Church Talk

There's something comforting and reassuring to me when I see an old church building. Terri and I like to visit the small town of Senoia, Georgia any time we get a chance to get away. There was a blood drive being held at Senoia United Methodist Church today, so Terri and I used it as a good excuse to go there. The church is just a stone's throw from Senoia's historic downtown area.

I just love to visit Senoia UMC. Built in 1897 as a United Brethren Church, it is an historic landmark. They built an addition to the original church that extends from the back of the church, which is where the blood drive was held.

The church is a tall, stately, wood-shingled white building, with original stained-glass windows that depict familiar biblical themes, a round corner turret and, as would be expected of such an old and distinguished church, a tall steeple topped with a cross that splits the sky. There is even a small meditation garden and an area apparently reserved for community picnics and cookouts.

It's hard to imagine the amount of upkeep required to maintain such an aged facility, but for my money it would be well worth. To me the church speaks of a bygone era when things seemed to be much more clear-cut; black and white. It was a time when one's faith was naturally extended to every other area of a person's life. Faith wasn't a subset of one's life; it was the center from which everything else in life flowed from. There was the golden rule and the protestant work ethic, and a clear sense of right and wrong; of proper behavior and proper dress. Pastors were esteemed and God and country were revered.

In stark contrast, many of today's church buildings look more like department stores, distribution centers, or corporate buildings. Gone is the stained glass and steeple. In some cases crosses are all but completely absent, or stretched and pulled into a logo image that distorts its simplicity. I have visited some church facilities that had the feel of being more of an entertainment center that a place of reverent worship.

Some would no doubt label me as an old-fashioned, behind the times, and not in keeping with modern "trends" and the realities of a modern (or post-modern) generation and society. Perhaps they are right in part, but have we lost something in the process of letting go of the old and fully succumbing to the new?

Could we have, in our zeal to be more modern and forward-thinking, compromised what, as Christians, should be so clear-cut, so black and white as to be timeless and ageless? Have we thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water? Have we, in our wanting to reach more and more people in more and more ways, clouded over what should be so clear and up front?

Perhaps the stained glass windows are showing their age. Perhaps the wood is showing a time-weathered look and in need of some new paint. Maybe the pews are well-worn and an antique smell permeates the interior. But what they represent, what they speak to me of, is as clear-cut and black and white as the day the church building was first built; God is real and Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and the cross of Christ still rises above all the other buildings for all to see. Not all that is old is bad. Like fine wine, it only gets better and better with age. Selah.