The New Space
Church has changed. It’s a new shape. We’ve built a wall, not in a Trump “let’s keep ‘em out” kind of way but in a “we want people to come in” kind of a way. The blind has gone, you can see the light now. Come in grab a coffee and talk to us! Look up and see the filament in our light bulbs. Marvel at our wood chip… it’s cool and means we’re on trend, which is a good thing. There are different spaces; curved, soundproofed and inclusive. Space that invites people in. Space that allows people to be noisy. Space that allows people to be quiet. Space that allows people to be still. Space that allows people to be in, even when they’re out. Space that allows people to be with their kids. Space that allows people leave their kids. Loads of new space and it’s still really cramped. This too is good.
There’s much more to do — it will never be perfect outside the pearly gates but we are hopeful and trying to make a space God can speak to you… and everyone else in. Thanks for bearing with, partnering with, and just being with us through this.
There are lots of new spaces, they don’t all have names yet. This will come over time. Whether we allow ourselves high church influence and adopt sanctuaries and naves or reflect the direct nature of our beautiful county and continue with the wonderfully imaginative back room, big room and side room. Names will come.
The Green Room
But one name has arrived early. I don’t know how directly God intervened to influence this but it seems to bare the hallmarks of his work. It’s called the green room. As we pondered on a title for the new softly lit cosy pastoral space our builders and teams had created, we noticed it was green. Arsenic green to be precise, but that as a title seemed a little dark. More of a ‘you should watch your back’ feel than the ‘we’re here to care for you’ kind of vibe we were hoping for. So the green room it is.
I looked it up. Green Room — “a place for actors to take refuge when not performing” was how Wikipedia captured it.
Seven night a week theatre strutting actors, incessantly performing. Constantly on show. You’re gonna need somewhere to be yourself if you’re acting all the time.
It made me stop and think about what we do as people in life… we act… a lot. Is it me or have you felt this? Ever acted your way through a 5 minute conversation or a half hour meeting with work? Where you smile, project confidence, assertiveness, or happiness, or whatever is the necessary requirement for the job; but that’s not really where you’re at. It’s an act. Sometimes we act through whole weeks, months, even careers. I also got to thinking about what we need… a rest… a lot more rest… better rest. We could use a Green Room for life. Finally I was thinking about what church should be like, or how we should be in it! Of all the places on earth, including the Green Rooms, church should be the place you’re able to drop the act.
But do we drop the act when we walk in or is that where it begins? What kind of place and space is our church?
The Actors
Consider, in light of our acting default, what the Bible tells us about how God sees and deals with us. God sees us at our worst. There’s nothing we can hide, there’s no façade. If you believe in God, as the Bible explains him, there’s no point in any act. The most intimate, awkward dark moments God sees like a pedestrian walking past a huge billboard. More amazing than that, he sees us at our worst (sees through the act) and in that moment loves us the most.
When Paul tried to explain this to the Christians in Rome he put it like this
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:6–8.
Acting is just not what God requires. It’s not what he had in mind when he made everything. There was a grander ideal. Something real, something true, something authentic. When Jesus talked about how people should behave he always confronted the act and always pursued the authentic response. He condemns the lavish displays of righteousness that are not rightly motivated and sings the praises of the real heart felt change no matter how earthy or grimy it appeared. Remember the prostitute who washed Jesus feet with her tear soaked hair, she was a wreck, it was social suicide, but it was honest. Jesus loved it. (Luke 7: 36–50)
What kind of space should church be? It should be honest!
There’s a small space tucked away inside the unit, softly lit with an arsenic green wall. The Green Room. The place you drop your guard and be yourself. The place you lose the act for the sake of your own sanity and spiritual health. The big problem we have is that it will only fit a few of us in it at a time! It should probably be a lot bigger. Maybe we should adopt a Green Room attitude the minute we walk through the front door.
Ash Gibson, Assistant Pastor, Christchurch Xscape
