Altar placement

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
L

loveGod4ever

Guest
#1
#1
God bless everyone. I have a bit of concerned and hope to hear some feedback that is bible based. My church recently moved to another location, which it much nicer than our previous church. It is located on a corner busy street, with large windows on each side of the main entrance door, with a view to the mountains and everyone passing by etc., however the pastor has decided to build the altar area at the main entrance, where all this busyness and distraction is going on, and also a bit awkward that anyone arriving late, walks right in front of the altar area, not only that, but we have all these people that can fully face on see us worshipin, crying etc., which I find crosses the line, since this is meant for God and not a public display, I am feel like a monkey in a cage at a zoo. I may get what he is trying to do, which is set an example of how we truly worship God, but I have found no where in the bible, to use this kind of method. I am mostly uncomfortable with the idea that even though the pastor set up his pulpit at he main entrance, it doesn't look or feel like an altar. For me an altar is Holy ground, a sacred place creates for, so sacred that before Jesus Christ, in the temple it was not seen and blocked from view with a thick curtain and only the holy of holiest where allowed in there.
i love God, and I am the type of Christian, that I will speak out to defend His Honor, but I am basing this off of what I feel. If anyone can share bible based advice, I would welcome it. Thank you and God bless
 
V

Viligant_Warrior

Guest
#2
#2
Churches don't have altars. They have pulpits. Putting them by the front door doesn't make a whole lot of sense, you're right.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#3
#3
I suppose it would embarrass people who walked in late.:)

As for positioning everything so the congregation can be seen by people passing
by. Presumably this also means the congregation can also be distracted by the people
passing.


It sounds a bit unusual, do you know why this was decided, is there a specific reason?
 
V

Viligant_Warrior

Guest
#5
#5
mwc68 said:
My church has an altar
Click to expand...
No offense intended, as I've been to Catholic churches. They don't do sacrifices at the front of the church. They might call it an altar, but its a pulpit, just the same.
 
mwc68

mwc68

Banned
#6
Nov 14, 2012
2,113
4
0
#6
Viligant_Warrior said:
No offense intended, as I've been to Catholic churches. They don't do sacrifices at the front of the church. They might call it an altar, but its a pulpit, just the same.
Click to expand...
Actually the pulpit is off to the side, where the readings(from the bible) are done. This is from where I sing the responsorial Psalm, and from where our priest gives his homily(sermon). This is a pulpit. The Altar is for the consecration of the gifts and is definitely called an Altar

No offense taken! :)
 
L

loveGod4ever

Guest
#7
#7
He really didn't give a reason, but I think he wants us to been seen, the more exposure, the more people in the neighborhood will know we are there. I will admit, everyone driving by would look in, slow down, even honk. We were getting a lot of attention, but I'm still tore that God has to be held in such a High place. Just not sure what God thinks about this....
 
L

loveGod4ever

Guest
#8
#8
Altar / pulpit, I refer to where the pastor delivers the message, or where we go to pray, praise, worship. I didn't realize there was a difference, but thank you, no offense taken:eek:
 
L

loveGod4ever

Guest
#9
#9
Yes, it is very distracting
 
breno785au

breno785au

Senior Member
#11
Jul 23, 2013
6,002
767
113
39
Australia
#11
Maybe you can speak to your pastor or a leader at your church about this? I mean you should be able to speak about these kind of things with them, yeah?
 
A

atwhatcost

Guest
#12
#12
loveGod4ever said:
God bless everyone. I have a bit of concerned and hope to hear some feedback that is bible based. My church recently moved to another location, which it much nicer than our previous church. It is located on a corner busy street, with large windows on each side of the main entrance door, with a view to the mountains and everyone passing by etc., however the pastor has decided to build the altar area at the main entrance, where all this busyness and distraction is going on, and also a bit awkward that anyone arriving late, walks right in front of the altar area, not only that, but we have all these people that can fully face on see us worshipin, crying etc., which I find crosses the line, since this is meant for God and not a public display, I am feel like a monkey in a cage at a zoo. I may get what he is trying to do, which is set an example of how we truly worship God, but I have found no where in the bible, to use this kind of method. I am mostly uncomfortable with the idea that even though the pastor set up his pulpit at he main entrance, it doesn't look or feel like an altar. For me an altar is Holy ground, a sacred place creates for, so sacred that before Jesus Christ, in the temple it was not seen and blocked from view with a thick curtain and only the holy of holiest where allowed in there.
i love God, and I am the type of Christian, that I will speak out to defend His Honor, but I am basing this off of what I feel. If anyone can share bible based advice, I would welcome it. Thank you and God bless
Click to expand...
I've never been to an air-conditioned church and the heat in summer, often made me dizzy. If I didn't leave, I'd disrupt service by being that older passed-out woman lying in the aisle. That said, if the front of the church is at the exit, I'd have to tell the pastor he'll be seeing me up close during his sermon more often than he probably wants to. I will leave, even if that disrupts the service.

