Sharing a building

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RJ Spencer

Puritan Board Freshman
I had my choice of two reformed churches, one was in the PCA denomination and the other belonged to the preferred OPC, but I refuse to join that congregation because they share the building with a liberal episcopal congregation, the building belongs to the Episcopal denomination. So I settled and joined the PCA, which has been a real blessing even though they don't have an evening service. Do you think I was being to nit picky? Is it ok for a biblical reformed congregation to share their building with a liberal congregation?
 
If you have been blessed by the PCA church, be thankful and serve therein. Whether you were too picky in your initial decision is moot.

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps" (Pro. 16:9).
 
Is it any worse to rent from an apostate or non-Christian group than it is to rent from a hotbed of anti-Christian propaganda (public schools) or libraries? What about hotels and motels - we know about the sinning that goes on in those establishments.

One of the fundamentals of Presbyterian theology is that we don't meet in a sacred space - the church is the people, not the building. The main concern would be if there are Second Commandment violations in the facility - you'll find those more in High Church Episcopal facilities than in Low Church. That should be a show - stopper.

Other than that - SDA, Jewish, public schools, junior colleges, motels - I can think of church plants that have met in each of those. The body of which I'm a member met in a public school for a few weeks before renting a facility from the Baptists. There is still some Baptist iconagraphy in the building.
 
There is still some Baptist iconagraphy in the building.

Stained glass pictures of babies NOT being baptized? Of churches being all autonomous? Of a preacher pounding a pulpit?

I am wracking my brain...
 
It is certainly not ideal however I don't think it's a deal breaker. I wouldn't let another denomination use my church building, but I would use another's if we didn't have a place.
 
In response to the opening post... I'll go ahead and say it: Yes, you were too picky.

Who owns the building is immaterial so long as it doesn't interfere with how you worship in that space. It is not a grounds to refuse to worship with God's people, who have had to make do with all sorts of accommodations through the centuries. If there's something scandalous about the space itself (huge idol in the sanctuary, pagan music streaming in, etc.), such features may be grounds to refuse to worship there. But ownership is not such a significant issue.

Now, when it comes to choosing the best church to join, all sorts of factors figure in, and the status of the church's meeting place might be one of them. But you didn't say you were picking the best choice, you said you refuse to worship there.

Another way to look at it is that they are bringing light to a dark place, redeeming a lost space for a godly purpose.

All that said, I'm not a fan of church-switching once you've made a solid choice.
 
If the building had unavoidable second commandment violations, or the PCA didn't care about this, then no, you were not too picky.
 
We meet in an SDA church building. The sanctuary is fairly plain, although there are some pictures of "Christ" elsewhere in the building.

And I agree with Jack wholeheartedly... I think your initial decision was too picky, since the church is made of people, not bricks. However, now that you joined a church, I would be hesitant to switch.
 
I've worshiped at many congregations whose meeting place were owned by mainline denominations. In fact the last church I was a member of, a FCC church, used to rent an auxiliary building from a PC(USA) congregation. It's a pretty convenient arrangement because of the decline of mainline churches across the country so there is space available. Also, many mainline churches were constructed during periods of orthodoxy so they may actually be quite suitable for orthodox worship.
 
I've worshiped at many congregations whose meeting place were owned by mainline denominations. In fact the last church I was a member of, a FCC church, used to rent an auxiliary building from a PC(USA) congregation. It's a pretty convenient arrangement because of the decline of mainline churches across the country so there is space available. Also, many mainline churches were constructed during periods of orthodoxy so they may actually be quite suitable for orthodox worship.
But there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed I believe. I was a member of a PCA church that split. The group who left worshipped at the local Masonic Temple. I visited once but was unable to worship because of the mural of that giant Eye at the back of the room, the one that’s on the currency. The whole experience was just creepy.
 
I had my choice of two reformed churches, one was in the PCA denomination and the other belonged to the preferred OPC, but I refuse to join that congregation because they share the building with a liberal episcopal congregation, the building belongs to the Episcopal denomination. So I settled and joined the PCA, which has been a real blessing even though they don't have an evening service. Do you think I was being to nit picky? Is it ok for a biblical reformed congregation to share their building with a liberal congregation?

Did you spend time worshipping with the OPC church prior to making this decision or did you rule the OPC out before ever visiting? Just curious.

I think I would object to worshipping with a church that meets in a building owned by a liberal denomination if the church was using the tithes/offerings to rent the space from them. My conscience would bother me if I thought my church was playing a role in keeping the liberal church on life support. I have no idea what the going rate is for renting a church space for 2-3 hours a week..perhaps it's a pittance. No idea, but it wouldn't really matter to me.
 
I see two sets of concerns: one is of suitability of the space for worship (images, icons, etc.) and another is around where the money goes.

The first would be a dealbreaker for me if it could not be remedied for a regular place of worship (e.g., a purported image of God behind the pulpit). Sadly, this exists even in buildings owned by NAPARC churches.

