Now, 10 months later, the clean-up and repairs are nearly complete. As is the case with most insurance settlements we received far less than what it would actually cost to replace everything we had (building, furnishings, technology, etc). So we rebuilt with less square footage and are trying to furnish the building with donated furniture instead of new.
Needless to say, I have had moments of frustration through the process. “Why can’t we get back what we had?” “Why do we have to settle for less square footage?” I also wanted to improve on what was lost. “We should be able to replace that old TV with a flat screen and those stained couches with leather ones!” Our staff and students have been scheming fundraiser ideas (everything from scrapping the burnt metal from the building to holding up a bank) in order to raise the money we need to get our facility back to the way it should be…
…or should I say “in order to raise the money we want to get our facility back to the way we think it should be”…
…or should I say “in order to take God’s money from other things to use it on a facility God blessed us with to bring it up to the ridiculous standards our culture places on material things as if the facility itself was what changed students lives.”
Let me unpack this for a moment…
Listen to the way Eugene Peterson words Jesus’ instructions to the disciples as they head out to minister…
"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.” (The Message, Mt 10:9-10)
You mean the disciples did ministry without million dollar facilities with stage lighting, coffee shops, and comfy couches?
Are you telling me that the disciples took the gospel to the people instead of trying to pull them into the church in order to hear the good news?
Big churches with nice facilities are not wrong – a lot of life changing encounters with Christ happen in and through them, I am privileged to see it first hand – but nice facilities are not the answer either. The early church, due to persecution, met underground in catacombs and had transforming connections with the living God despite the rotting corpses surrounding them. God is bigger than bricks, carpet, and light fixtures. He can meet you anywhere.
God challenged my heart when my focus became the facility and not the people it was meant to hold. I’ve come to see the facility we do have as an incredible blessing, but couches and flat screen TV’s will never transform a person’s heart. God wants to use me and you and countless others as the equipment he uses to share the true blessing of Christ’s forgiveness and love.
So I think I’ll hold off on planning that bank robbery, be content with what I have, and focus on equipping God’s most valuable equipment.
Big churches with nice facilities are not wrong – a lot of life changing encounters with Christ happen in and through them, I am privileged to see it first hand – but nice facilities are not the answer either. The early church, due to persecution, met underground in catacombs and had transforming connections with the living God despite the rotting corpses surrounding them. God is bigger than bricks, carpet, and light fixtures. He can meet you anywhere.
God challenged my heart when my focus became the facility and not the people it was meant to hold. I’ve come to see the facility we do have as an incredible blessing, but couches and flat screen TV’s will never transform a person’s heart. God wants to use me and you and countless others as the equipment he uses to share the true blessing of Christ’s forgiveness and love.
So I think I’ll hold off on planning that bank robbery, be content with what I have, and focus on equipping God’s most valuable equipment.
