Basements and Balconies

Recently I was in a meeting where the presenter shared this thought: the church today needs both a basement and a balcony. The basement represents the foundation upon which our ministry is built, while the balcony represents the opportunity to take a higher view of the ministry that is ours. A balcony without a basement/foundation collapses. A basement without a balcony is nothing more than a tomb.

Basements AND balconies are critical for the success of today’s church. In the basement we build a foundation for our entire ministry -- our biblical faith, our Wesleyan heritage, our common experience and the trust we build through our fellowship. It is the foundation that allows creative and vital ministries to be launched with assurance and confidence. If all we do is dwell in the basement, we find ourselves entombed in past realities and successes that often become stale and irrelevant as the culture changes.

The balcony represents the chance to take the ideas formed in the foundation to a higher level. It gives us a broader view and allows us to explore ways to apply our foundational beliefs in the world around us. If we cannot reach a height where we can see the big picture, we will never be able to integrate our theology into our world. From the balcony, we can see patterns unfold, trends that are emerging, and concerns that must be addressed. A basement without a balcony is nothing more than a tomb, but a balcony without a firm foundation will soon collapse.

How often do you spend time in the basement reflecting on the heritage, experience and foundation upon which our faith is built? And how much time do you devote to taking in the broad view that can only be found in the balcony?

God is at work renewing the church with possibilities for us to apply our foundation to the world in which we live. I guess that’s why the basement and the balcony also need a steeple to point us in the right direction!

Basements and Balconies

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