Everywhere you look today, design is what it’s all about. Whether it’s automobiles, clothes, watches, cellular phones, or almost anything else you can buy – the design’s “the thing.” The longer a particular design can stay in vogue, the better its quality. Recently, my daughter Esther and I were looking at fixtures for our new home. She and my wife had ordered the latest stuff ... but in the “classic” style. I would have preferred the latest stuff in a more modern style. Esther informed me that what I wanted would be out of date in no time and everything would need replacing. (Even the TV series “Designing Women” only lasted seven years.) Hair designs go out of date as soon as a hot celebrity decides to sport something different. Web site designs get stale, and companies keep looking for new designers. Bad designs come back after a hiatus – something society calls “retro.” Only the “classic” looks stay in the game from beginning to end.

Just north of Toronto stands the beautiful Cathedral of the Transfiguration, built by a Slavic immigrant and designed after the ones in Eastern Europe. Constructed in the late ’80s and early ’90s, it was built to last for decades, if not centuries. However, there’s a chained gate at the road where one would normally enter. There hasn’t been a person in it for years, never mind a soul that could pray and find God there. The mastermind of the cathedral spent all his resources and efforts concentrating on the design of the church building. He thought very little about whether or not he would live to see it completed (which he didn’t), and even less about the selection and design of those that he would leave in place to run it. Needless to say, its management and operation fell into the wrong hands, arguments began and legal battles ensued. For all its magnificence, the cathedral now stands as a reminder to those that know its story of a dream gone sour.

Two Critical Aspects of Designing a Church Building

Embarking on a building project is one of the most exciting things an individual leader could possibly be involved in. I have experienced the demolition and reconstruction of a personal residence, and consulted a number of church leadership teams in the midst of their numerical growth and construction of new facilities. What a joy all of those have been. But I have also learned from personal experience two things are a must: ...