Spiritual Architecture – A Timeless Foundation for the People of God

The spiritual building materials for a healthy church are not readily agreed upon. So many books have been written as to what foundational principles are essential for the local church to be authentic. Some of these creative approaches arise out of a pragmatic understanding that if more people are coming it must be right as the Spirit is surely at work.

One of the most influential motivators of church practice can be the intentional removal of anything that might offend the contemporary church consumer. This need to carefully search for and intentionally  remove anything that might prove to be unsettling runs deep. To even point out what might now be lacking as a result using these alternative building blocks is to enter into a zone of conflict.

This book is based on the bedrock of Paul’s writings to a young church in Thessalonica that needed answers to pressing questions it had. As a result of this warm and pastoral letter we discover many church principles that cannot be ignored or glossed over no matter what culture, society or epoch we might live in. It is based on the deep rooted idea that God’s word truly supplies the answers to all we seek in every area of life, especially the church, which is his very own body.

The structure of the book lies firstly on the general pattern of thirteen triplets of thought that repeat fairly naturally throughout the letter. One such example is faith, hope and love in the first chapter while in the fifth chapter we are described as being composed of spirit, soul and body. The second and more crucial dimension is that each triplet reveals a timeless building block of any church in every society and even time period. An example in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 is the “Power triplet” as it consists  of the “power, spirit and conviction” triplet with the church building block being “ The Church is Powerful.”  A church without power then is not reflective of the Almighty God we serve.

About the author
Rod Holmes is an Australian pastor who hails from the bush yet is equally comfortable in the city provided he can grow a few fruit trees and have a lawn to mow. He has been a High School Science teacher in both wheatbelt and urban settings. Rod and his wife Nerida who now have three adult sons were both missionary teachers in Bolivia where they came to appreciate the Latin American people and culture. Rod has been a pastor since 1999 in Western Australia and more recently in the Northern Territory.  He has served among the Baptist and Churches of Christ denominations yet also has an occasional brief return to the Science classroom. In his time as a pastor he has observed many cultural church shifts which he unpacks in this book. His heart is for both the life as well as the words of Christ to be sought as he who loves Christ will also obey his words. His desire is for God’s people to overflow with the joy of the Lord as they share the light of the truth of the gospel with those who live in spiritual darkness.