Architect’s Presentation, February 15, 2009: What Does the New Sanctuary Symbolize?

I want to invite someone very special who is with us, and that is the architect Glenn Knowles, and give our architect Glenn a big round of applause. And Glenn is here today with his daughter Alexandra, and Glenn is a miracle for this congregation because God brought him to me, just as He has always brought so many things. When we began this campaign, or when we began pursuing this idea that the Lord placed in me years ago, I said, “Lord, You are going to have to find a generous Christian architect who will commit himself and whose work is of good quality.” And God brought Glenn; He practically placed him right in front of me. I do not have time to tell you what God did. And Glenn has taken on this project with such an incredibly generous heart; he has saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars and has given with such generosity, brothers and sisters, that I do not have the words to thank him.

And if God has been providing in that way, brothers and sisters, continually opening the Red Sea, He will also open the sea that still lies before us. I want to ask Glenn to come up here.

And Glenn is going to give you a presentation. Give him a good round of applause, brothers and sisters, a good round of applause. You know what we forgot in all the commotion, what part of—it's already happened, calm down, young lady; you are so worked up that I am supposed to be the one who got you worked up—thank you, Patty. And, please, if one of the musicians could come over here to help this time flow smoothly and have someone here—and Lucía, please—but I want to introduce him to you. Glenn is going to give us a brief presentation about what this sanctuary symbolizes and what the different parts of this sanctuary are. And this sanctuary has symbolic significance. It is an expression of many things. So, Glenn, welcome.

If you could get us another microphone, please. Where are the microphones? Quickly. Thank you. Thank you very much.

I am a little nervous. I want to thank you for the invitation and for allowing me to be part of this celebration. I attend Cambridge Church, which is a Baptist church across the river, but I feel as though this is my church too.

We are brothers and sisters, and I really cannot express in words what an honor and privilege it is to work with Pastor Roberto and all of you as we serve the Lord together. Congregación León de Judá has been a tremendous blessing to me and to my family.

And now I am going to describe briefly what the new sanctuary, the new temple, is like. This is the temple’s façade, the front of the temple, which will face Reed Street, the street you use to enter the parking lot.

I am going to try to show it to you here; as I said, I am a little nervous.

As you can see, looking at it vertically, there are three sections. There is a red or reddish base here. In the middle there is an intermediate section made of brick of another color. And the upper portion, the part at the top—there are three sections: one, two, and three; middle, top, and bottom. At the base, the primary material is brick. And as you know, brick is made of clay that comes from the earth. And when I designed the temple, I wanted the base to represent life in the natural realm, natural human, biological life.

And in the upper portion, the final section at the top, the primary material is metal. And that metal reflects light; it is reflective. And to me, that upper metallic section, which reflects the light, represents the spiritual realm, just as the lower portion represents the natural, human realm. And the intermediate section is a combination because it contains brick. But in that section, the brick leans toward the color, the tone, of the metal; it is a more elevated color, and therefore the middle section represents to me the spiritual part, the part belonging to the Christian believer: our Christian life.

That is why it is in the middle, between the lower or earthly part and the upper part, which is the heavenly part, right? In the middle is our Christian life, our Christian spiritual experience. And that is the description you can see in the vertical design as you look from the bottom to the top of the façade.

Now, also moving horizontally to the side—from left to right, from right to left—it is difficult to see it here in this design, but you will see it in the actual building: there is a line that descends. If you can see it beside the small windows, there is a vertical line. And the line begins at the top, up there, and keeps descending all the way down. And it ends there at the natural level, right? It comes down from above and stops more or less there. And to me this represents the incarnation of Jesus Christ: Christ Jesus descending from heaven and coming down to earth. Jesus has descended to the earth.

And now, continuing horizontally from that line I have described, which descends and reenacts the incarnation, and moving to the right, from left to right: after that incarnation of Christ, this section here in the middle, moving toward the right, represents the life and ministry of Jesus Christ; that is, this is the story of Jesus. There are three sections, three years of ministry; this also represents the life of the Christian, of the believer.

Here at the front of this building, there will be perforated metal panels, and those panels will be set at different angles to one another, in relation to one another. This is so that when a person walking toward the building approaches it from different angles, that person will have different experiences of the interplay of light striking the building while approaching and looking at it. This will represent the dynamic aspect of the spiritual life, which changes: there are journeys, travels, difficulties, and different processes that take place. Sometimes things will not be clear to the believer on the journey, but when one lines up with the panels and looks at them directly from the front, one can see things very clearly by coming into alignment with God.

And also at night—at night, that panel, which during the day does not let the light through quite so easily, will allow people to see inside very easily because of the light coming from within. They will be able to see into the front section because the interplay of light with the panels will make the inside easier to see.

