Over the course of the last few weeks several area churches have been broken into. Our church, Central Assembly of God, was one of the churches broken into as well. Here are a couple of pictures of some of the damage. What the pictures show are holes punched through offices walls in order to gain access, thus circumventing the locked door.
As we have had contractors and other personnel here to assess damage and make repairs several have made comments that they remember a time when nobody would dare break into a church building. It just wasn’t done. I’m guessing it’s the whole “honor among thieves” sort of thing.
This was not the first time that our local church has been broken into. It’s happened in the past, not only to us, but to most of the area churches. One of the questions I have been asking myself is, “Why?”
Some obvious answers initially come to my mind. Most church buildings are easy targets. They probably have no or limited security. Often church properties are in areas that don’t have many close neighbors to see what is going on. Church properties often are very trusting and as a result don’t always take money (large or small amounts) and deposit it right away. Some buildings have doors or entrance points that are little more than flimsy barriers to a would be intruder and don’t really offer protection.
I wonder if one of the reasons that churches were not often broken into “back in the day” is that they really did not have anything to take. One could say that times are different and back 20 or more years ago there were not computers, video game consoles and flat panel screens that mock those who don’t have such items.
It’s not out of the ordinary these days for a church building to be full of up-to-date multimedia equipment. That being the case, one can certainly see where a young criminal might believe that if there are such items as X-boxes, flat panels, laptops, etc, that there might even been cash lying around. If there is no money, at least there are the aforementioned items that are not securely in place.
It’s Good Friday. The day we remember the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. On Sunday morning we will gather together to celebrate and remember that not even death would have victory over God’s plan and Jesus rose from the grave.
Before I write any further, I must say that our church building contains (and in a few instances contained) game consoles, computers and other multi-media items. With that confession out, I wonder if perhaps we have done too good of job gathering and calling people into our buildings with all of our technology and not with our message that Jesus died for our sins and that He rose again.
I wonder if perhaps people see church buildings as soft targets that contain great equipment instead of gathering spots to celebrate Jesus Christ. I don’t want to make it sound like I am against using technology, (after all this is a blog written from my laptop, in my office using a wireless keyboard, mouse and flat panel monitor. In my defense however, as the intruders went through my office they left my computer – I must say the Staples commercial took on a whole new meaning for me.)
Again, I am not against technology, but I have begun wondering, at what point does the medium begin to overshadow the message? At what point do we risk people wanting our technology more than our Savior? Is it possible that without meaning too, we impress people with what we have and can do from a “worldly” perspective and not impress them with what is done in us from a spiritual perspective?
It’s Easter weekend. Jesus broke free from death and the grave. He broke out. Perhaps we have been attracting too much attention and gaining to much popularity through our medium and our not message.
The disciples and later the world became amazed by the empty grave – there was no one and nothing there! Perhaps we have put too many things into our buildings and ministries and thus have made the empty tomb not so impressive.
What do you think?
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