Published: November 14, 2008 11:34 am            

Modern outlook

Cleburne Bible Church structure represents change in worship styles

An old wooden pew in a back hall of the new Cleburne Bible Church is a reminder that times have changed.

Once a part of Cleburne Bible’s former chapel on West Henderson, it now occupies a hallway at the church’s new facility, next door to Cleburne High School on Nolan River Road.

The 33,000 square foot facility looks more like a bowling-gaming-laser-tag escape than many of the traditional church designs in the area. And according to Associate Pastor Dean Elliot, that’s the point.

“I think traditional architectural elements don’t really reflect the way we do church anymore,” he said. “Older churches were always designed to be a symbol and to direct people’s attention upwards to God, and in a way, that is worship, but it doesn’t necessarily encourage people to do ministry the way they do it today.

“A lot of the way people do it today has to do with technology and community spaces. It’s about really trying to encourage people to connect with each other.”

The foyer of the new building nearly equals the auditorium in size and has a coffee bar similar to Starbucks. Long, leather couches line the walls, and hand-painted tall tables with stools, donated by an artistic church member, complete the coffee-bar atmosphere.

It is the kind of community space Cleburne Bible needs, Elliot said.

“We carefully asked ourselves, ‘What do we want to do with this building?’ instead of asking, ‘What does a church look like?’” he said. “Once you make a decision to do that, it’s a whole lot easier to add color and things that aren’t normally associated with churches.”

Elliot said the church is trying to incorporate all forms of art into the worship services. On Wednesday, a large painted canvas was displayed on the auditorium’s stage, which Elliot said was left by an artist who was practicing for an upcoming worship service.

“In the older church we so craved the idea of having fellowship around coffee that we stuck a tent on the front of the church’s narthex,” he said. “We just needed more space to stand around and talk with one another before and after worship service.”

So far, the church has spent two Sundays at its new location, but the official grand opening is this Sunday, he said.

“The numbers since we opened the doors have been a little boggling,” he said. “Before moving, attendance was consistent at around 400, but here we’ve already had as many as 700 for sure, and it’s a much younger crowd. The youth ministry has kind of exploded.”

Cleburne Bible’s youth center has a full stage of instruments, refreshment bar and a half-size basketball court. Though Elliot said this could turn away some of the congregation’s older members, it is exactly what one founding family wants.

Betty Lee and her husband, Richard, both 72, are one of Cleburne Bible’s seven founding families. She said that since 1980, they have watched the church move from a meeting room in a carpet warehouse to three other locations, including the home Betty grew up in, and finally to the modern-looking one, she said.

“It was our desire to build this very contemporary building in hopes that it would appeal to the young people,” she said. “If we don’t have young people in the church, it will die.”

The church’s colorful style doesn’t bother Betty a bit.

“We just believe the people make the church and not the building,” she said. “The fellowship is very alive, and it has a wonderful staff and pastor, who has been with the church since its second year.”

Betty Lee’s smiling face can be found in three hanging photographs behind the old church pew that stands as a relic of tradition in a new age. The photos display former Cleburne Bible churches and one congregation that has grown in great numbers through the years.

“We have watched it change, and I think we’ve changed with it,” Betty said. “And that has been good.”

        

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