I'm no space planner. I'm not the artistic guy who walks in to do the extreme home makeover. I paint from time to time, and I enjoy working on stuff, but if you've ever seen my office decor it's pretty lacking.
Corie has a much better taste for that kind of thing, but if you visit our house you'll find that we don't go "all out" to decorate. We only add decoration when we can afford it or if we need it. We've got THIS END UP furniture that will last us forever, and we got it second and third hand. Not really into stuff and material possessions.
But there is
one place that I really care about looks and decor, and that's at our
worship space.
There are a number of scripture passages that inform my perspective on worship space decoration and I thought that I should share with you, why it is important to me...a theology as it were.
- Genesis 1-2 Worship in the Garden
God created the most beautiful place for man to worship Him. I believe he began creation with an interest in what the space was like that man worshiped Him. God could have made an entire universe of black, gray and white, but he didn't. He could have made the earth just to support man without animals, birds, fish, vegetation, land and waters. But he didn't. He demonstrates in the poem and account of creation that he is into the decoration as much as he issue of worship.
In Exodus after man had sinned and God set apart a people for His covenant with man, He instructed His people how to build a place for him. It was called the tabernacle. Consider this, God spent almost the entire second half of Exodus detailing everything from Priestly Uniforms, to each drape and what color and fabric it should be, to tent pegs. The tabernacle was of utmost importance to the nation of Israel. It was the identification of where God was. Every detail of decor was scripted by God. I think he was into the atmosphere as much as the issue of worship.
In Solomon's day the nation had settled into their land and rested from war. Solomon was chosen to build the temple. You know many times we hear, "The devil is in the details." But somehow I think that Worship is in the details. When they built the Temple they used stones cut in a quarry, and the bible says that they were exact, perfect, there was no sounds of hammers and chisels at the temple site. They had exact measurements, detailed descriptions. And when it was built God's presence resided in the temple. It was a sensual experience coming to worship. Think of it:
touching the floor stones as you walk into the place God resides,
seeing the instruments of worship gleam golden in the light,
smelling the air potent with specifically prescribed incense, the sound of the choir and instruments, the taste of the bread on the tongue of the priest. God went all out in His desire to commune with man. It wasn't just the worship it was the space. Here's why. Ever since Genesis we have had to abide in the world that was cursed. Sweating, toiling, pain... But God created spaces where people could come and disconnect from that world. Where they could enjoy Him.
Enjoying God is what the last two chapters in the Bible are about. It's about moving back into the Garden. Moving into the place where God and man are in complete communion. And there are plenty of details about what it will look like.
In light of this scriptural foundation, what can we take from the situation we read about and apply in the situation we find ourselves in? I think that we need to make worship space a place where the senses of the people gathered are piqued toward God. Where they can disconnect from the life they live 24-6 3/4. And for that one quarter, for just a little while come to a place where they refocus on God. The worship space of today is practice for what is to come. That's why I think we need to do our best with how worship spaces are decorated.
Yesterday I posted regarding the
First Fund . This is the Theology behind that request. It's so that we can make our worship space a place where people can meet God, know Him, and love Him more.
--Ben
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