What's a church for? For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with The Point. Winston Churchill famously said that we shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us. A recent example is Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue. After the deadly 2018 shooting there, synagogue leaders consulted a security expert on how to prevent the same thing from ever happening again. In security, we view vulnerabilities as inherently bad,

the expert said. We solved the problem with layered defenses, more locks, more surveillance,

deprive strangers of access to your temple, have congregants carry ID. While her basic suggestions

were good, but to her surprise when it came to keeping strangers out of the synagogue,

they would have none of it.

Inviting in outsiders, explained the leaders, was central to the building's purpose.

The Jewish concept of Tacom-Alam means the repair of the world. Changing the building to prevent

that would be antithetical to its design. Well, churches should also welcome outsiders, but according

to Paul, its primary task is should also welcome outsiders, but according to Paul,

its primary task is to gather Christians for worship in order to send them out. It's supposed to be a

go-and-tell model, not a come-and-see model, something we might want to ponder. For the Colson Center,

I'm John Stomstreet with the Point.