An Important Feature in Church Design

photo by Lois Pierpont

I have often thought of things I like in a church building. I love a soaring white steeple glistening against the blue sky or lighted jutting up into the night. It would, of course, have a large pulpit in the very center, symbolic of the priority of the ministry of the Word. Maybe it would have the white colonial furniture, too.

But the other night when I was getting ready to preach I noticed something important in church design I had never thought of before, something important. I’m not really sure I would want to pastor a church that didn’t have this particular feature. Every church, no matter what else they have should have substantial shelf in the Men’s Room, a place to lay your Bible. That assumes that it is expected that every man in the church would carry his own copy of the Scriptures to every service. It seems to me no church could stray too far from the narrow way if every man carried a copy of the Scriptures to every service.

Next time you visit the Men’s Room at church, check for a shelf. (Oh, and if you are the preacher, the other thing you might want to do is make sure your lapel mike is off).