As you know, after Jesus’ ministry, when His ministry ended, you will remember that, of course, it culminated at the end in the cross, which is here on the façade. And on the other side of the cross, as one moves from here to there—incarnation, Jesus’ journey, and the believer’s journey—there is then also the cross, and what is on the other side of the cross represents the reconciliation between man, humanity, and God the Father that came about as a result of the cross. And that is represented by the glass, by this structure here, which is transparent and reflects that reconciliation, that light, that transparency. Thus the entire façade of the building represents the life of Jesus.

In other words, to enter that building and pass through that façade, one will always have, in a sense, to pass through Jesus and His entire ministry and life. One must pass through Jesus to enter the sanctuary and be able to worship the Father.

So, very quickly, these are merely the building’s general thematic plans. The first floor will primarily be parking; whatever part of the building remains, the parking right here where we are, will remain basic parking. Then the second floor will be the main sanctuary. People will go up by stairs or by elevator in the case of people with disabilities. And there is a connector that will connect this building to the new sanctuary. The third level is a balcony that goes all the way around, and at that level there will also be another connection to this building. It will be possible to enter this building from that sanctuary on two different levels. The fourth floor is additional space for more classrooms and offices, and there will also be a large space there for a meeting room, also added here on the top floor.

And this is a computer rendering. This one is rather generic, but it shows more or less what the interior of the sanctuary will be like. There will not necessarily be pews, but it gives you a general idea, by means of a computer, of how it would feel to be inside that space. Do not let the pews fool you, because they will not be pews; there will be modern seats like ours. In fact, it will be a modern sanctuary like this one, but much larger, with the entire balcony and everything else; but this gives you a general idea.

And the purpose of these computer studies was, above all, to enable us to study this acoustic ceiling that will be installed in the sanctuary. It is a ceiling specially built to help improve the sound within the space for worship and everything else. It consists of wooden panels and will be very beautiful.

They are undulating panels; the effect is very… they are placed at different levels and produce something like a wave effect. It undulates.

I am going to speak briefly about the bricks, these inscribed bricks that will be used. This is a drawing showing the entrance that will run between the building that is going to be built and the current sanctuary where you are sitting. It passes through there; people can go back and forth between the two buildings. Through there, from one side to the other, people can pass back and forth between the two buildings.

Down there, in that space where the current entrance is right now, which we have there behind you and which you are now seeing here—this is the current sanctuary; excuse me, the new sanctuary here; this is the back of our building when you enter—imagine that the cars now enter here like this, and you enter over here. Well, when this building is placed here, there will be a space in the middle underneath where people will also be able to walk, and that is one of the possible locations for those inscribed bricks: in that section between the two buildings or along the walkway that will be here when one enters… And potentially upstairs, in one of the spaces above, in the connector on one of the upper floors, they might possibly be placed there too.

This is more or less what they would look like. They are inscribed like this with a laser beam, and they are very durable bricks, made specifically for outdoor walkways, to withstand the elements and last a long time, because we do not want your name to wear off later and have you come complain to me.

And remember that the bricks will be among the last things we install.

Thank you very much.

And let us give this man a very, very loud round of applause, because he deserves it. Give him a really big hand.

Samuel, let me have my Bible, brother. Yes, please remember that these are not those bricks, okay? These are merely symbolic. Everyone who makes a pledge today will be given one of these bricks. Those are special bricks that will be commissioned once this process has moved forward; then those bricks will be made specifically to fulfill that part of the plan. But you can take these bricks home today as a reminder. And remember, brothers and sisters, that we want to encourage you to give something very, very special. And our time has run out, but I want to encourage you in the name of the Lord to prepare your hearts. And the only thing I want to do is quickly provide you with a couple more points as we prepare to give to the Lord.

The title of our campaign has been “A Pledge of Faith: Giving in the Zone of Discomfort,” with the widow of Zarephath as our theme.

Brothers and sisters, I want you to remember the vision of this campaign: it is a sanctuary for the glory of God—not merely bricks, but glorifying the Lord.

It is intended to build a spacious and beautiful place for an expanded León de Judá.

And… remember that we cannot continue growing until the Lord expands this place and you participate in that miracle. What we are doing is building a larger sanctuary for a León de Judá that has expanded spiritually and in ministry. We want a place for the revival that is coming. We have said that León de Judá will be a place of revival.

And also a refuge for the transformation of lives.

We now have a specific need: we need a sanctuary that will allow us to grow.

Because legal requirements also compel us to build now, and many people wonder, “Why now, at this time? Why not put it off for two or three years?” There are legal requirements pushing us to build at this time, and we do not have time to describe them, but we have obligations to city agencies that have given us a limited amount of time. The clock is already ticking, and unfortunately, either we do it now or we close the door to construction in the future.

Now I have spoken to you about a vision and a need. I want to speak to you about one of the disadvantages at this time: interestingly and ironically, this is the best time to build.

If the financial aspects of the sanctuary fall into place—both this financial campaign and the loan we are working on with the banks—this would be the best time to build. Why? Because today interest rates are lower than ever before.

