Depending on if and how thoroughly Pastor Fay chooses to discuss the tabernacle, this will serve as an introduction to comments I will make during the Bible Study hour on Sunday, February 20th. Since many of you can attest to the fact that I have no fear of repeating myself, I'll move boldly forward.
If you didn't know, our church was formed in a house on Brown Street, owned by man named Paul Stahmer, and between Paul, his brother John and father Jacob (I think I have that right), they formed the core of our church. Of the ten families who initially established Trinity, two were Stahmers. For the first six months, they rented space, all the while planning to build their own church. I could be wrong on this, but I believe this is that first permanent church, located at approximately 5th and Myrtle Streets.
If this isn't the first church, it's the second. It wasn't a ramshackle building made with the cheapest materials, nor was it a modern-day version of Solomon's Temple, made with the finest materials available. It was a source of pride for those initial members, and they built it within six months of establishing Trinity. It was that important to them to have their own building and own identity that they donated money, materials and construction expertise to get it built.
This next picture is the interior (I think):
I'd like to make the picture bigger, but the general point is made--the altar wasn't just a slab of wood in the middle with a cross on it. These were moderately nice furnishings meant to establish an atmosphere of dignity and respect when we come to worship.
Modern churches today also start the same way ours did, in someone's living room, but might stay that way for a couple of reasons. First, the argument is made that money spent on a fancy church is vain and a waste of funds that could be spent on missions and other church work. Second, not owning a building grants freedom to a congregation to be what it wants or needs to be--it can grow at its own pace and not burden itself with debt until it either wants or needs to. I'd have to go back and look, but Rev. Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in southern California gets about 20,000 in worship every weekend. It started out in Rev. Warren's living room and stayed there for at least five years, and possibly more.
These are valid points, and I won't say they're wrong or misguided. I simply ask this--where in the description of the tabernacle, its furnishings or the priestly vestments do we see any hint of being cheap or getting by with the least we can do? Even for a portable structure that had to be erected and dismantled whenever the people moved, the tabernacle was a fairly rich place, and everything in it is made of the finest materials. My only point is there is something to be said for erecting a worship space that causes one to stop and ponder the awe and majesty of the Lord as opposed to choosing something that's the cheapest to build or has the best acoustics. I think all of us slow down when we enter a Catholic cathedral and look at the stained glass, statues and everything else that reminds us of the story of Christ. I could be wrong, but I think God's descriptions of the tabernacle tell us it's not wrong to spend money when it's to the glory of the Lord.
Scott
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