fresh out of high school my dream was to be an architect. i studied the great architects of the day and their works. only later to be called into a completely different line of work – pastoring. it would seem at first the two had little in common. as days and years have passed however i see more and more the two have in common.
architects do more than design buildings,they create environments. through form, texture, resources, and desing they create spaces where people interact, move, and experience space.
i was recently at the Fort Worth Water Gardens. itis one of my favorite local design pieces. at the Gardens a sign describes the architect, Philip Johnson’s intentions. his goal was to create micro-environments where people could experience escape from the city. he created multiple spaces through the use of water, trees, surfaces, and design. in each space visitors move through and experiencedifferent sights and sounds that immerse them in the beauty and wonder ofthe space. someare quiet and reflective. some are noisy and overwhelming. some are majestic and imposing.
eachmicro-environment is completely different, yet accomplishes the same goal – escape from the city.
pastoring and the work of ministry, as I have come to see it,is not too different. my goal has been to create environments where people can fully experience the depths of God’s love and passion for them. we attempt to do so at encounter through a variety of micro-environments (sunday morning group gathering, living room home groups, men’s groups, outings, personal relationships, and counseling).
each micro-environment is part of a much larger space that Jesus called the Kingdom. these micro-environments attempt to show the beauty, freedom, wonder, and grace of the Kingdom. there is no fee for entrance. there are no forced routes for movement. there is only the beauty of eachmicro-environment.
for decades the standard environment of faith has been the church building. it would appear in our day that God is doing something new and fresh in where the environments of faith exist. would it be all that bad if the new mirc0-environments of faith existed in homes, communities, coffee houses, theaters, back yards, andcommunity centers?
take a trip to the Forth Worth Water Gardens. experience each of the micro-environments created by Philip Johnson. experience the uniqueness of each one. then ask yourself…
- what am i doing to create in my life micro-environments of the kingdom?
- what beauty, wonder, awe is inspired in my micro-environment?
- what parts of my life add to the wonder of my space?
- where are other places that these slices of the kingdom could exist?
Tags: fort worth water gardens, micro environments, philip johnson
