CHURCH CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE

In principle we all know that church is people rather than place. Christine and I stopped for an ice cream cone. The proprietor of the Bluebird Cafe & Ice Cream Kiosk, a handsome young man said he was closing up but he agreed to serve us.  We asked why he was closing up at 5PM. He told us that on Tuesday nights he and a group of people held a Bible study there. We asked whether anyone was welcome and he said of course. We told him we would like to stay. That night we met and spoke with a group of people seeking to grow spiritually and also seeking ways in everyday life to make Christ known to the community.

Church is more than a place to go. In practice the edifice where Christian worship and ceremony takes place cannot easily be dismissed from one's understanding of church. Chapels, temples, cathedrals, sanctuaries and churches possess familial, historic, artistic significance and it's difficult to consider respectful, sacred ceremony anywhere else. Yet some have rethought church. Building costs today are excessive where I live because of programming needs, building codes, parking requirements, audio-visual technical preferences, food services, and special needs. For many years, new churches have been forced to lease space in schools and commercial buildings. If we truly believe that church can happen anywhere, then meeting in the mall, in a theatre, in a storefront is fine because church is more than a place.

We have friends who are key influencers in a new church that meets in a strip club and bar with an adjoining hotel called Sue's Inn.  The motel houses people that are trying to kick addictions, stay clean and sober. The owner heard our friends' vision and said, “So let me get this right, you want to bring light into a very dark place,” and then he granted permission to rent the bar in order to create church. It's called, Church at the Manor. They are eight months into this venture. I'll tell you more about it later.  That's an excellent illustration that church can happen anywhere, don't you agree?