The Makeup of the Church

The Makeup of the Church

5/22/13

Modern technology has allowed us to see different parts of the world without leaving our own home offices.  This technology has provided us with a great opportunity to witness one of the greatest achievements of man and that is architecture.  Church buildings are a great example of this which was emphasized to me last month while on vacation.  And even though one understands that a building does not make up a church the structure of the building can represent the makeup of the church that worships within its walls.  That is why it is a good idea to keep the physical attributes of our senses intact as well since one cannot grasp the personal atmosphere of a scene by presenting a picture alone.

My family and I recently took a trip down to Tucson, Arizona to spend some time with my brother and his family.  We had an excellent trip and with the exception of a minor delay in Flagstaff, Arizona the trip went without any glitches.  We had good weather, good food and excellent hosts for the weeklong visit.  Both families had made detailed arrangements in order to have the smoothest trip possible, everything went according to our plans including the museums and other sites that we had marked as necessary sites to visit.

One of the places that we visited was an old mission that was located south of Tucson.  It is called the San Xavier Mission and it is a great site to behold.  Besides getting to see my brother and his family, this stop was going to be the highlight of the trip for me.  The reason for this is because I study church history and this love of mine extends even towards the design of church buildings, both interior and exterior.  I took multiple pictures of this church while we were there, too many some would say but in my opinion I could have taken about a thousand more.  This stop only heightened my love of the church and everything that she represents I just hope that I have further opportunities to visit more of them in distant lands and other faraway places before I depart this world.

My first glance of the church came as we were driving along the highway and approaching the exit that would take us into the direction of the church.  The landscape of southern Arizona is basically the same when you look around, sage brush with a bunch of dirt and sand.  So when something white sticks up into the air it is quite visible even from a short distance away and so was this church.  One also has to imagine that when this church was built there were no paved highways or roads present only dirt ones and most likely trails this far south.  This was reinforced into my brain as we pulled up to the church and I noticed that the entire area surrounding the building was dirt, with only a concrete sidewalk leading up to its gate entrance.

As I got out of the car my attention immediately became entrenched on the church and the camera began snapping.  I was giddy inside with complete excitement added on top this was what I had been waiting to see.  The question of “why was I excited?” was churning within my head since I had been in hundreds of church buildings during my life, but somehow I knew this experience would be different.  As we all approached the building my thoughts took me back to Salinas, California and the time that my family spent there.  There are hundreds of small missions and churches that line the El Camino Real and I had no desire to see any of them in my four years of living there.  So much church history that I could have learned from those places and thousands more like them, but my heart was not in tune with God’s houses at that time.

As I walked along the sidewalk towards the church I became so engrossed at the building in front of me that I had not noticed that the rest of my party had stopped to wait for one of the other kids a few yards back.  For some reason I took my eyes off the building and then noticed that I was all alone.  I stopped along the sidewalk to wait for the girls to catch up, I was anxious to get inside and see what the interior of the building had to offer my eyes.  I took another long glance of the entire outside of the complex and then I could not wait any longer so I began walking again once the girls got close to my position.  I went past the gate and entered to the area in front of the church and then noticed that there were more buildings that I had been expecting, which meant more things to stare at in wonder.  I could continue my description of the pictures that I was taking of the outside portion of the building but I shall save that detail for a later article. 

We then entered into the main building where the sanctuary was located.  The room was filled with people both sitting and standing.  It was not crowded inside by any means but there were a number of people inside all doing one thing, admiring the interior designs of the building.  I remember one lady that was sitting on one of the ends of a pew and as I approached where she was sitting I saw a soft smile appeared from her mouth, I have no idea why she caught my eye but it was a quaint moment and immediately as I returned a smile in her direction it was over.  I returned to my scanning mode of the sanctuary and began symbolically salivating as I approached the front where all of the statues and artwork adorned the walls and roof of the building.  I began to snap pictures with my camera as fast as I could get the thing to focus again and I am positive that someone inside the sanctuary had their eyes trained on my tourist like features that was present on my face as each digital picture was recorded on the camera. 

I was in heaven, and I was mesmerized with the layout of the artwork that had been strategically placed in very available space within the sanctuary itself.  I went to every corner of the sanctuary and spent as much time at each stop as I could until the person behind me began to get impatient with my slow pace.  I reluctantly moved ahead and began the same process at this stop once again, the people behind me was not enthused about my progress.  At that moment I really did not care about what they were thinking I just wanted to stand in that position and stare at the portraits and try and understand what each one meant and why they were painted along with the reasoning behind their artwork.  I could hear the tour guide talking, who was harboring a large tour at the same time, in the distance about the very things that I was wondering about, but could not pay too much attention since I was captivated by the beauty of all that I was witnessing.

