April 16, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is by Pastor Buddy Smith of Malanda, Queensland, Australia <smiletex@bigpond.net.au> --

When King David was crowned in Hebron there were many who came to his coronation. Among them were the men of Issachar, "men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment." (I Chron.12:32) The new king had need of such men. Men with clear heads and sharp eyes. Men that were alert and awake. Men that knew the times. Men that made practical application of what they knew and led their brethren. King David needed such men. In fact, we could do with some of them just now.

There is a tendency among fundamentalists to build churches without windows or doors. Oh, we have high walls and they are very strong, but we seem to have forgotten we need windows and doors in our churches. (Altogether too often, the windows have been scrapped for structural integrity. Modern wisdom says that too much glass weakens the church.) We need to rethink the loss of windows in our churches. Windows give the lost an opportunity to inspect the quality of the saints before they come in the door. Windows help us to "provide things honest in the sight of all men." (Romans 12:17b) Windows let the Wind of the Holy Spirit blow away our stale sermons, our lifeless worship, and the cobwebs off the pews. We need that Divine Wind to give our churches a breath of fresh air. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:  Last of all, windows let us observe our world and gain an understanding of our times.

Of course, once we make proper use of the windows of our churches we can begin to use the doors of our churches. Doors are our access to a lost world,  sinners' access to the gospel, and others' access to our fellowship.

Altogether too many of us who do have windows and doors have closed the curtains and locked the doors. Could anything be worse than indoor churches? Many years ago we had an evangelist to speak for us in Victoria. While he was there we walked downtown so he could have a look at the quaint little shops. In front of the Post Office the local Anglican ladies had set up a stall selling jam and tea towels. When the evangelist saw the sign telling which church they were from he asked them, "I suppose all of you ladies are born again, aren't you?" One of them looked down her nose at him and asked in reply, "What are you doing, taking religion out into the streets?"

The irony of her question, of course, is that many fundamentalists are doing the very thing the Anglicans have done for centuries. We are taking our religion indoors, closing the curtains and locking the door.

It seems to be as true in churches as it is in creation, if you don't use it you lose it. Windows made dark by curtains will soon disappear. Doors that are locked will be bricked up before long.

So what say we begin again to build windows and doors in our churches and then look out the windows and go out the doors? True evangelism dies when churches lose their windows and doors.