Second, the cost of materials has fallen extraordinarily.

And contractors are also more flexible because there is not much work, there is not much construction, and there are not many crazy people of faith like us who are building at this time.

And what is the methodology we want to use? I will simply give you a couple of examples, all right? Look, brothers and sisters, if you look at it over 3 years, 156 weeks, 36 months, and you break that amount down into weeks, you can see that it is not as outrageous as it might seem. For example, if someone decides, you know what, I’m going to give the Lord $20 a week—that’s what I spend just on cappuccinos, which are making me gain weight, and now my clothes don’t even fit me. And then I have to buy more clothes, and I get depressed, and this and that. You know what? Don’t be depressed anymore, young lady, ma’am; give it to the Lord. If you give $20 a week, that means $1,040 a year. And if you set a goal in the name of Jesus, in three years you can give the Lord three thousand and some dollars. If you give $30 a week, that is $1,500 a year; do the math. That is four thousand seven hundred and some dollars, almost $4,800 in three years. And if you give the Lord $40 a week—that’s what you spend when you go to the North End to eat an Italian meal—that is almost $2,100 a year, which is six thousand and some dollars a year. I beg you not to be intimidated.

Brothers and sisters, this is so that we will stop thinking like poor people: enlarge the place of your tent.

As for the values that will govern this campaign, I want you to remember that everyone can give something; please, let no one say, “I can’t.” Think in terms of three years, and remember that all of us can give something.

Make a faith pledge; make a pledge in faith. Believe that God can bless you. Do not think only about the present moment; think about how God can bless you in the future. And above all, give in what we call the uncomfortable zone, where it becomes difficult. Remember the widow of Zarephath, whom we have discussed before.

The loan is tied to the total amount of the pledges. We need to get as close as possible to that million and a half we have mentioned. We need it because the loan will depend on the pledges made today and next Sunday. We want them then as well, although it will not be like this; but yes, we also want to resume this.

Remember, do not say, “Oh, I’m going to wait and see.” You have to help, and help now, and give us at least a pledge. Think about when you can give it, because otherwise the campaign will be affected. That is why this is so important.

Do not be modest; do not be conservative; do not be more humble than the Lord. The Lord says that He likes pledges, commitments, and moves of faith. And remember that you have three years to give. There is a promise the Lord gives. There are three passages we have discussed over the past few days. In the passage about the widow of Zarephath, the prophet Elijah says, “Give to me first, and you will not lack.”

The second passage was from Haggai, where God tells the Hebrew people, “Build my house, and I will bless you.”

And the third passage is from Second Chronicles, about King Jehoshaphat, when the king tells his people, “Believe God’s prophets, and you shall prosper.”

And this, as I have said, I am doing in a prophetic capacity because I believe that God truly wants this to be built. So there you have it. We are going to finish here; I had many more things to tell you. But I want to encourage you now. And please, if we could stand for a moment, let us pray to the Lord. And let us ask the Lord to bless us greatly and for His grace to be with us as we give to the Lord in an extraordinary way.

We ask, Lord, that You give Your people a spirit of generosity and joy as they give to You this day. We worship You and bless You, Lord, and we thank You very, very much in the name of Jesus. Amen and amen.

I want to encourage you, my brothers and sisters. I know that many of you have already made a pledge before, and we now invite everyone who has said, “Hey, I already made my pledge,” to come forward here. We are going to do this in an orderly manner, and what we want to ask is that you wait a moment. You can come this way, and Patty, help me if you have any idea how to make this go faster. And how wonderful that some of you are already fighting to be the first to come forward; that is a great blessing.

But we are going to take this time, and then you will come over here and write your name. There are two stations here, correct? There are four places where you can do it, two here and two here. Sign your name, bring your card and place it in one of the baskets here, and then you may return to your seat. Perhaps you want to continue praying for a little while, or you may be dismissed in a moment.

Brothers and sisters, we want to remind you that this is the time for you to fill out your card. Remember, brothers and sisters, that if you do not have your money, we do not expect you to have it today. But the most important thing is for you to fill out your cards and let us know today the amount the Lord has placed on your hearts. So the most important thing is that you leave your cards with us. Let us know your intention, your pledge, today; that is the most important thing. If you have any questions, there are men and women here from among the deacons.

We are in the New Building near the exits. But, my brothers and sisters, those who made their pre-pledges, those who signed up beforehand, we ask that you also come forward when they begin. So we will do it in the name of God. Amen, amen.

Give the Lord a great round of applause. And we are going to begin coming forward here, and we are going to give generously. Sign your name quickly, and then you may return. If you have any questions, see one of the people who will be there...

Take your brick with you; do not leave without your brick. And pray over that brick, asking the Lord to bless this effort greatly. And let no one leave without giving the Lord a generous pledge of faith. We will be available to answer any questions.

Glory to God.