I’m not satisfied with status quo…

As I walk the streets of Manhattan, I’m struck with the beauty of the cathedrals throughout the city. I love walking into those dark, architecturally rich buildings. They strike me with a sense of awe and I quiet myself to listen to God in the sacred space that is created.

But I’m also struck that on Sunday mornings they are empty. When I talk to my friends who are non Christian it seems that they look at these buildings more like museums than places of worship. Once seen as the center of a community, these buildings are now ornaments held in place by financial endowments made a long time ago. And my non Christian friends would be absolutely intimidated to step into one of these cathedrals to explore questions of spirituality. It’s just too overwhelming.

And that saddens me.

But even though the cathedrals are not the place to go at this point in history, there are signs of spiritual life in the most unusual spots; public school auditoriums, theaters, bars, community rooms in residential buildings, coffee shops. Small groups of people are popping up throughout the city in different venues. Even though the cathedrals are not being used as places of worship, it seems that God is not hindered by that a bit. Change has occurred in the places Christians meet, but the purpose has not changed.

The Scripture puts it this way:

1 Peter 1:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

According to this passage we are the new cathedrals being built. The location is not as important as the people. And we are not being built in isolation – we are being formed into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. That implies mentorship, relationship, and community.

I pray that the day will come when these old cathedrals fill up again with people. But no matter how magnificent these buildings are, they pale in comparison to God’s people coming forward with their gifts, talents, personalities and calling to become a community that is committed to internal change and to change the world around us for the better. The God of the Bible is one who takes us “from glory to glory”. What happened yesterday was good, but He is doing a new thing today (which really is only new to us). In order to grow in God, we have to be comfortable to being a community of change.