Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series on the concept of sacred space and practice.

For the last ten years or so each summer in June, there is a gathering that occurs in Myrtle Beach called the Carolina Country Music Fest. The premiere event in 2015 welcomed around 20,000 concert-goers, but the last few years of the festival have seen crowds soar to over 35,000 attendees. The event takes over an area of the Grand Strand that may be familiar to many of you, the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, with the stages encompassing primarily the area where the old Myrtle Beach Pavillion once sat. Over the course of a few days, this area becomes ground zero for some of the biggest acts in all of country music, and the crowds rival those of many concert venues or arenas across the country. If I could, I would show you an aerial picture of this scene along the famed Boardwalk and ask you a question, “So how would you define the “place” that you are looking at in this image?” Is it a beach? Is it a concert venue? Is it both or something else entirely? The short answer would be “yes” or “all of the above.” While it is most certainly a beach enjoyed by countless people, that status doesn’t change even when a concert stage is erected atop it. And just because the concert will eventually end and the beach returned to its standard glory, that place never ceases to hold the potential to once again become a place where thousands can enjoy the best country music artists. What we learn from this little thought experiment is that ultimately, what determines what a place is are the ways those present in it intend to use it and the physical objects or resources they make use of to facilitate that purpose. We may not always think about the nature of why a place exists intentionally nor consider the various ways in which it can be used. However, we do take purpose-built structures and use them for various other needs all the time. For example, a high school football stadium can be the site for a Friday Night Lights contest between two rivals, a celebratory graduation ceremony, or it can be where parents reconnect with their children after yet another tragic school shooting as seen last week at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Consider that most weddings today no longer occur in sanctuaries or religious centers. I have found myself attending or officiating marriage ceremonies in a whole host of locales such as horse barns, dilapidated former mills, gardens, or golf courses. At first glance, a place covered in hay and manure may not scream happiness and matrimony. However, with a few ferns, amply hung string lights, beautiful chairs with bows, and folks dressed accordingly, well, even the muckiest of stalls can become a place for wedding bliss. The point is that for people of faith, our worship places are the easiest identifier of who we are, what we belief, and what we do. A church sanctuary or worship center is a reflection of the community that gathers there. That is why today a worship space can be as diverse as the many different congregations that gather in them. Worship can take place in a 100-plus-year-old Charleston-style sanctuary as well as worship can happen in a movie theater. In both of these examples though, whether the traditional sanctuary or the converted theater auditorium, there will be certain elements present that connote for its attendees that this is a place where humanity comes to encounter the divine. In one, the structure itself may clearly convey this, while in the other, it may rely more on the actions occurring there to define it as sacred. So my challenge for you all this week would be, as you enter your respective worship gatherings, consider what is it about where you are that let’s you know it is a place for worship. Ask yourself what is absolutely necessary for you to know it is a worship-purposed place. But also consider what may be necessary for others who also gather there to connect worshipfully that may be different from you. If you worship in a more traditional sanctuary, could you still have the same experience if there weren’t stained glass windows, a silver-plated communion dish, pews, and a hymn book to hold? If you are in a more contemporary setting, would the addition of more historical artifacts, less immersive lighting, and possibly a more permanent seating arrangement distract you from connecting to the Holy?

At times we may not give considerable thought to how the structures of a place enhance or impact our worshipful acts. On another note, however, we may cause the intentionality of a place, (like a purpose-built historic sanctuary) to limit our views on how such a space can be used, not only spiritually but artistically or culturally. In Scripture, we see times when God expects to meet the people in purpose-built structures, such as the lengthy instructions for constructing and adorning the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-31,35-40) but then there are times when God’s presence is embodied by a rabbi from Nazareth walking along a road with two students on their way to a town called Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). So as we consider the many places where God can and will meet us, let us remember that whether in the grandest of halls built by human hands or the simplest of gatherings, the only necessity to encounter the Lord is our willingness to seek God in the here and now. In that way, any place and anything can aid us in encountering the God who comes close to us when we faithfully move towards the Divine (James 4:8).

Rev. Joshua K. Owens serves as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in historic downtown Lumberton, NC. He can be reached by email at joshowens@fbclumbertonnc.org