As we continued through the sanctuary, and my camera continuing its quest to cover each inch of the interior, I went and sat down on one of the pew rows for a few minutes.  My mind began to race with thoughts about who all might have been in the same place that I was sitting and at the same time my heart sank knowing that some of those people might have died not knowing what it meant when it came to the reason why this church was built.  I guess that in every church building that we enter into and sit down on the pews or chairs, there have been different people that have been there with the same thoughts and conditions as I.  This thought kind of jolted my insides a bit, knowing that once again human history has allowed for people to leave this world not knowing what true life means for them.  I continued to sit there and look around at the wonderful views of the place until once again I had been so captivated in my own world that I had failed to notice that everyone else in my party had left the building and I was all by myself.  This was not a problem but a signal for me to surrender my position and let another person gaze at the artwork from that specific spot. 

There were brochures and pamphlets located everywhere on the church campus which had historical details printed about the mission and the purpose and reasons for its construction.  Detailed history notes were hanging from each wall even in the small rooms where prayer vigils were being conducted.  The church is still an active church with services being held every day, I wish I had the opportunity to meet the parish priest I would have had a thousand things to ask him and talk with him about the church.  My tour of the complex was nearly completed a few hours later, but I hated to leave this place.  There was something about the presence of this church that was located in the middle of nowhere that was sticking to my insides, and I had no idea but God was about to show me something about His church; another one of those dumb me, realization moments was about to begin.

After we had left the church building, we walked over to another set of buildings that housed a small café along with some other souvenir shops.  We came across one of the famous Native American movie actors that lived in the area who operated one of the small stands within the courtyard of these buildings.  Our party spent a few moments talking with him and listening to some stories behind the jewelry that he was selling, all quite interesting but we did not buy anything at this time.  We all eventually began to make our way back to the cars to depart.  I decided to take one more look around the complex before I got into the car and it was at this point in which God decided to show me a thing or two.  I had spent at least thirty minutes staring at the front of this complex and had not noticed a detail, maybe I had but my mind did not register it until God decided to point it out to me.  And as soon as I realized this specific detail, God began to show me what He wanted me to understand. 

At the beginning of this article I have included a picture of the front of the church campus.  If you notice the entire building is painted white, it really does stand out with a blue sky backdrop.  But what I noticed about this complex was that there are three different colors of white.  I was shocked when I had not realized this detail before and it struck me with a chill when God showed me that it is the difference in colors and the variety of colors within the church that makeup His church and not just structured buildings themselves.  

I can understand that different shades of white had to be used since renovations, additions and routine and upkeep procedures required a new coat of paint at certain times.  Or was it because additions to the complex occurred?  All of these and many more explanations could be given, but it was the color representation that matters and not the outward color of the church building itself that mattered.  The different colors of white were a symbol that when the church grows it will automatically attract different kinds of people and only thriving churches attract new people within its walls.

The colors inside the building are not the statues or paintings but the people that go in and out of the building.  The church building is just that a building it can be decorated in any fashion but in the end it is still a building.  It is the occupants on the inside the building that counts and also represents the life of the church, not the building.  The same concept holds true about us in the fact that our outside buildings (bodies) are not what matters but it is what is on the inside that counts. 

Our bodies are a temple for God and we have forgotten this concept in such a manner that we have focused on the temple, the thousands of artifacts that we deem important to our lives, and not God.  It is ok that the building is beautiful and it is ok that the building is simple and quaint, but it is not the building that counts.  The building will pass away but it is what is inside that building that matters.  It is so important that we take our eyes off of the building and all of its pretty fixtures, because they can easily become idols in our lives.  It is important to focus on God that resides within us or not within us that really matters and it is this point of order that we need to reexamine our inside and figure out what others are learning about us as they enter into our realm (temple area).

Restore your building and allow the master carpenter to repair the scenery of our insides so that the ones who look upon us will see Him and not the objects that we have been given.  God is in the restoration business and it is never too late to allow Him to change your insides of life.  It is not the paint job that matters but the inner makeup that shows off the inner sanctuary of your life.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this mission and I hope to return to it sometime in the near future.  I also will remember what God showed me through my visit and how much more important church and church history is in my life.  Also, I shall never forget that even though the building may be attractive it is who dwells within my temple area that matters and the question that I must ask myself on a regular basis is as follows:  Is God visible enough in my life to show a dying world the true safety, hope, restoration and security of His love for all mankind?

DLB