It makes me happy when I see little children, after the service, running over the stage laughing and playing. To me, church is about the people, not the building. Moreover, I find these buildings foreboding and sterile. In the end, I conclude that surely the resources required to create these gaudy structures could have been better employed elsewhere. Think of it as Medieval virtue-signaling on a colossal scale. I sometimes feel that cathedral building was too often about competition between communities to create the most beautiful edifice and to demonstrate the piety, power and importance of the cathedral’s sponsors by the opulence of the building created. From my modern perspective, I have this sense that our Christian forefathers placed too much emphasis on the brick and mortar and the trappings of religion, and not enough emphasis on love and service and the training of the saints. ![]() In short, the many cathedrals I have seen across Europe do indeed inspire me.īut on the other hand, these structures make me a bit uneasy. They were fundamental to the life of their communities and the focal point of public life. And I believe that the communities and the laborers/artisans that constructed them viewed their contributions to the cathedrals and their work as acts of piety something that measured the best of their resolve and energies and abilities and focused them on what they saw as a godly purpose.įinally, as a student of history and culture, I see these buildings as lasting monuments to our Christian heritage and important centers of learning and culture. ![]() Moreover, I cannot help but marvel at the labor and resources that must have been required for their construction. These edifices seem to compel a sense of reverence and introspection. On the one hand, I am awed by the beauty of their architecture and their intricate carvings, statues, stained glass, and artwork, and their massive pipe organs. Whenever I see buildings like this, I have mixed feelings. While we were there, we visited a number of cathedrals. Peters said that nearly 600 people came out to the church's new location for Easter Sunday service on its opening day.Lou Ann and I just returned from a trip to Germany. “To see this come together today and to have the response that we had is just confirmation that God has been moving all along and preparing us for this day,” Peters said. “I'm going to be growing up in this church for the rest of my life and knowing all these people here will be great.”Īccording to Peters, the journey leading up to church's Easter Sunday's opening was tough, but it was worth being able to have their grand opening on such an important Christian holiday. “It's not the building that makes us a church, it's the people here,” said Outlaw. Thirteen-year-old Timothy Outlaw believed that Easter Sunday marked the beginning of something special for the Radiant Life Church and its congregation. ![]() “Really just like coming home, like this we know, this is where we're supposed to be and these people are our family and it feels like my family is growing today,” said Brittany Hoover, a leader from the Lifekids program at the Radiant Life Church. Members of the church said that on top of having a building of their own, Easter Sunday was an emotional new beginning for them and the other members of the church's community. ![]() Leading up to Easter Sunday, members of the church's community put the finishing touches on the church building, which used to be the Westwood Twin Theatre. The church had been a mobile church for the past four years, with their weekly worship services being held at the Abilene Convention Center. I don't cry a lot, but I have to say, it was first worship experience I was overwhelmed (by),” said Peters. Lead Pastor Kevin Peters opened the doors to the new location of the Radiant Life Church on Easter Sunday. ABILENE, Texas - Easter Sunday is a time for people to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, but one Abilene church had something else to celebrate on Easter Sunday this year: the grand opening of their church's new location.
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