Help with a Question on Sharing a Church Building with a Church that has Distinct Doctrinal Differences

Ed Romero to ‎Got Questions Writers

October 6, 2015

I’d like to phone a friend:

“I am part of a small church plant looking into moving to a new building. There is an Evangelical Lutheran Church that may allow us to use their facilities. After researching the ELCA denomination, they appear to be very liberal while our congregation is very conservative. We would still be our own church, but is there anything wrong with sharing a building with another congregation even if we don’t agree with them? Thank you for all you do for God’s glory.”

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Ed Chait and Lori DeGrazia like this.
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- Byron Earnheart What’s the difference in using a public school gym?
  
  Like · Reply · 1 · 4 hrs
- Laurel J. Davis I wouldn’t say it would be wrong, but I would say it would not be prudent. Using that church’s facility is a sign of affirming their doctrine, even if you express to your congregation that you don’t agree. The implication will still be made. The difference in using a public school gym is a professing Christian church versus a secular educational institution. The former is required and expected to uphold, follow and operate by biblical orthodoxy, and the latter is expected not to. First Corinthians 5:9-11 tells us the difference, in that the immoral people we are to avoid fellowshipping with are fellow professing believers, not people in the world: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-not even to eat with such a one.”
  1 Corinthians 5:9-11 NASB
  http://bible.com/100/1co.5.9-11.nasb
  
  1 Corinthians 5:9-11, New American Standard Bible (NASB)
  
  I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral…
  
  BIBLE.COM
  
  Like · Reply · Remove Preview · 2 · 3 hrs
- - Laurel J. Davis I might be taking that scripture out of direct context, since it references the greedy, idolatrous, revilers, drunkards and swindlers, but I’m wondering if it can be extended?
    
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  - Byron Earnheart In fairness, couldn’t the same list of sins be applied to the public schools? Are there not greedy and idolatrous activities going on there?
    
    Like · Reply · 1 · 3 hrs
  - Laurel J. Davis Yes, but as I said, it is the “so-called brother” doing these things whom we are to not associate with.
    
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  - Byron Earnheart But is that within the context of sharing a building or sharing fellowship within a church body? It’s a building. It’s steel and concrete.
    
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- Fred Apelquist They could the “perfect” counterweight that God has in mind. Besides, with some exceptions, many folks hold varying so-called conservative v. liberal views on various doctrinal issues irrespective of what the official position may be of their church. We know many Roman Catholics do not support the church on a variety of birth control and other social issues. Also, maybe the need is greater to teach the true Word of God where it isn’t being presented accurately or honestly. ….my 2 cents…
  
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- Kristi-Joy Matovich I’ve attended more than one church that shared facilities with other congregations. I’ve always seen it as a rather beautiful representation of the body sharing their resources.
  
  Like · Reply · 2 · 2 hrs
- Tim White I would have no hesitancy using their facilities. Many churches have used public schools that teach evolution, agnosticism and humanism. There are few catacombs in our area, If the Church continues to affirm the truth, the building is not the Church.
  
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- Ed Romero But I wonder if, for example, Got Questions would partner with Joel Osteen’s website. Would that be wrong/unwise? If so, why? And would that principle transfer?
  
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- - Kristi-Joy Matovich I don’t think that transfers. Using a building is merely associating by geography. It is not partnering with the other church using the building.
    
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  - Ed Romero Could it be perceived that way, and should it matter?
    
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- Ed Chait There is a Christian church that meets on Sundays at our local Jewish Temple, so I like this question.
  
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- Tim White If JO ministries decides to run a GQ ad on their site, I would not stop them. That is not a partnership, but an offer by JO. If a errant Church offers their building when they are not using it, that is not a partnership. offerings are not being counted and divided as profit. I see the difference. We had a Church begin in an Odd Fellows Lodge building, and I do not have a clue to this day what Odd Fellows are. I was in my early teens.
  
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- - Kristi-Joy Matovich How odd. wink emoticon
    
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  - Elizabeth DeVore I’d think it would be closer to JO’s website promoting us. Not that I have a dog in this fight either way.
    
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- Lea Ann Davis McCombs The building is not what matters. Some churches, going through transition, rent school auditoriums, coffee houses, or theaters. Peter and John held church in a prison cell. I know of at least one situation where a church shared a building with the Seventh Day Adventists because they met on different days!
  
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- Gina Cook Sharing a church building, with what I would consider a false religion, is way different than just meeting in an nonreligious secular place like a gym. It’s about protecting the weak in faith and not giving any room for them to stumble. I guess my question back to you would be, would you consider worshiping in a Masonic lodge or Mormon temple or Catholic cathedral when their members are not there? This sort of reminds me of the Biblical account of the false god Dagon (sp?) statue being destroyed when they invited God in their pagan building alongside their pagan idols. People will disagree how serious a move like this would be or how unbiblical the ELCA is – not an easy situation. Praying for your church!
  
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