Sacramental Living

A friend who I am working on a project with sent me a Bresee quote in response to one of my recent posts.  It’s golden:

“As a result much effort is being made to elegantly house the gathering of the people who are supposed to meet and worship God. Elaborate and expensive buildings are erected, often as a burden and sometimes to the distress of the people; and usually as places of spiritual desolation. That there should be a plain, unostentatious place for the people to gather, where especially the poor and those whom the world despises, should have special opportunities, there is no question. But the eras of nice church buildings have been times of spiritual decline from the days of Constantine and his mother Helena until today.”

–Phineas Bresee, Nazarene Messenger 6/13/1901

Sounds like he’s talking about post-Christian US America, doesn’t it?  But check the date … 1901, people!  What a visionary he was.  And what an inspiration today.  The voice of the prophet echoes over 107 years and nails the reason for our spiritual decline.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
What does this quote do for you?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Related Posts:

• The Legacy of Bresee
• Bresee and Rejection
• Being the Church Around a Meal
• Semi-accidental Stumbled-upons
• Book Comments: “Beyond Smells and Bells”