Pandering Doesn’t Work

People want churches to be churches. Religion to be religion, too. Perhaps God to be God and not a Coca-Cola symbol.

“Traditional church buildings may be more attractive to the unchurched because they want to see something that is different from other aspects of their lives,” which are often shaped by narrow demographic branding strategies….

Mark Torgerson, author of An Architecture of Immanence: Architecture for Worship and Ministry Today, says that in an era in which new buildings are designed to look retro, symbols are especially potent.

“Most people in our culture are symbol savvy,” says Torgerson. “The Christian church has adopted powerful symbolism throughout its history, and this has served it well in developing a public presence and nonverbal testimony. … It’s [important] to use such a primary avenue for communication.”

Jacobsen says a building should reflect the church’s theology. “If we claim that God is a God of beauty and that humans are the crown of his creation,” he says, “and then build buildings that make humans feel like cogs in a machine, people will wonder if we mean what we say.” (from Christianity Today)

HT: Cyberbrethren

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