Walls, or How to Kill a Church

I'd love to blame my wife, Kristin, for us commonly watching HGTV, but to be honest, I like it, too. Especially the shows where people are looking to buy a house. Maybe it's the curiosity of wanting to see what's inside of houses, or maybe it's some sort of weird need to get angry at people who state a hard-line budget and then break it by tens of thousands of dollars.

One thing I've noticed is that people really want good flow to the house, which often results in the 'open floor plan.' Basically, there are a lot fewer walls. I too, like this style. I need me some walls around my bedroom and bathroom, but I would love being able to see the TV in the den from the kitchen. The out-to-impress real estate agents on the show talk a lot about the freedom and the air flow and the lighting- I just like the openness.

Walls are important parts of architecture- they hold up the roof, and they provide privacy. They also insulate and keep us warm. Not being in construction, that's all I've got. Walls in churches, however, can be a problem. There are still times when walls are good- to protect integrity and defend against the intrusion the termites we know as sin- but often, these same good walls are corrupted and used to divide and kill needed openness amongst us.

Personality Walls
Definitely the most common wall, seeing as how we all have one. Don't think you do? Well, guess what? Denial is one you're building right now. (Quick aside: telling someone they are in denial is the single best way to win an argument. They can't deny it because, well, that's being in denial. That's not what I'm doing here, though---wait, that's denial. Crap) Humor is another wall we put up. (Oh, for crying out loud, I can't win.) We hide genuine feelings behind self deprecation or sarcasm. We pretend to know things we don't- aka posers- so we don't feel less than the others. We put on a busy persona so people think we are a hard worker, when we are really just running from spending time alone with God. We refuse to show emotion because "real men/big girls don't cry." We play the roles others have come to expect of us, even when we have genuinely changed. It's hard to put our real selves out there, because if it is rejected, they are rejecting you totally. The Wall of Personality must come down, as scary as that may be.

Group Walls
Every group has an inner group. A clique. Again, sometimes this wall is necessary as it builds a deeper connection for those in it. Too many of these, or a connection too impenetrable, and new people feel excluded and left out. Inside jokes are funny to insiders, but a reminder that you are 'out' to an outsider. Inner groups develop their own language (see: Christianity's Churchspeak). Those non-fluent are lost and left out. I think a key to tearing down Group Walls is to not put them up when a large gathering takes place. Small groups are great and appropriate place to put up Walls. Attenders need to feel safe, and there should be a bit of work to earn trust if you are that committed. But when the larger, overall group gathers- which is when new folks tend to drop in- the Group Walls must be lowered, if not completely removed.

Cultural Walls
Christian Book Stores, Christian Music, Christian Movies, Christian Coffee Houses, Christian T-shirts, or Barriers to the Rest of the World, as I like to call them. We steal the ideas of Madison Avenue Advertising, slap a Christian-ised version of it on a piece of cloth and sell if for $25. Then we proudly march around with with our "Got Jesus?" or "iWorship" shirt on. And people hate us. Because we are trying to set ourselves apart from them, and subtlety say we are better than them. The Irony is we stole our 'creative' idea from them and did a poor job of it. We also build our walls against culture under the guise of holiness- keeping sin out. So we don't go places 'sinners' hang out. Like bars, dance halls, regular book stores, R-rated movies, and, most often, our neighbor's home. We draw this line and say we won't go there or do that- and if you struggle with something, it's the right line to draw- but too often it is more a line to keep them out, than to keep us in. I really think we have all these Christian places and things not to have places for Christians to feel safe and welcomed, but to have places that non-Christians don't.

There are so many walls, and so little time. Yes, we need boundaries. They are healthy and they are often important to holiness, which we strive for. But we must not hide behind these walls because we fear being truly known, fear being having our group dynamic changed, or fear being 'invaded' by the outside world. The early church had no walls. Literally. They met in courtyards and on mountains and in fields. But the believers were also together and had everything in common. (Acts 2:44) They shared their lives, their food, their time, their possessions, and their compassion.

Let's advocate an "Open Floor Plan Church," where the flow is natural and open, the view is clear, and the connection is enabled.