The other day, my wife Cheryl was going to meet some ladies at church to “scope out” some things for Libby & Josh’s upcoming wedding.  She stopped by my office (and took my last cold Dr. Pepper!) and as she headed out, she said, “I’m headed to the sanctuary … I mean the auditorium … or … what should I call it?”  “The worship center”, I said, “that is what I prefer.”  She said, “Well, since I work in the children’s department, I just usually call it ‘big church’!” 

But it brings up a good point.  What SHOULD we call the place where we gather for worship?  Does it really make any difference?  One might argue that it doesn’t, but I think that each term connotes some things that do matter.  Let me suggest how:

 “Sanctuary.”  That word means “holy place”, often referring to the special dwelling place of deity.  It is used in scripture of the holy place where God dwelt in the Temple, or in heaven.  Many older church goers call the meeting place “the sanctuary.”  In a positive way, that name implies a reverence that is often missing today.  But I do not prefer that term for this reason: the building itself is NOT the sanctuary.  If you are a Christian, YOU are!  I Corinthians 6:19 says “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you.”  YOU are the place where God’s Spirit dwells, not that room!  We should treat the place where we worship in a respectful manner – but on the other hand, we need to realize is just a building.  God doesn’t “live” there!  In fact, many people wrongly limit His presence and influence to that one place, when in truth He is just as present in your home or office!  If you are saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you.  You are the sanctuary.  Thus my smile when, some time ago, I heard an adult yell at a child: “Stop running in the sanctuary!”  I laughed to myself.  That was a Christian child – so wherever he runs, he is “running in the sanctuary”!  That’s why I’d prefer to call the meeting place something else. 

 “Auditorium” comes from the same root word as “audio”, and denotes a place where you listen.  What is the matter with that, we do listen a lot in church, right?  That is true, but when we gather for worship, we are there to do more than just listen.  In fact, that is exactly the problem with the way a lot of people approach worship services — they come to merely listen to other people sing and preach.  They no more participate than they would at a concert or a play.  But Biblical worship is not a “spectator sport”; it involves whole-hearted participation.  “Auditorium” doesn’t convey that; it promulgates the idea that one is just there to listen.

 So what do I prefer?  I like the term “worship center” better.  That is what we have come to that room to do: worship God!  That room is a center for worship.  God’s people gather there every week, to give Him praise, to hear His word, and to respond.  Now, that does NOT mean that this is the only place where worship takes place.  We should worship God wherever we are: at home, on the job, walking in the neighborhood, driving in our cars, etc.  But the church gathers in that place to worship together weekly, and worship is central to what happens there.  It is a worship center.  I think that term accurately describes what happens in the room, without any of the negative connotations of the other terms. 

 Now, can I claim a Biblical mandate for my preference?  Not exactly.  I can point to I Corinthians 6 and say that WE, not the room, are the sanctuary.  And we can find scriptures which tell us that we are to be more than mere listeners in worship, so that it should be more than just an “auditorium.”  But nowhere in the New Testament does it call the meeting place “the worship center.”  Truth is, they didn’t even HAVE church buildings in the New Testament.  They still met in the Temple, or in homes, or wherever they could find to meet.  They didn’t have the facilities that we do today.  So I can’t say, “The Bible calls it a ‘worship center.’”  And I definitely agree with the sage old advice that we should tread with appropriate humility where the Bible does not speak clearly.  But I personally think that “worship center” is the best term we have. 

I promise I won’t persecute you if you call it something else.   I won’t correct you.  I probably won’t even mention it in conversation, either — unless you ask.  But if you do, I will say, I prefer “worship center” – chagrined all the while that I have heard more than one grown adult call it “big church”!