The second requires a lot of thought. As others have mentioned, in addition to mainline churches, I've heard of Reformed churches renting from cults (especially that meet on Saturday, so Sunday is open), different/false religions (I visited an RP church that met in a Jewish space), government (e.g., schools), wicked businessmen (a strip mall also renting to unsavory businesses), etc. Only occasionally will renting (or purchasing) happen from another Evangelical Christian with the same priorities as your church.
 
I see two sets of concerns: one is of suitability of the space for worship (images, icons, etc.) and another is around where the money goes.

The first would be a dealbreaker for me if it could not be remedied for a regular place of worship (e.g., a purported image of God behind the pulpit). Sadly, this exists even in buildings owned by NAPARC churches.

The second requires a lot of thought. As others have mentioned, in addition to mainline churches, I've heard of Reformed churches renting from cults (especially that meet on Saturday, so Sunday is open), different/false religions (I visited an RP church that met in a Jewish space), government (e.g., schools), wicked businessmen (a strip mall also renting to unsavory businesses), etc. Only occasionally will renting (or purchasing) happen from another Evangelical Christian with the same priorities as your church.
Jake, do you have a objection to renting space in a school? If so, could you explain what that might be?
 
Jake, do you have a objection to renting space in a school? If so, could you explain what that might be?

I do not have an objection per se to any of my examples, I'm just saying you will have to pick someone to rent from that is not an Evangelical Christian in very many scenarios.
 
I do not have an objection per se to any of my examples, I'm just saying you will have to pick someone to rent from that is not an Evangelical Christian in very many scenarios.
This is so true, and likely to be more true in the future.
 
This is so true, and likely to be more true in the future.
We have rented space in a school cafeteria for 18 years. Recently a pastor from a liberal Baptist church approached our pastor about renting his facilities to us. We were initially excited although cautious because of the logistical difficulties of overlapping services. The Baptist church is in financial difficulty due to a steady loss of membership as it drifts steadily leftward. However, as legal agreements were being drawn up it became apparent that this pastor was envisioning joint worship services and activities. Our session dropped the plans immediately. We know the Lord will provide s a building in His time, but boy are those metal folding chairs getting hard.
 
We used to worship in a Jewish temple.

Actually I almost have a harder time with that. Worshipping in a house of worship of a false religion (assuming it's still used for that purpose) seems off to me. Converting such places to Christian places of worship is a wonderful thing however.
 
Actually I almost have a harder time with that. Worshipping in a house of worship of a false religion (assuming it's still used for that purpose) seems off to me. Converting such places to Christian places of worship is a wonderful thing however.
We just removed the idols and set it up the way we wanted. We were able to talk to some of the Jews about Jesus. For us it was just a building, an opportunity to worship, a place of fellowship, and even a mission ground. We prayed for those Jews for years.
 
In response to the opening post... I'll go ahead and say it: Yes, you were too picky.

Who owns the building is immaterial so long as it doesn't interfere with how you worship in that space. It is not a grounds to refuse to worship with God's people, who have had to make do with all sorts of accommodations through the centuries. If there's something scandalous about the space itself (huge idol in the sanctuary, pagan music streaming in, etc.), such features may be grounds to refuse to worship there. But ownership is not such a significant issue.


I am happy with my final decision, and will Not leave the PCA church family. I wouldn't have been so picky in my initial decision if it wasn't for the fact that the sign out front of the building says "episcopal church". It would be hard for me to invite friends and family members to such a place. And the church has statues and other graven images on the outside of the building, can't imagine what kind of second commandment violations are going on inside.
 
Did you spend time worshipping with the OPC church prior to making this decision or did you rule the OPC out before ever visiting? Just curious.

I think I would object to worshipping with a church that meets in a building owned by a liberal denomination if the church was using the tithes/offerings to rent the space from them. My conscience would bother me if I thought my church was playing a role in keeping the liberal church on life support.


I never visited the OPC because the Episcopal church had statues all around the outside of the building. The Episcopal church has a web site and they have a picture of the inside, right behind the pulpit is a very odd looking statue.
 
Stained glass pictures of babies NOT being baptized? Of churches being all autonomous? Of a preacher pounding a pulpit?

Maybe it's a corny river scene behind the baptistry.

Second comment first - we took out the baptistry and moved the stained glass window over it to make room for a larger organ to accompany the hymns and sacred songs.

As for the Baptist iconagraphy - there were two sets, and we only replaced one. I'll try to remember to look Sunday to see which one we still have. One featured Lottie Moon.
 
I agree with those who say you're being too picky, and that the church is the people, not the building. What difference does it make who owns the building? The building is just a building. That's just silly.

I knew of an OPC congregation that met in an SDA building. When the OPC used it on Sunday, they were able to turn the pictures of Christ around so they faced the wall, as well as other adjustments. Didn't affect their worship at all.
 
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