No biblical base for that, but hey, there's two ways I can be embarrassed at that moment, so that's my choice of which way I'd go. :D
 
D

didymos

Guest
#13
#13
loveGod4ever said:
... however the pastor has decided to build the altar area at the main entrance, where all this busyness and distraction is going on, and also a bit awkward that anyone arriving late, walks right in front of the altar area, not only that, but we have all these people that can fully face on see us worshipin, crying etc., which I find crosses the line, since this is meant for God and not a public display...
Click to expand...
The Word should be preached, not only in the relative safety of a church building, but outside.. on the street. Jesus himself never used pulpits to preach from, but He preached the gospel wherever He went. So maybe your pastor (and pastors in general) should take this one step further, and 'place the pulpit outside.' We have a Word for the world, and we shouldn't be afraid to preach it out in the open.

Btw, has your church council no say in the matter?
 
A

atwhatcost

Guest
#14
#14
Viligant_Warrior said:
Churches don't have altars. They have pulpits. Putting them by the front door doesn't make a whole lot of sense, you're right.
Click to expand...
There's a platform at the front of most churches. Maybe I call it the altar because I was raised Catholic, but no one has ever looked at me funny for using that word. lol
 
A

atwhatcost

Guest
#15
#15
mwc68 said:
Actually the pulpit is off to the side, where the readings(from the bible) are done. This is from where I sing the responsorial Psalm, and from where our priest gives his homily(sermon). This is a pulpit. The Altar is for the consecration of the gifts and is definitely called an Altar

No offense taken! :)
Click to expand...
Ack! You're right. The altar is the big boxy thing in the middle of the raised platform. (Many older RC churches used marble, but some of the more modern ones use wood now.) But when my brothers were altar boys, they called the raise platform "the altar" too. What's that raised platform in front of the church if not an altar? (I should know this. I helped both brothers study for the altar boy test, but it's 50 years later, and I'm back to claiming "senior moment" again. lol)
 
A

atwhatcost

Guest
#16
#16
loveGod4ever said:
He really didn't give a reason, but I think he wants us to been seen, the more exposure, the more people in the neighborhood will know we are there. I will admit, everyone driving by would look in, slow down, even honk. We were getting a lot of attention, but I'm still tore that God has to be held in such a High place. Just not sure what God thinks about this....
Click to expand...
Okay, now I'm confused. Is your problem with this that God is held in a high place? Well, yeah, he should be.

But I still agree it's not a good location for the preaching. (Notice, I gave up calling it an altar? lol)
 
D

didymos

Guest
#17
#17
atwhatcost said:
There's a platform at the front of most churches. Maybe I call it the altar because I was raised Catholic, but no one has ever looked at me funny for using that word. lol
Click to expand...
That's called a 'liturgical centre,' not altar. Though the whole concept of the centre is way of the liturgical movement (and/or the RCC) to bring the altar (back) into protestant churches.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#18
#18
Wow, never realised that thingy at the front of the church was called
so many different things.

We just have a thingy where the speaker puts his glass of water, bible
and notes. It also has a built in microphone. It's not either an alter or a
pulpit. Sometimes if there is a lot going on the platform the paster or
speaker just has a music stand to put bits on and a mic stand.

As for the OP query. I can see why your minister feels it's good to make the
church more visible. I think I would get distracted though and there are times
when I want to be free to come before God, maybe sitting down and praying
durung the worship, or maybe praying etc. Then maybe I want to worship
God with hands outstretched etc.

if everybody passing by was gawping and pointing, I think for me I would
lose some of the freedom.
 
A

atwhatcost

Guest
#19
#19
didymos said:
That's called a 'liturgical centre,' not altar. Though the whole concept of the centre is way of the liturgical movement (and/or the RCC) to bring the altar (back) into protestant churches.
Click to expand...
No wonder no one complained about me calling it an altar! Who's going to remember "liturgical center?" lol
 
posthuman

posthuman

Senior Member
#20
Jul 31, 2013
37,453
13,379
113
#20
some vocabulary words:

altar / liturgical centre:

Altar-right.jpg

podium / lectern:

Podium-Executive.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.