Statues: what it means to be free

I was going up the elevator at Lidl recently, when in the corner of my eye, I saw a pair of lion statues, sat by the neighbouring building's doors like obedient guard dogs. I thought, "Oh! How did I not hear there was a new Chinese restaurant in town?"

But then I noticed the parking space labels next to them and I realised my mistake. "Apostle" "Pastor" - this was the back entrance to a local church. 

I went back down the elevator, and back up, simply to take photos of the church. I must have looked quite strange to some. I've been learning to embrace that recently. Learning to recognise that sometimes it's okay to do things people don't normally do. To bring out a bible in a public place and read it if I want to. To pray with my eyes closed. To stop and take photos of something that isn't a tourist attraction. It's okay to do these things. 

I've written about statues in church before, but in that post, I didn't think a great deal about what would motivate churches that are apparently offspring of the Protestant Reformation to have statues. And so I decided to reflect on these guard lions. 

Why are the lions there? The truth is I do not know the motivation of whoever erected them. Are they purely decorative? Seems unlikely because there are no lions at the front entrance. Are they meant to be a sign of power? Are they meant to say something about what takes place inside? Are they guarding the people who walk inside? Are they a regal kind of protector?

Honestly I do not know. I can tell these statues are not venerated—they've been allowed to wear over time under exposure to the elements. So I can say the use of the statues is different to the Roman Catholic use of statues I witnessed in Maltese cathedrals. But I would love to know what the lion statues mean.

 

What else do I notice about this church? There are dedicated parking spaces for the church leaders plus a "VIP" space. These special parking spaces have labels that look like license plates. Perhaps the leaders need these parking spaces because church can get very busy and they need to guarantee they can park nearby. However, I also think the labels are meant to be a demonstration of wealth and prosperity. Personalised license plates are a sign of wealth.

At the front of the church there is a conveniently placed cash machine. The "Pastor in Charge" lists his credentials, including at least two doctoral qualifications and a fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts - he's clearly a very gifted man.

One last thing I want to point out (there are lots of other things I notice about the church, but to save you the boredom of reading everything that I find interesting, I'll finish up here) is the word freedom being in the name of the church. That concept of being free clearly resonates with a lot of people today, myself included. But I wonder if we would agree on what it is we need freedom from. My hope is that people see the Bible's perspective: that we need freedom from our sin a lot more than we need freedom from hardship or humility. 

Ultimately, this local church was remarkable to me because, like the Roman Catholic cathedrals in Malta, it highlighted the stark contrast in our views of church. As I mentioned previously, I would generally opt for humble church decoration, and place more emphasis on the local church being a gathering of all kinds of people to worship their God, hearing their God speak when they sit under the teaching of the Bible. Here however, the local church is presented as a place to garner blessings, give money and receive prosperity from God in return. The "Pastor in Charge" and "Apostle" must be such powerful men. But where are powerful business executive-type church leaders in the New Testament? Are there not elders instead? Studious men, humbly teaching the scriptures in order to feed the flock with the message of Jesus that has been entrusted to them?

Those are leading questions, I know. So to state my thoughts as a succinct conclusion, I will say this: Let's make local church New Testament again.

SI