limited resources with each other.  Recently some of the members of our congregation gathered at a local meal ministry to serve folks in our community.  We gathered at the Center for Grace, a local church that serves a meal twice a week.  We walked into open doors, filled with people, the smell of food, the chatter of friends.  I love the way the Center for Grace does their ministry, we served the folks at their table, we talked, ate and laughed with the community of people gathered for a meal.  This is what a Church should look like, a modern version of an ancient concept.  The gathered sharing a meal, being loved and Christ was present at each table. 

 

A tale of two sets of doors, one locked and behind them empty halls, another set open, and behind those doors, life!