Most of you know that I had the honor of starting a new church last September. We’ve experienced some really great things, God is moving in our congregation, and our baby church is growing up fast. It’s been really cool and most of us have the strong feeling that we’ve stumbled on something really special!
When we first moved into the building, we all had to roll up our sleeves and get the place ready. You see, it had been a bar for almost 100 years before we moved in. We painted, put in new carpeting, did some deep cleaning, and of course tore out the bar.
The only thing we didn’t do was hang up any crosses. Come to think of it, there’s not a shred of religious symbolism anywhere. It’s not that we’re opposed to those things. It just never came to mind. In the midst of planning, reaching out to the neighborhood, praying for the sick, and worshiping Jesus, it hadn’t dawned on us that we should have a cross up somewhere.
An older gentleman asked me shortly after we launched why there were no crosses and I just scratched my head and said, “Uh…I dunno…”
My question is… should we have a cross somewhere on our church? Can God use us to bless our city and expand His Kingdom if we don’t have religious symbols? Please let me know what you think and why.
To cross or not to cross? Leave your answer below…
The bible is FULL of symbols. Don’t just put one up. Put another one up on the altar and bid your flock to come and do business at the foot of the Cross.
“do business at the foot of the Cross”. I love that!
hey!
have you thought about asking the congregation? ask them Why is it important to have crosses in the church? or ask them. did the early church have crosses? another question. is it biblical to have crosses in a worship facility? this might give you an idea of how many people in your congregation worships the cross.
Good point. If the early church would have displayed a cross it would have been like us putting up an electric chair.
Hi Lee,
Interesting question – Jesus’s blood shed on the cross is so central to our Christian faith, but He is not bound by whether or not we use religious symbolism, He is greater than anything we can even imagine!
Then again, a cross does help to identify a church for anyone looking for one, and may aid us in remembering all He has done for us. I wear a cross on a chain around my neck, I am happy to have a visual link to Him, especially in this increasingly secular world. A church on a busy street here (in England) has a massive wooden cross outside, I love seeing that every day, they have a busy coffee shop and people wander in off the street knowing they’re walking into a church, not just a coffee shop.
But all these are all gestures, He is ultimately in control, crosses on walls or not, we are in His hands, isn’t that just wonderful?
I would love to see a picture of that church! Could you send me one?
The ability to reach your community and impact the kingdom of God is not determined by symbolism or signs. A cross does not offend me, but it also does not entice me. If you feel people need a cross i would be concerned, but if they oppose the cross I would ask the question “why.” Tough place with a lot of decisions to make, but trust God’s direction.
It’s always in the “why”. Great point!
Lol @ Pastor Lee
Personally, I love seeing a cross, it reminds me of Jesus. However, I am not qualified to answer your first question: Should you? But I can answer the second. Can God use you to bless your city and expand His kingdom without religious symbols? Of course, He is God, duh! However no one can accuse you of putting up any graven images if you don’t, eh? I think not putting up a cross makes a neat statement of faith but I can’t see the harm of having a cross either. As long as you preach the Good News the rest will sort itself out!
I love seeing the cross too! Sometimes I wonder what the de-churched think when they see one though.
Although I think I may agree with others about it not being necessary I also think that it’s a beacon to your community. I don’t know what signage you have identifying yourself as a Church but it would seem that a cross is a good thing.
We actually forgot to put the word “church” on our church sign! Talk about a rookie mistake!
Religious symbols can be fun. I don’t think Jesus really anticipated His Bride being obsessed with the cause of His torture and eventual physical death though. The thing He did seem to care about was us meeting together over a meal. He seemed to be big on that.
So, my answer would be: if your part of the Body would like a cross, because it is meaningful and important for your meeting place (and I get the feeling it makes little difference to you personally), get one. If not, save the money, and give it to the poor or something?
Obviously at this point in my journey a cross being on the wall is about as important as wearing a robe or a tie, when it comes to my religious ceremonies. The bar? I’d fight more for that part I think. No flags though please. 🙂
One day you’ll have to take a picture of yourself wearing a robe and a tie together!
