Sacred Space for the Missional Church: Engaging Culture through the Built Environment

by William R. McAlpine

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2011

Overview

Sacred Space for the Missional Church examines the strong link between the theology and mission of the Church and the spaces in which and from which that theology and mission are lived out. The author demonstrates that the built environment is not incidental or even subservient to mission. Rather it is a key player in the fulfillment and the communication of that mission. The book begins with a working definition of the missional church, underscoring the connection between God’s mission (missio Dei) and the Church’s mission. The reader is presented with historical and theological frameworks for sacred space, and reminded of the pivotal role of the built environment in the fulfillment of the mission of the Church. The design and construction of sacred spaces are shown to be fundamentally a theological exercise and not solely a matter of function, pragmatics and fiscal astuteness. The author questions the uncritical application of blanket statements such “form must follow function,” and challenges the conviction that it does not matter where worship occurs, only that it occurs. The book addresses genuine concerns such as legitimizing the cost of church buildings and concludes with practical suggestions and essential questions that must be considered in posturing the built environment within the missional praxis of the Church.

Praise for Sacred Space for the Missional Church

”It was Canadian scholar Marshall McLuhan who first coined the phrase ‘the medium is the message,’ and Dr. Bill McAlpine, another Canadian, reminds readers that the gospel message is expressed not only in words but inescapably through the spaces in which Christians gather and worship. In a detailed and well-informed study that incorporates honest reflection on his own spiritual pilgrimage, he invites other Christians to reflect more deeply on what their buildings are saying about God."
--John Drane
author of The McDonaldization of the Church

“In his well-researched and insightful book, William McAlpine examines what has been overlooked and often disregarded in the church today: the critical importance of the physical building that a congregation occupies. As he wisely observes, though pragmatism usually determines a building’s structure, why is it that we still long for a sacred space for a wedding or funeral? This is a seminal work that transcends the limited boundaries of architecture or style, for McAlpine has fostered a biblical conversation on the Church’s role in culture, which bears our attention. I enthusiastically recommend this book."
--Ravi Zacharias
author of Can Man Live Without God and The Grand Weaver

"Bill McAlpine is right and I think we know it . . . In our appropriate pursuit of functionality and stewardship, our sacred spaces have somehow been muted. Bill challenges our preconceptions, encourages our dreaming, points to different pathways, and invites to refreshed plausibility structures that could allow our sacred spaces to again declare God’s grace boldly even as we preach of it. These feel like ancient truths deeply needed for our future realities."
--Clyde Glass
Lead Pastor
Southview Alliance Church, Calgary

Product Details

• Title : Sacred Space for the Missional Church: Engaging Culture through the Built Environment
• Author: McAlpine, William R.
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Publication Date: 2011
• ISBN: 9781498273220

About William R. McAlpine

Born to missionary parents in Chad Africa, Bill grew up in a pastor’s home after his parents’ return to Toronto. Bill has studied at Capernwray Hall, England, Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University) in Columbia, South Carolina, Canadian Theological Seminary, and defended his PhD dissertation through University of Aberdeen in Scotland in October 2006. The title of his dissertation is “The Role of the Built Environment in the Fulfillment of the Mission of the Church: Towards a Missional Theology of Sacred Space.” He has pastored for just under 16 years in Alliance Churches in Ontario and Saskatchewan and is presently serving as Associate professor of Pastoral Theology at Ambrose. Bill and his wife Heather have been married for since 1974 and been blessed with four wonderful children ranging from 17 to 26 years in age. One of his major downfalls, according to some of his peers is that he is an avid Leafs fan with a rapidly developing loyalty to the Calgary Flames.