Photos courtesy of Dale Lightfoot • www.lightfootphotography.com ©2007
Sacred Spaces or I
n 1966, St. Louis unveiled a new stadium. Following the advice of experts that stadiums for a particular sport are unnecessary, Busch Stadium was generic, designed for both the baseball and football Cardinals. Backers boasted it would become the pride of St. Louis. It didn’t. By 2005, sports fans watched as wrecking balls knocked it down. What went wrong? Someone forgot to tell the experts that a stadium built for both baseball and football doesn’t work for either sport.
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Across the state, Kansas City took a different approach. In 1972, they bucked the trend and built two new stadiums side by side.Thirty-five years later, both these stadiums are going strong and have become beloved by players and fans alike. About the same time Busch Stadium was built, the experts in church architecture took the same approach. In Ugly as Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again1, Michael S. Rose recounts how, throwing out nearly two thousand years of architectural history, it was decreed that churches should be generic all-purpose buildings. Suburban America is littered with the unfortunate results. In his book, Rose proposes three fundamental laws of good church architecture, based on historic examples.The properly designed church should reflect the principles of verticality, permanence, and iconography. Verticality means the architecture pulls the eyes heavenward. Permanence means the structure is of durable materials with an enduring design. Iconography means the building and its decoration reflects its distinct purpose as a Christian house of worship. The principle of verticality echoes Psalm 121:1:“I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help,” and Colossians 3:1-2:“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”This principle is seen in the towers, spires, and soaring ceilings of classic church design. Architects classify buildings by their expected lifespan.The principle of permanence was once common for churches and other public buildings, such as courthouses and office buildings that were built to last a century or more.Today, it is
considered more cost effective to build a fifty, thirty, or twenty-five year building, and plan in advance to tear it down and replace it. Many of the offices, schools, stores, and restaurants we frequent now will all be gone in a few decades. Sadly, this also applies to many churches where we worship. Many modern churches are downright disposable. This may make sense in some circumstances or be all a congregation can afford. However, it may also reflect the faddish, fleeting nature of these congregations and their theology. The principle of permanence symbolizes the words of Psalm 79:13:“From generation to generation we will recount Your praise,” and our Lord’s promises in Matthew 16:18:“On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” and Matthew 28:20:“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” A church building built to last reflects that the Lord and His promises don’t change. What’s most striking about many new sanctuaries compared to classic churches is the iconography. Jesus says even“the stones will cry out”His praises (Luke 19:40), and a properly designed church uses iconography to tell the story of salvation. However, the trend is to erect bare structures, devoid of symbolism, color, and decor. As one architect told our congregation’s building committee,“Most pastors of successful churches don’t want stained glass or any kind of decoration in their churches.They