I don’t think I’ve ever attended a church that didn’t display a cross inside. (Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist) So many times during a sermon or reflective time my eyes would be fixated on the cross, remembering the story behind it, and feeling so humbled & grateful. I want to see it setting the tone for serving. Sure we can worship without it, but the comfort it provides enhances worship.
The view of the cross usually fills me with gratitude. Especially during worship or prayer.
We can give our opinions, but it still comes down to what best meets the needs of your congregation. Michael said it pretty well. Although I somehow Jesus anticipated everything, including that. But consider that, if a cross is included, it has to be on a basis of who it will bless. Not that you need a cross hanging someplace to seem like a church.
To me the cross is a sign of hope. A sign of trust. Our church displays the cross and a lot of us wear red crosses. People know us by the red cross and come and talk to us, ask for prayer, healing etc. The red cross is illuminated outside our Jesus Centre and people from all walks of life & beliefs come in because they know they will be valued for who they are.
That sounds cool. Where is that?
I advocate having a cross to identify a building as a church. The church I serve is in a building that was originally a community center. It also housed a pre-school at one point. Because there is not a readily see-able cross on our sign or building, most people in the community have no idea we are a church. This is a problem for us as we are in desperate need of new members. We have discussed putting a cross on the sign by the street and I have plans to repaint the front doors and put crosses on both of them. In addition to the congregation I serve, there is another congregation that uses the building as well. Our name is The Well and the sign by the street was constructed to look like a well. I am going to order a banner that can be put on the bottom part of the well with our name and the name of the other congregation along with service times. Part of the sign is a picture of hands holding a Bible with a cross on it. If that does not identify us as a church, I am not sure what will.
We also find that many people do not realize we are a church. (Of course putting the word “church” on our sign definitely would have helped!)
The cross is a symbol of the death and the beating of our sins,as is the tomb being empty and the fish symbol of hidden prosecution of Christians,yet we don’t see them on a church. A cross don’t save lives,baptizem don’t save people,those are symbols of what has been done. True salvation comes from those who believe in the sacrafic of life for the destruction of sin.
In my travels I seen a huge waste of money on making a church fancy and so outstanding to impress those who walk in the door,where that money could go toward streghting the minsteries of the church and out reach programs.
More less to me it can go either way,besides a church is “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20 NIV) and we don’t put a cross up on our homes?
Or our cars? (If we’re driving with other believers.)
Lee, it breaks my heart to see the rejection of such a basic communication of Gospel truth for the sake of minimising the Gospel. Jesus told the Apostles to go forth, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you,” and St. Paul wrote and warned the churches to follow not only what has been written to them but what they had received by oral tradition from the words of the Apostles. Now, however, it’s “If I don’t see it my lonesome little self in that Book, then it’s just wrong!” Of course, this leaves us open to the very same “private interpretation” that Peter warned us against, doesn’t it?
The Church has been using visual means to communicate the Gospel and to facilitate worship from the beginning. Not just crosses, but symbolic fish, peacocks, lions, sheep, and trees and bushes, and remembers that the first icon of a living saint was produced by, St. Luke himself, of Mary. The icons serve as a reminder and a celebration of the one key historical fact of all time, that God, the Word, communicated to us by emptying Himself of all “rights” as God to dwell among us in a (depictable) human form, and that it is in full gratitude to Him that we have icons of our Lord, and of those saints in whom His life has been so wonderfully revealed by wisdom, purity, and miracles through the ages. As Scripture says, “Christ in (y’all) the hope of glory!”
Please, please, please, do not be ashamed of the testimony of Christ, in any shape, form, or fashion!
in Jesus,
Patrick
Nice perspective Patrick.
I enjoy going to worship in a building that is not ‘churchy’. It is the job of the members, not the building itself, to bring people into the church.
Great observation! WE are the church, the building is not.
