Churches Not Welcome
Downtown is no place for a church.
The downtown church building was once a welcomed reminder in our society of the importance of the centrality of Christ. Towering steeples announced to approaching travelers that the Christian faith was an essential part of community life.
Those days appear to be eroding fast.
Of course it is quickly recognized that a church building, towering steeple and religious activity is not necessarily a sign of a vibrant Christian faith. The absence of them, however, speaks volumes.
I have been hearing, for some time, about the move in many cities to ban churches from occupying space in their business districts. However, I did not expect to find such nonsense in small-town Georgia.
Enter Jefferson, Georgia. The Associated Press is reporting, “The Jefferson City Council has voted to ban churches from opening in the eight-block area surrounding the town’s central square.”
There is the fear that churches would take up parking space that could be better used for restaurants and that the existence of churches would hinder down-town alcohol sales. In other words, Churches just are not good for business.
How different from our Puritan forefathers who built “Meeting Houses” in the center of town. Why would they do such a thing? The Puritans recognized God as is the supreme Governor of all things. The well-being of any family, town or nation was directly connected to recognition of the supremacy of God.
The Mayor and City Council of Jefferson don’t seem to get it. For them it seems that the pragmatic concerns of business reigns supreme over ultimate things.
It is not just the leadership in Jefferson, GA who are seemingly blind to eternal realities. It is increasingly difficult in many communities for new churches to open.
A community that welcomes churches is a community of long range vision that embraces the ultimate well-being of its citizens.
Godly churches are not opposed to the growth of business. In fact it can be shown that faithful churches are strong contributors to the local economy at every level. Their greatest contribution, however, is to the spiritual and moral well-being of a community.
When local governments fail to consider the ultimate well being of their citizens then the door is open for all sorts of corruption. Though there might be temporal successes the long-term impact is not good.
Perhaps you wonder why we should stick our collective noses in the politics of Jefferson. What is happening in Jefferson is the latest in a wave of such decisions in which community leaders are determining that it is not in the best interest of the community to welcome churches downtown. Today it is Jefferson. Tomorrow it might be your town.
Ray Rhodes, Jr. is President of Nourished in the Word Ministries and Pastor of Grace Community Church. You may reach him at www.nourishedintheword.org
