The One About London, Church Buildings, and the Legacy We Will Leave

Dear West Family

Last night I got back from a week-long trip to London. I was there celebrating my dad’s 75th birthday, my brother’s 50th and also just seeing my precious London family who I haven’t seen in 5 years. It was a wonderful time where we walked 25000 steps a day and sweated ourselves into weight loss due to the fact that London really isn’t designed to experience temps over 80 degrees. Apparently it isn’t that easy to reverse engineer HVAC into buildings that are 500 years old.

While I was there, I took two pictures that have had me thinking about the church a whole lot. This first one was taken in the late afternoon outside of the iconic St Paul's Cathedral.

There are a few things that struck me about this picture when I looked at it later. 

First, I love the juxtaposition between the ominous tones of the building and the afternoon sun breaking through the cloud seemingly just above it. It reminded me that no matter how bleak or dark things in the institutional church might look, God still works in and through her, and that His hope always breaks through even when lots of darkness abounds. I know there are many areas of failure in the church globally right now, but God still parts the clouds in patches above His people so that they can see His glory and so that He can empower them supernaturally for the work.

Secondly, it reminded me that buildings mean nothing and yet mean something profound at the same time. It is ironic that this incredible building is named St Paul’s as I have no doubt that Paul would have hated it, and seen it as a pretty significant waste of money and London real estate. And yet, when I think of all of the ministry that has taken place in that building over the years, I can’t help but thank God for the ways that He meets with His people in time and space. We are a church that meets in an office park, but gosh I love arriving in that space on a Sunday morning, as I get to share the realities of life in that space with all of you. It is where we bump into each other, and greet each other, and remind each other of the faithfulness of God. Our building doesn’t look like St Paul’s but what happens within the space is every bit as significant.

Thirdly, I was reminded that church is supposed to be a beacon of hope even (and perhaps especially) when it is surrounded by an environment of hopelessness. I loved revisiting the stories of Churchill’s leadership through the dark days of the air raids in World War II. Whenever Churchill would get updated on the damage that London had sustained the night before he would ask: “Is St Paul’s still standing?” It was, and it is, and that building served as a reminder of what the people of God are supposed to be like. We are called to be beacons of hope that don’t get knocked down by the forces of darkness.
Let’s press on in hope!

The second photo was taken from the very undramatic vantage point of the Elephant and Castle subway station, and it is of The Metropolitan Tabernacle, where CH Spurgeon served as pastor for much of his ministry in London. It amazed and almost offended me to see that no one walking past in the busy London streets seemed to have any idea of the significance of the location or the impact that Spurgeon had on their great city.

It reminded me that God works on different horizons and timelines than we do. Spurgeon came and went and was used mightily by God in London and surrounds, but hardly anyone remembers. It gave me an urgency to really apply myself to the work that God has given us to do and to not take for granted the window of time in which He has given us opportunity to do it. We will come and go, and the city around us will move on from us, and so we ought to throw ourselves into creating multi-generational impact so that a faithful gospel presence will continue to exist in our city long after we no longer do. I was so encouraged to see that there is still faithful ministry taking place at The Tabernacle, and this has to be in part because Spurgeon himself worked so hard at making sure that it wasn’t ultimately about him and that he did all he could to equip the next generation to carry the torch of gospel witness with them. 

Oh friends, I can’t wait to gather with you on Sunday in our very “office parkey” looking piece of Kingdom witness that God has entrusted to us. I hope and pray that we make the most of the miracle of God’s grace on display in each other. May God use us as a faithful beacon of hope for generations to come.

One last thing. The music this week is about the glory of home, which is something that I always reflect on when traveling. I love seeing different places, but I love coming home the most.

"Feels Like Home" | Drew & Ellie Holcomb | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

See you Sunday.

Ross