Circuit Riders, Church Architecture and Culture

It occurred to me today, a day when I was filling a particular pulpit for the first time,  that 'doing pulpit supply' is a lot like being a Circuit Rider.   In the olden days, preachers on horseback went from place to place  (and of course they were always male).

I go by car today,  but I suppose that there are some similarities.  One is not there every week.  One comes from somewhere else to lead worship.  One will find very different congregations, of every style and color, preferences and traditions.  The church where we were today has a very beautiful sanctuary, which includes a dome shaped ceiling with lovely architectural details.   The beams depicted below were not part of the structure,  but some of the other particulars are similar.

Church architecture is always fascinating,  though of course, Protestant churches lack the ornateness of our Catholic brothers and sisters.  I do enjoy seeing the variety among the various churches where I visit or preach.   Some are pristine and beautiful,  though the congregation is probably aging.   Sadly, that is the direction of many of the mainline churches of the northeast.

A similar decline is not happening in the southeast.   The difference has to do with the church and its relationship to the culture of the region.   In the south today,  the church is still the focus of ordinary peoples' lives.  There are "family life centers" where all the sports are offered, and typically, a 'majority' of the population attends Christian schools.  So---worship, sports, and school are all part of the one institution.

That arrangement would never be acceptable "up north".   And I certainly understand the reasons why.  There, the lines are blurred between culture and religion.  Here they are carefully separated.  Sometimes I wonder if the "northern"  end result might be less appealing.  I suppose one can never predict what the "unintended consequences" of a particular public policy or decision might turn out to be down the line.

The picture I am including here is the only one I have ever found which appears to have a female leading worship  (though I cannot be 100% certain).