Ecclecia

What sort of environment do we want to create in which to meet the living God?

It seems to me, that at one time the church considered all the ways they could communicate their core stories of Christ, Redemption, Love & Sacrifice. Visitthe ancient churches of Europe, and the story is told in the architecture, thourgh sculpture, paint and song. Apon entering the ecclesia, the ancient church was emmersed in the story of God. Of course back in day, most of the common folk couldn’t read the word nor did they have access to the word (pre-printing press) – so I guess they decided to unleash the artistic community out of necessity. Wow, what an outcome. The story of God masterfully told through beauty and craftsmanship.

So why is it today, in our modern expressions of ecclecia, we’ve exchanged beauty for a more “corporate” approach with neutral painted walls, simple symbols and power point?

Is it really possible to distill the complete story of God down to the symbol of the Cross, (no doubt is the central symbol of the Christian faith) – the only remaining symbol in many churches?

I wonder what church would look like today, if we commissioned our artists to visually integrate the story of God into our environments using modern technology for visual communication?

If you like you can compare a Google Image search of “Stained Glass Religous” or “Stained Glass Cathederal” to a google image search for “church auditorium”. With the exception of Saddleback Church, you’ll get my drift.