1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Which one would you choose?

Discussion in '2004 Archive' started by mioque, Mar 12, 2004.

Top Posters
  1. mioque

    mioque New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2003
    Messages:
    3,899
    Likes Received:
    0
    This is a purely hypothetical question. Just post number 1000 happening for me, combined with a little morbid curiosity.

    The congregation of your baptistchurch has expanded to the size that a new churchbuilding is certainly needed.
    Now there are 2 options.
    1. Build a brandnew churchbuilding to your own specifications, this has the consequence that most churchactivities have to be scaled back considerably for a couple of years.
    2. The local Roman Catholic church has been shrinking for years and they are willing to sell a building for a very affordable price. The problem is that it is a gothic building. Something like this.
    http://www.sint-niklaas.be/frans/t21.jpg
    It has a couple of other issues as well.
    Including tainted glass windows of RC saints that can't be removed because the building is on the heritage list, ofcourse the acoustics are...ahum 'eccentric' by baptist standards and let's not even try to get into the baptismal font situation.

    Which option would you choose and why?
     
    #1 mioque, Mar 12, 2004
  2. Greg Linscott

    Greg Linscott <img src =/7963.jpg>

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    Messages:
    521
    Likes Received:
    0
    I say Option #1.

    Consider it an investment.
     
    #2 Greg Linscott, Mar 12, 2004
  3. Jailminister

    Jailminister New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2003
    Messages:
    907
    Likes Received:
    0
    If the price of the Catholic church is a good price, and reconstruction cost not to high(membership labor), the option #2 would be great. What better tesimony then to see a once dead church turn into a live church.
     
    #3 Jailminister, Mar 12, 2004
  4. Bro Tony

    Bro Tony New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2004
    Messages:
    2,398
    Likes Received:
    0
    All other things being considered equal along with the qualification placed by JM. Option #2
     
    #4 Bro Tony, Mar 12, 2004
  5. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2000
    Messages:
    16,944
    Likes Received:
    1
    Wow.
    I love stained glass.
    I love historical buildings.
    I'd jump on that chance just for those reasons, but then add that you'd be saving money by doing so? I LIKE IT!
    I may be misunderstanding or ignorant of something.
    What's wrong with stained glass and old-fashioned buildings? :confused:
     
    #5 Gina B, Mar 12, 2004
  6. Karen

    Karen Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2000
    Messages:
    2,610
    Likes Received:
    0
    I would save money and enjoy the stained glass windows.
    The windows, in a non-Catholic view, depict Biblical truth and / or lives of Christian heroes. Doesn't mean you have to worship them.

    Although the two choices would not necessarily be realistic everywhere. In the UK, from what I have seen and have been told, many small evangelical congregations meet in storefronts and other rented facilities at the same time many historic church buildings are closed up, only used for museums, or converted into businesses. Many of these historic buildings are vastly expensive to repair and maintain.

    I remember reading in English Heritage magazine that preserving these buildings will be an increasing challenge because of the cost.

    Karen
     
    #6 Karen, Mar 12, 2004
  7. Servent

    Servent Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2003
    Messages:
    797
    Likes Received:
    0
    #1
     
    #7 Servent, Mar 12, 2004
  8. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2000
    Messages:
    30,285
    Likes Received:
    507
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I'm not into neo-platonism, the basis of the gothic cathedral look, even for cheap.

    I'm very much into multi-purpose 24/7 facility that is a wise investment of God's resources.
     
    #8 Dr. Bob, Mar 12, 2004
  9. Kathy

    Kathy New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2001
    Messages:
    1,541
    Likes Received:
    0
    I say Option #2 to save money for the church! You could use some of what you've saved and incorporate the baptismal...and I liked what Karen said about the stained-glass windows...

    Kathy
    &lt;&gt;&lt;
     
    #9 Kathy, Mar 12, 2004
  10. mioque

    mioque New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2003
    Messages:
    3,899
    Likes Received:
    0
    "Many of these historic buildings are vastly expensive to repair and maintain."
    Longterm that is ofcourse a real issue with option 2 that I should have stated more clearly. On the other hand government subsidies could alleviate that burden somewhat (the other side of the coin when you are on the heritage list).

    One of the plusses of stained-glass windows is ofcourse that if you are bored with the sermon you can look at them instead of the ceiling. [​IMG]

    Gina
    "What's wrong with stained glass and old-fashioned buildings?"
    There are a couple of problems. Let's see, for this example I will have to speculate on reverent Griffin's style of preaching.
    You see I suspect that when dr. Bob truly get's started inside the pulpit, the glasses get put away, the bowtie comes of, the fire of the Holy Ghost starts burning in his eyes and he sounds&looks like Jimmy Swaggart doing his best Fire&Brimstone work (only even better ofcourse). [​IMG] [​IMG]
    The acoustics design of Gothic architecture however assume that the preacher speaks slowly in a carried tone of voice... [​IMG]
    (I'm deeply sorry Bob, couldn't help myself)

    "If the price of the Catholic church is a good price, and reconstruction cost not to high(membership labor), the option #2 would be great."
    I assumed (should have included it in post 1) that RCC would cart out the statues and hand it over in a well maintained state, meaning that 'enlarging' the baptismal font is the only real job that needs to be done. Everything else would either be practically impossible or could be done very cheaply.
     
    #10 mioque, Mar 13, 2004
  11. Deacon

    Deacon Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2002
    Messages:
    9,485
    Likes Received:
    1,239
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Congradulations on post #1000, Moique. That milestone is coming up for me soon too.

    I'd choose Option #1

    Their are great advantages to relocating to a building that already is built. The cost of building a church from ground up is quite large.

    Renovation of an older building would be a great option but the restrictions placed upon a historical building are too great. The added disadvantage: being a Gothic structure. In the modern mind-set that means dead!

    The hassles that the leadership team would have in renovation process of the building would be immense.

    The image that is presented to the unsaved may be compromising. A new believer could have problems as well.

    Rob
     
    #11 Deacon, Mar 13, 2004
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Loading...