A church in statehouse? Who will be attending. Who will be the vicar? Si ata heri angejenga bar (He could at least have built a bar instead)! This 1.2B monument on the hill has taken the country by storm. For many, a church in statehouse is the height of arrogance. Why build a church on public land? Weren’t there better uses the money could have been put into. Furthermore, how can we ascertain that he is using his money? Conversely, others have seen it as a good gesture. What is wrong with the president renovating an existing church. Isn’t he doing the Lord’s work? Why don’t you have a problem with the other facilities built there. Are you the devil’s agents? Quite fascinating it is that the president’s insists on being worried of his meeting with God. He was livid “What will I tell God”, he said, “that His house is in ruins while I stay in palatial houses,” quoting from Haggai 1:4. The naysayers according to him must be the devil’s agents.
It seems though that he did this on the presupposition that the church is God’s house. There is a great assumption today in Christendom that the church is God’s dwelling place. One can think of the subtle comments made on Sunday by many that they are going to the house of God. Others will give a warning of how we shouldn’t enter God’s house empty handed or, how a polite demeanor is needed when entering the house of God. Granted, while some of these warnings are helpful in maintaining order in the congregation, they however seem to stem from the assumption that the church building today is synonymous with the Old Testament (OT) temple. This really is characteristic of Christianity here in Africa. For many, the church is a temple and the front part is an altar. The pastors are Levites while the bishops and senior pastors are priests. They are intermediaries between us and God. We feel that taking our monies to the altar is similar to the temple sacrificial system. Quite often we hear that we should bring our offering to the altar: madhabahu itakunenea (the altar will speak on your behalf)
Looking into the scriptures, though, we see that the temple was the successor to the tabernacle. Both of these were God’s meeting point with the people. When Moses completes the construction of the tabernacle, the glory of God filled it (Exod. 40:37). The same is repeated at the consecration of the temple by Solomon (2Chron. 7:1). The temple then becomes the chosen dwelling place for God. It was indeed the house of the Lord where his presence was located. Here God’s people would meet with him and it was also the place where sin was atoned for. Later, it became the place where the annual feasts like the Passover and Booths were celebrated. It becomes clear then that if the church is a temple, then it makes sense why we need to build it as service to God. This is the fallacy that the president and a great number have been riding on.
Jesus the complete temple
The coming of Jesus puts an end to the glory of the OT temple and its practices as God’s dwelling among mankind. In fact, God warns the listeners not to look at the new temple in Haggai 2 and fetter. The glory of new temple was going to overshadow that of the old one; not with magnificent looks and golden arches but because the Lord himself will give it its glory. In other words, the glory of this house will not consist in the outward looks but by being indwelt by God. With this in mind, it becomes clear that God is not glorified by the magnificence of the church building. John belabors to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of the temple (Jn. 2:18-22; 4:20-24). He not only cleanses it in one instance, but he also promises to destroy it altogether. Because of Christ, true worship will no longer be in the mountains or Jerusalem (sacred places) but will be in truth and in spirit. It should be instructive that Jesus is known as Immanuel i.e. God with us. God now no longer dwells in designated places but now is among us and in us. This idea of God not being contained in a building is even foreseen by Solomon when he struggles with how the omni-present God would be contained in a mere house (2Chron. 6:18).
Many have been duped into giving their money into constructions that end up not even benefiting the body of Christ all in the name of building God’s house. Moreover, we have elevated the place of those who work in church beyond the level that the scriptures envision. Your pastor is neither a Levite/ priest nor is your church a temple. We (Christians) are all a community of priests, a chosen people and a nation of God’s possession. We need no one to act on our behalf neither do we need a house where we meet with the Lord. The Lord is now eternally with us and in us. In fact, you are the temple (1Cor 16:19)! The Lord will thus not question our mabati structures and neither is he impressed by our magnificent cathedrals. He is interested in our hearts, our communities and our relation with money. We should be wary of thinking that building a church structure is necessarily service to God. The church building is a tool not an end. This not necessarily to mean that we shouldn’t do magnificent cathedrals or that we do not need development committees in church. It, however, means that we should remain guided by the central truth professed by Paul: God does not dwell in temples built by man nor served by human hands as if he needed anything (Acts 17:24). It is not a wonder that a number of the church buildings in Europe have been turned into museums and amusement centers.
The more important question, however, must be asked. Is a Christian’s mandate in government (assuming for a moment that the president is one) to build churches for God or to govern well? Many today fail to appreciate that our primary calling in the market place is to work redemptively. We are called to work and produce and not just praying and creating work place fellowship. While the latter two are good and important, they should never supersede our primary call. We are to work as serving God and not man. God is interested in your accounting, business, leadership, carpentry etc. just in the same way he cares about your prayer and fellowship. Furthermore, whenever we identify as Christian, without living out the implications of our faith in our work place we do more harm than good to the gospel. It is in the same Haggai, which the president quotes, where God decries the hypocrisy of the people who seek to offer sacrifices to him with unclean hands. It is of no value then to be seen to build a church if your leadership and governance do not portray godliness and justice.
Mr. president, I dare say that when we stand before God, He will not ask you about the mabati church in statehouse. He will not care whether it was worth 1.2 billion or 12,000. God will ask you about your governance principles and integrity. He will ask how you took care of the people and how you treated those you disagreed with. Your primary call is to govern not construction! The church building might be good but it should be used to serve people and not the other way round
