First Baptist Dallas Using Consumerism For Jesus?
The leader of a house church movement says it’s a mistake for First Baptist Church of Dallas to build a lavish $130 dollar church building. Read more from Christian Newswire:
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Nov. 12 /Christian Newswire/ – First Baptist Church of Dallas recently announced plans to build a $130 million dollar church campus with the intention of transforming the city and setting up a “beacon of truth.” House church leader Ken Eastburn commented saying the building will not be able to accomplish its goal, “I applaud First Baptist Church for desiring to impact their community, but we need to get beyond a consumer mentality when we think about transformation. Expensive church buildings do not communicate the transforming Truth of the Gospel, they enslave people to the consumerism of our culture.”
According to their website, the 1.5 million square foot campus will utilize innovative technology in the interest of environmental friendliness and will include a stone watering tower with a luminescent cross, a 3,000-seat worship center with 7 high-definition screens, a six- floor education building for youth and children’s ministries, two side-by-side gymnasiums, and an outdoor concert space. According to church fundraising experts, it will be the most expensive church building program the United States has ever seen.
“Attractive buildings, entertaining preachers, and concert-like music have become staples in churches around the country in their effort to reach out to the lost,” says Eastburn, “The problem is that these churches are reinforcing the very things that are entrapping people and keeping them from a transforming relationship with Christ. The church cannot curb consumerism by leveraging consumerism.”
Eastburn is a leader with The Well, a network of home- based churches in California and Colorado. After selling their building in 2005, The Well began meeting in each other’s homes where they are learning how to practice simplicity and radical giving in a Church culture dominated by consumerism.
He continues, “If the church is to be God’s plan for the world, the vessel by which the Good News of his redemption spreads, we are going to need to learn how to reach out to culture without becoming it. Expensive buildings don’t scream ‘we have been redeemed,’ they scream, ‘we are just like you.’ And that certainly isn’t the message that Jesus was nailed to a cross for.”
The Well hosts 10-15 members on a weekly basis at each of its five locations. Eastburn encourages individuals to visit their blog at www.leavethebuildingblog.com where Christians from every background are invited to explore what it means to be followers of Christ in the 21st Century.
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7 Responses to “First Baptist Dallas Using Consumerism For Jesus?”
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First Baptist Church doesn't really need a new building in the heart of downtown Dallas. Take that $135MM and embark on the largest evangelism and missions project in the name of Christ Jesus through First Baptist of Dallas. Set an example for all the world too see that your hearts are focused on things above and not below. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moths nor rust can destroy. Best wishes and prayers to all who are members of that community.
$130 dollar or $130 million dollars? Might need to correct the 2nd line. GBY!
Personally, I see nothing wrong with a church having a $130 million dollar building. Has anyone read the description of the Tabernacle lately? (Or Heaven, for that matter?) I can't help but wonder if some of God's people complained about the gold utensils in the House of God, “when that money could have been used to spread the Message”? As long as they're using the facility to win souls, I say, “God bless 'em”!
Uh, Ron, the Old Testament/Old Covenant is past. The types and shadows it represented are gone. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit now. Yes, we use buildings to worship, but this kind of foolish luxury brings shame on Christ's name. 7 million homes in foreclosure and they're trying to beg for money for a brilliant building? Disgusting
Good conversation going on here.
If you're interested in joining the discussion at my blog where I go into more detail about why this building project is troubling, click here: http://leavethebuildingblog.com/2009/11/12/the-...
Good conversation going on here.
If you're interested in joining the discussion at my blog where I go into more detail about why this building project is troubling, click here: http://leavethebuildingblog.com/2009/11/12/the-...
I am a parent of a child that attends the Developmental Learning Center which is a part of First Baptist Dallas. With the renovation/expansion of First Baptist Dallas, has come the closing of the Developmental Learning Center which is a day care center associated with FBC. In their fund raising, FBC neglected to set aside money for space for the children of the DLC, thus they decided to close the DLC with very little notice to the parents and employees of the DLC. First Baptist Dallas claims to be a Christian organization yet they have left a number of families burdened with the need to find a care facility for their children. But that isn’t even the kicker, FBC Dallas has left several people out in the cold to find jobs in a market that isn’t very cooperative. Not only are these people having trouble finding jobs, they are unable to collect any type of unemployment due to the fact that FBC Dallas is a non-profit organization and FBC Dallas has not offered these people any compensation. Some of these people have been at FBC/DLC for years and now they are going to be jobless with no compensation, no health insurance, etc… Truly unethical!!!