Firstly, I am not in favor of a cross in a church for the above reasons of remembrance, since Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper for such a purpose, instead. The Lord himself said that while a physical reminder of his broken body and blood was good, he sanctioned this memorium through communion elements. I think a cross is not unhelpful for remembrance, per se, but I think we should ask ourselves why, if we would choose a *weekly* reminder (since a cross remains stationary), we would choose symbol over sacrament.
Secondly, while the OT focused on the flesh and thus needed physical reminders, but the New Covenant focuses us on the Spirit. Physical symbolism is not done away with in the first church since there is still the Lord’s Supper and baptism, but the focus comes to be on Christ himself, who is the Lord and the Spirit. At best, to keep our focus on religious objects can stunt spiritual sight and growth in Christians, and at worst can turn the objects into idolatrous statues of prayer and devotion (as is evidenced in the Roman Catholic tradition). To do business at the foot of the cross is a spiritual reality first, which is best experienced Biblically through the means of baptism and communion.
Hope you’ll weigh these things theologically, doctrinally, and historically, and that the Lord will tie you wisdom from his Spirit. Be a spiritual church, and where physical sight is allowable, defer to the Scripture, not people’s sentimentalism.
“To do business at the foot of the cross is a spiritual reality first” I love that Nate!
I think Patrick said it best:) If there were no Cross…….where would we be ? That sacrifice is the love that gave you life to be able to even debate the topic.
It’s wonderful to know that the Kingdom of God is expanding. My personal opinion would be to display something that is significant for symbolising that your a community of believers. Reason I say so is because you never know who might be seeking to attend and if you don’t have anything that identifies you as the light of the world then people might pass by without acknowledging what that building stands for. This may I add is not the most important aspect of the Church but does help locals know that its a place whereby the community of believers gather. That is my 2pence, bless you all and may the Lord add towards the number that are being saved.
Grace and Peace
Aubrey.M
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” -Phil. 2:5-8
I think it’d be an encouragement to the congregation to have a physical reminder of this truth. Since our lives are suppose to be characterized by the humility that the cross required. Also, since it’s the Word that is more powerful than a double-edged sword, perhaps posting up a cross-related Scripture to have with it on the wall would make the connection more vivid?
Remembering that the heart of symbolism matters over the surface, is priority of course, but by removing the symbol, we cut off even the opportunity to explain its history.
I just wonder if it’s more spiritual to be in a bare auditorium out of fear of worshipping things, than it is to use symbols and take the opportunity to remind those around us what they mean.
Pray that you and your congregation comes to a soul and spirit satisfying conclusion!
I love that you see so many things as an opportunity to teach something! I hope college is treating you well!
Great question! It sounds like your congregation is fine either way, with or without. Though a cross may not be essential for the congregation, it is a symbol that attracts the lost during times when they may be seeking answers. You never know how this symbol may positively impact someone’s life in a most needed moment.
I vote no. The cross is a great reminder, and it does show our neighborhood that we are a church. However, our neighborhood already knows we’re a church; and why is that? Because we’re acting like Christ IN our neighborhood. The people know who we are and what we stand for. The cross is something that can often bring so much focus onto what Christ did, that we turn away from what He is doing.
The fact that Mercy, as a body, didn’t notice until people said something I think is a good sign. (I had a similiar story to where I didn’t even notice until a believing visitor pointed it out) We, as a church, were more focused on being the church God wants us to be more than making everything seem like a church God wants.
We should NEVER forget the cross, but Christ isn’t on the cross anymore. If we stay, as a church or as individual believers, at the foot of the cross we’re missing out of the LIFE that Jesus gave us because of his sacrifice. He didn’t die on the cross so that we’d camp out on the cross, he died so that we could LIVE.
I love what we have at Mercy. Final note: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
“Our neighborhood already knows we are a church?” I could go off on all the generic “family centers” that can’t see the need to mention the Faith in any shape, form, or fashion on their signs, but the point being missed here is that of proclamation. The less we proclaim, whether in a symbol such as the Cross, or more detailed proclamations such as icons, the less is getting proclaimed. We wind up keeping our heads down, ashamed to so much as wear a cross on a chain,for fear of offending, hoping that our “good deeds” will somehow distinguish us from the various other sects who also do nice things… Or does it really matter what the Message is, as long as we are being nice to people? Two ways to find this out: One is the look at the empty pews and the greying demographics in your churches; the other is to ponder (hopefully before the Fact) Jesus’ words that if we neglect confessing him before men, he will not bother acknowledging us before the Father.
