Re: The Church Is The People. I am of the view that the people are the church but it is argued that God is giving us these mammoth constructions. People point to the temple that Solomon built as credence for the church to have these mega structures. I am not saying we shouldn’t have a place where we meet but the idea that God is blessing a people to have a 50 year mortgage where the people are already oppressed by debt to meet one person’s personal ambition doesn’t sound like God’s design for me.
When David expressed his desire to build the Lord a house, the Lord was in agreement but would not let David build it (1 Chron. 28:2-7). He said it would be Solomon’s task instead. Also, the cost of building and furnishing the Temple were covered by voluntary contributions (1 Chron. 29:1-9) before construction began. Because of this the Temple’s construction did not create any debt, nor did it siphon funds from existing programs. When the Lord guides, the Lord provides.