Principles, Architecture and the Church

Yesterday I went with a client and one of my bosses to Atlanta to visit a house that was built in the 1920’s.  The house was designed with a VERY classical style.  Not my style.

My boss told me that I would like it better in person.  He was wrong.  He then asked me, “Don’t you appreciate classical architecture?”  My response was, “Yes, I do, very much.”  I then went on a rant . . .

Classical architecture is beautiful.  It was wonderfully proportioned and was carefully crafted to the utmost quatility using the best available materials for the time.  This house was not built in classical Rome.  It was built in Atlanta in the 1920’s. There is so little about the house that tells you of its context that it makes me sick.  It could be in Boston, London, Rome, or anywhere else and speak exactly the same.  I hate that.  I can’t say much about the landscape, since it was rainy.

There are tremendous principles we can learn from classical architecture as we design buildings for today.  However, I do not believe we are wise to copy the details.  Our materials, methods, schedules, and other factors inherently create a totally different architectural language.  We can implement the principles into our current context and design masterful architectural pieces with the same beauty, but a dramatically different look.

The church struggles with the same issue.

The church has a wonderful heritage.  Each season in the church’s life has a lot to speak to current generations.  However, instead of looking at the principles that church history teaches us, we try to copy the methods.  Often, we copy the method without even knowing the principle exists.  So, what we end up with is cold, stale churches trying to do the same thing the same way year after year.  We even do it today with current methods.  How many “Purpose-Driven Churches” are out there that aren’t really “Purpose-Driven,” but instead are Rick Warren copy-cats?

We need to be principle-driven people.

When we see something that works, we should never try to copy it.  We should dig deep for the principles that make it work.  When you find the principles, lay them out in your particular context.  When you implement the principles, they may look totally different than the original, but you will be much more likely to get the desired results.