Pastor Dan Kiehl's Weekly Letter to the Congregation
September 23, 2020
Dear Oakwood Church family,
One of the Christian cliches that I've heard several times in recent months is "the church is not a building; it's the people." This is an important truth - when the Bible refers to the church, it is speaking of either those who make a public profession of Christ and are recognized members of the visible church, or it is speaking of the predestined, regenerated, blood-bought members of the invisible church. Ideally, these two groups of people would be the same, but we know that many who are members of churches aren't actually born-again believers. But, either way, when the Bible talks about the "church", it's referring to the people, not a building.
During the pandemic, when such a high percentage of congregation members weren't able to or comfortable with gathering on the Lord's Day for worship or during the week for Bible study and ministry, it has been important to remember that Oakwood Presbyterian Church isn't located at 1865 Waddle Road, but in State College borough, Park Forest, Port Matilda, Bellefonte, Boalsburg, Centre Hall, University Park, Stormstown - wherever God's people make their homes and where they go to school or work. This has been a good reminder because when we think of our church as a building, we tend to see it as an institution of sorts and equate it with its activities and programs.
However, I don't believe that the building is insignificant. God has shown us in His Word that places can have significance that goes way beyond their physical properties or earthly values. From the beginning, the Garden of Eden is an ongoing image throughout Scripture of the place where God and human beings meet and live in fellowship and Kingdom peace, culminating at the end of the book of Revelation. The Old Testament saints would often name the place where they had extraordinary encounters with God and would often place a memorial there that pointed to the spiritual significance of the place, such as Bethel ("house of God"), where Jacob saw the vision of the ladder to heaven; or the altar of stones at the foot of Mt. Sinai, where God revealed His Law; or the 12 stones on the bank of the Jordan River, where God first miraculously brought His people into the promised land. And, of course, the Tabernacle and Temple were visible representations of the saving work of Jesus Christ and the restoration of God's people to the conditions of Eden.
In Psalm 48, the Psalmist writes of his adoration for the city of Jerusalem: "Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Within her citadels, God has made himself known as a fortress... Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever." As the Psalmist admires the beauty and strength of the city's architecture, it reminds him of the security and peace that he and the people of God have in the Lord Himself. In the Old Testament, "Jerusalem" and "Mount Zion" became so associated with the people of God that the place-names themselves became synonyms for "God's people."
It is true that there isn't the same emphasis on holy places in the New Testament, partly due to the finished work of Christ and partly due to the nature of ministry in the early church, which involved home worship and study, and the rapid spread of the Gospel. But as the church became established in a new area and persecution lessened, they would soon build special places where God's people could gather for worship and fellowship in the name of Christ.
One of the major projects in my former church near Philadelphia was to relocate the congregation from a building and property that had become inadequate to handle the growth in the ministry. This was a church that had existed for over 50 years and was in the process of being revitalized by the Lord. We, as leaders, believed that, as hard as it would be for the congregation to sell its beloved building and property and begin meeting in schools, this was a necessary step, not only logistically but also spiritually. The congregation needed to see itself differently, more like a church plant than a long-established congregation. In other words, it would be good for them to see themselves as the church meeting in borrowed facilities, rather than a building with its different programs.
But, as anyone who has spent extended time in a church plant will understand, after a while the congregation began to long for its own space. Much of this desire was driven by utilitarian concerns and convenience, but I remember that the leadership started to talk about the need for a "community presence" - a place that was a visible identifier of the presence of God's people, a place where people knew that they could go to meet with the God of the Bible and enjoy fellowship with His people.
It is my deep desire that, for generations to come, until our Lord Jesus returns, that the Oakwood Church building will be that kind of special, holy place. A place that God's people and seekers are drawn to and come to love because that's where they have experienced genuine, life-changing encounters with an awesome, glorious, holy, and gracious God in worship; where they grow in their understanding of God's Word and Christlikeness; where they have experienced Gospel-infused love and acceptance from people who love God; where they have planned and prepared for world-changing ministry in the community and returned to celebrate the work of the harvest.
No, the church is not a building. But when a building is repeatedly the location of God meeting with and transforming, and satisfying the deepest needs of His people, it becomes a very special place, a holy place. I hope that the limited access to the building that God has provided to Oakwood during this pandemic has deepened your gratitude for this place - how God has worked there in the past and how He will continue to do so in the future, a place where, "...if... an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you." (I Corinthians 14:24,25).
