Skye certainly raises some interesting questions but what would he have us to do? This feels more like critical conversation that never seems to end of who is the church for? If it is primarily for the saved then the "message" the building should be sending can be about sacrifice and austerity in a world that is passing away. But if the church and its aesthetics are about attractional/missional values then we need to be like those venues lost people are comfortable with. Skye's comments don't address this bigger issue.

I also take issue with his "medium is the message" comment. While the medium does carry a message who says it is as loud, articulate and consistent as other messages in the church? Preaching, content in songs, teaching, published values, service, interpersonal interaction, these are much louder, clearer, and more personal messages that a church communicates and hopefully contextualizes any messages aesthetics does.

Finally, we need to remember that beauty, order, and creativity can be rich apologetic and therefore aromas to the gospel message and our facilities--rightly done--can have that added value. Have you ever been in a cathedral? Does that space not move you? That's all I'm saying.

I agree with Mike...Skye's comments did not sit well here. From the time of the building of the Tabernacle and the temple, God has taken pleasure in beautiful spaces where His people can gather to worship Him. Beauty and creativity in our architecture, technology and our liturgy play a huge role in drawing ALL people, saved or seeking, to our beautiful and creative God.

I agree that we need to get away from all forms of feeding our flesh and relying on self. Churches that try to please people at all costs are hurting more than helping the people of their congregation. The people will tend to expect the church, the government, and society to meet all their needs for them. We need to be Christ reliant, and not self reliant. A little humility goes a long way!

Here is my two cents worth :-) The Old Testament was about gathering people to a centralized location for true worship. The New Testament is more about a sent agency (the church) into the world (Matt 10:16; John 17:15-18). The church exists for believers and she should be equipping the people to do the ministry (Eph. 4:11-16) not doing ministry for the believers. Therefore, the church should not be multiplying listeners (consumers) but multiplying communicators. A short study comparing Acs 1:8 with Acts 8:1-4 reveals that God wants the church to be going to the world, and when we don't, He gets His agenda accomplished. It is interesting to note that in Acts 8:1-4, the common person was key in expanding the church beyond Jerusalem. The day of the ordained is over, welcome to the day of the ordinary!

I thought Skye's comment on the shift from sacred space to theatre space was quite apt. I think his comments on the (relatively) new desire to make churchgoers as comfortable as possible were also well-observed. Also, I'm a Canadian artist, so it's a federal requirement for me to follow McLuhan ("the medium is the message"). ;)

Sacred spaces don't typically make people comfortable as we understand comfort. The tabernacle and temple were places of joyful celebration, yes, but also reverence and fear. The cathedrals of Europe provoke an awed silence upon entering, a sense of incredulousness and wonder and smallness - a sense that what takes place between those walls is Important. Even smaller similar bulidings, like the Notre-Dame Basilica back home in Montreal, or the Anglican church in Moose Jaw whose name escapes me, have identical effects on those who enter. I know people who sneer at organized religion, but have still been struck dumb by a sense of something big upon entering such places - a reaction I'd wager you'll never see from a "theatre space" church.

Reverence. Fear. Awe. The sense of something unimaginably bigger and more important than I am. These are not comforting as I understand comfort. But they are peaceful, and perhaps that's a goal to consider.

Comfort and peace: different states? Equal importance?

“One church had only twenty people left in a three million dollar facility.” (www.leaderu.com)

In the book “The Empty Church” by Thomas C. Reeves, Gallup pollsters asked people why they left church:

38% cited “TOO MUCH CONCERN FOR MONEY”
19% “moral teachings on sex and marriage too narrow”
18% “poor preaching”
13% “dislike traditional form of worship”
12% “church unwilling to work for social changes”

Caveat: “You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24