I went to the 2012 Annual Church Leaders’ Form—World Changers Event hosted by World Vision at the Metropolitan Bible Church here in Ottawa. I was excited to join other youth leaders who are engaging and empowering youth to respond to the needs of their world.
Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa
For the last five years we have been hearing about this church ‘The Met’ and I was also looking forward to seeing it. I was not disappointed. As I approached the front door I passed the keystone that read: “To the Glory of God. Not Just a Building”. Wow. This place had it together. I pulled on the door and behold it was locked, for fear of Joel. I rang the buzzer and was allowed in. The wow factor grew as I entered what felt like a miniature version of Cineplex Odeon. The place was massive. The architecture elegant. The lighting made me feel like I was ascending to heaven. The sanctuary was a theatre with plush seating. Outside the doors to the worship space was a coffee shop that would put Starbucks to shame. The youth room was like walking into Boston Pizza with an open bar of soda, popcorn and various other concessions. It was incredible. It was ‘church’ but had none of the markings I grew up with. It was the mission model of the future and I was standing in the middle of it.
Youth room
I met some staff people who told me that the worship space seats 2500. They run fifty groups through the building every week. They don’t rent to daycares, or community groups on a regular basis. They don’t need to, I was told.
One of the youth leaders who runs the Sunday morning youth room café told me about the programs they run on abortion and homosexuality. “We base our programs on the Bible”, she declared with a confidence that frightened me.
To be honest, she saw me as fresh meat for ‘The Metropolitan’ Market. She did not know that I was a gay-loving, rainbow-flag-flying, Lutheran Christian with a modest understanding of who I am theologically and an acute awareness of the crucified in my midst.
And so our conversation continued and you can imagine where it went. When I asked her about the theological spectrum at The Met, she was confused. When I asked her how she handled GLTB youth in her program, she said they didn’t have any. When I asked her about the environment, politics, economy, and a variety of ecumenical social justice initiatives based out of Ottawa, she looked at me quizzically and said, “We base our programs on the Bible?”.
And then the twist: the place was empty. The 2012 Annual Church Leader’s Forum-World Changers Event sponsored by World Vision wasn’t happening, I was told because “not enough people registered”. There weren’t any participants from ‘The Met’ because “nobody was interested”. It made me wonder how viable the ministry really was beyond the glitz and glamor of the physical space. It made me wonder why a community of supposed thousands couldn’t find twenty people interested in youth and young adult ministries to attend an event they were hosting.
If you find yourselves wondering about the fundamentalist churches out there and why they seem to have so much more going on than we do consider this conversation and ask yourself if what they say is happening is real. And ask yourself whether you would make it through the door after they found out what kind of Christian you were. I know the Bible. And I know my God and the Crucified and Risen One. In my opinion, ‘The Met’ it is a healthy dose of self-importance combined with great marketing.
“The Met” is a fantastic facility. But when push comes to shove, it IS just a building. And I for one do not need a building to love and serve God.
One of the youth leaders who runs the Sunday morning youth room café told me about the programs they run on abortion and homosexuality. “We base our programs on the Bible”, she declared with a confidence that frightened me.
To be honest, she saw me as fresh meat for ‘The Metropolitan’ Market. She did not know that I was a gay-loving, rainbow-flag-flying, Lutheran Christian with a modest understanding of who I am theologically and an acute awareness of the crucified in my midst.
And so our conversation continued and you can imagine where it went. When I asked her about the theological spectrum at The Met, she was confused. When I asked her how she handled GLTB youth in her program, she said they didn’t have any. When I asked her about the environment, politics, economy, and a variety of ecumenical social justice initiatives based out of Ottawa, she looked at me quizzically and said, “We base our programs on the Bible?”.
And then the twist: the place was empty. The 2012 Annual Church Leader’s Forum-World Changers Event sponsored by World Vision wasn’t happening, I was told because “not enough people registered”. There weren’t any participants from ‘The Met’ because “nobody was interested”. It made me wonder how viable the ministry really was beyond the glitz and glamor of the physical space. It made me wonder why a community of supposed thousands couldn’t find twenty people interested in youth and young adult ministries to attend an event they were hosting.
If you find yourselves wondering about the fundamentalist churches out there and why they seem to have so much more going on than we do consider this conversation and ask yourself if what they say is happening is real. And ask yourself whether you would make it through the door after they found out what kind of Christian you were. I know the Bible. And I know my God and the Crucified and Risen One. In my opinion, ‘The Met’ it is a healthy dose of self-importance combined with great marketing.
“The Met” is a fantastic facility. But when push comes to shove, it IS just a building. And I for one do not need a building to love and serve God.
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