When our family was in Scotland several years ago, we came across this wall of an old church. I remarked, “Look at how the church was willing to change over time in order to meet its needs.” A friend remarked, “Look at how the church keeps making the doorway smaller and smaller, until no one new is able to get in.” My husband said, “But these are ruins–which means that the church died in the end despite, or even because of, the changes.”

What do you see when you look at this old church wall? What do you see when you look at the churches in your neighbourhood? Is there evidence of a faithful willingness to change when God has called a congregation into something new? Is their evidence of hospitality in those buildings? Evidence of growth? Of decline?

And when you stand back and think about it, what does your own church building say?