Christ Lutheran to dedicate new sanctuary

Following more than a decade of planning, a 92-year-old Lutheran congregation will celebrate the completion of its new sanctuary on Reformation Sunday, a day that this year marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The 550 members of the Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish have met in the auditorium/gymnasium of their church on River Lakes Drive for the last 10 years.

Though the space presented no challenges to the church’s many services and events, Senior Pastor John Bent said the sanctuary represents more than just another room.

“We know the Lord doesn’t live in a building. He doesn’t live in houses built by people,” Bent said. “But a sanctuary is a place that is set aside as a meeting place for people to gather together for a specific purpose.”

That purpose, he said, is worship.

The sanctuary’s intentional design centers on the cross, literally.

Pews capable of seating 400 people curve in a semicircle with a massive cross mounted on the wall at the room’s front and center.

“Centrality of the word is vital,” Bent said. “We wanted it to be a place where it didn’t matter if we had 50 people or 500 people, it still felt like family, like there was still a coziness to it.”

The music section is positioned to the side of the stage, and two large LED screens hang on the left and right of the cross above the pulpit.

In lieu of traditional stained-glass windows, the room is lined and lit by large windows looking out on the scenic Big Mountain and exterior landscaping.

The back of the room provides enough space for an additional 100 seats as well as two modest spaces for prayer, something Bent said has played a pivotal role in the church since its beginning.

“Prayer is an increasingly important part of our life together,” Bent said. “Prayer doesn’t so much change God. It changes us as we humble ourselves and come to Him.”

Christ Lutheran Church first opened its doors in 1925 at its original location across from Central School, now known as Whitefish Middle School.

About 17 years ago, the church began to overflow, growing too large for the space, even with three services offered on Sunday mornings.

In 2003, land was purchased on Whitefish’s south side for a complete relocation of the church and its ministries. In 2007, the congregation moved into the new facility on River Lakes Parkway. Special consideration was given in the design of the building to the growing ministry needs of the Shepherd’s Hand Free Clinic and youth ministries.

Construction on the sanctuary, the final phase, began about a year and a half ago.

Bent has spent 26 of his 31 years as a pastor with Christ Lutheran and has seen it through many of its seasons, changes and challenges.

“A lot of the things I’ve learned as a parent are connected with being a pastor,” he said.

“Your job is to be there, not to be perfect but to do the best you can and … let God take care of the rest of it.”

He views growth in much the same way, as a good and necessary thing for any church, though his definition of growth embraces more than a headcount.

“There’s more than just physical growth or numbers,” he said. “Sometimes you see more spiritual growth.”

He compared the church’s growth to that of a child.

Sometimes it goes through growth spurts, seasons when its development is visible and measurable, he said.

Other times, the growth is more internal and develops a less evident, but equally significant, spiritual change and maturity.

His hope for the sanctuary, he said, is to provide a space where both can occur in their own time, not to push for a rise in numbers.

“God will provide the growth. It may be visible and it may not be visible, but we take by faith that it’s there,” he said.

In the midst of his excitement for the sanctuary’s long-awaited completion, Bent has been speaking on the Reformation, drawing from the lessons and reminders Martin Luther posed to the church when he tacked his 95 theses to the door of the All Saints Church in Germany 500 years ago.

In 1517, Luther, a German monk and scholar responsible for teaching the Bible to other scholars, began to recognize flaws in the Roman Catholic church’s teaching on salvation at the time.

Church officials essentially taught Christians that forgiveness of sins could be attained through the purchase of plenary indulgences sold by the church.

At that time, possession of the Bible was reserved for scholars and clergymen only and was kept out of reach of commoners. Even translation of the text from its original Latin was prohibited.

Through prolonged study of the Gospel itself, Luther came to realize salvation was a gift unattainable through money, works or deeds as the church taught.

His 95 theses, posted on Oct. 31 or “All Saints Eve,” proclaimed that salvation could be attained by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

As Bent and his congregation, along with churches around the world, celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this weekend, Luther’s message remains at the heart of Bent’s teaching.

On Sunday, Oct. 29, Bent will wrap up a sermon series outlining those three pillars of the Reformation — grace alone, faith alone, word alone.

The dedication of the new sanctuary, he hopes, will mark the opening of a safe gathering place for people to worship God, minister to others, pray together, teach each other and learn about the Word.

The money, time, planning and resources put into the sanctuary’s construction, Bent said, have one purpose — to point to Christ.

“The building is only a tool,” Bent said. “If the building is done right, the building doesn’t call attention to itself. The building points beyond itself to the Lord.”

“If the building gets in the way of that, the building should burn down,” he added.

Today’s culture and the churches it is producing, Bent said, have begun to stray from the truth, much in the same way it did 500 years ago.

He believes the church is ripe for revival once again and believes today’s young people will pilot the next transformation.

“The church continues to slip off base and forget. Were it not for the Holy Spirit and the word of God continually reforming the church and bringing it back, we’d be toast,” Bent said.

“I’m praying that our young people will realize what they’ve been chasing after, what they’ve been sold as the truth is not true and that they will turn to the Lord,” he added.

The building his congregation now occupies, complete with its new sanctuary, Bent said, was specifically built for future generations.

His hope is that the completed building will provide a hospitable, welcoming space for more youths and young families to come, learn and, eventually, lead.

Christ Lutheran Church will dedicate its new sanctuary during a 10 a.m. service on Reformation Sunday, Oct. 29. A potluck meal will follow.

For more information about Christ Lutheran Church’s services and programs, visit http://www.clcwhitefish.org/.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.