Either, we confess him consistently, or we are choosing not to, consistently. Crosses, crucifixes (yes, as a proclamation of a very important moment in history!), icons, and symbols all have their place in the Church. They have, from the beginning, and it is not our prerogative to say they don’t, simply because they don’t match up to our own focused (intentional?) ignorance of the subject.
Great question. My question is do you have other art work hanging in your Church? If you are hanging artwork but not a cross then why? Often people are impressed with great artwork that fills the walls and makes it creative. A church without art can be a bit sterile to unchurch people, after all they have artwork or pictures in their family home. If you don’t have any religious artwork it can be like a family home with no family photos; its not wrong just a little odd.
Don’t just hang any cross but hang a work of art with a religious message. Get an artist to make you a cross that evokes something.
Check out this art work that is part sculpture and part cross. http://www.ernestcaballerosculpture.com/Ernest_Caballero_Sculpture/Commissions.html
That thing is amazing! I would love to see it in person sometime!
A cross would let people know that the bar is gone, and a church building is in it’s place. However, without a cross you may have a few of the old crowd come stumbling in thinking it is still a bar, and you might convert them. Seriously, I preached for a congregation in Michigan that did not have a name on the front of the building (There was a sign out by the road), or a cross. I met people in town that would argue with me about there being a Church building there when I would invite them to Church services. Go with the Cross!
just focus on the word of god that is important, dont waste your time in debating with the beleivers,rather spend your time in prayer and god will reveal what is important and invite the holy spirit in your life so that u can no the truth about the cross, bless u.
Isaac, what you say has great appeal to one’s sense of personal piety, but I wonder if it lines up all that well with the Scripture if appeals to. Is the Gospel entirely about Jesus reaching out, personally, to spiritually-minded individuals, or is there a Church he promised to build, protect, and dwell in? Does Scripture tell us to withdraw to a quiet corner fo develop our own opinions, or to “exhort one another daily and to obediently receive instruction from our elders? A.d where, by the way, does Scripture tell us that Scripture is all We need?
its not about ad or bc bro, romans 8:9 says if u dont have the spirit of christ,u dont belong to christ, simply, u can onely recieve it by listening da word of god or by meditating upon it.if the word of god is not so important in your life than,then preach island of the blue dolphins
You know, there is a lot more to God than the Bible, a lot more to the Bible than Rom 8:9, and a lot more to Rom. 8:9 than what you’re seeing. It’s not about do we recognise that the Word of God is important, but that knowing God and being transformed into His image, partaking of His nature is what it’s all about. And, there is a lot more involved in getting there than personal Bible reading. One part of that big picture is the fact that He calls us – not to an easy chair with a reading light, but into His Body, the Church; and it is the Church, not the Bible in & of itself, which is the pillar and ground of the truth. So, if someone is trusting for his salvation in the fact that he likes reading his Bible, then his trust is somewhere God never told him to put it. Will he be saved in the Day? God is merciful, but I won’t presume on that mercy to say for sure it will happen.
word of god is a magnificient gift,means, when we read the WOG,god is communicating with us,u see da scripture romans 10:17. tell me 1 thing honestly, do u smoke,taking alcohol?
Isaac, whether I follow what local custom is not in this discussion. The question is whether a church should have a representation or symbol for people to see. You have raised the question if we should even have churches, since we have Bibles. It has been recognised from the beginning that there is no salvation outside the Church. What does this mean? That Box gives out points for attendance? No, but unless we have each other to teach, encourage, and pray for us, then the life of salvation, which Jesus describes as a constant struggle as it is, becomesl the harder. Anyone who thinks he can make it is already out of the game, taken down by his own pride!