At first, Christian landscaping might sound like another form of consumer Christianity. You know, the subculture that offers a Christian variant of everything secular. Music, books, movies, and clothing are a few examples. With landscaping, I see rock features highlighting an empty tomb or three crosses on top of a small hill. For the ambitious, a water feature with carefully placed translucent pads so you can reenact Jesus walking on the water.
But that’s not what I mean by Christian landscaping. Instead, I suggest a faith in the God of the Bible that shapes all of life … including how we landscape and care for the ground surrounding our homes, churches, schools, and businesses. Never thought of it that way before? Honestly, I hadn’t thought either. Then, a couple years ago, a church I used to work had the opportunity to landscape their property.
When the discussion first started, I suggested we develop a theology of landscaping. Some looked at me with confusion, others literally laughed out loud at the perceived absurdity of the idea. But when I rephrased the idea as sort out how our faith informs the use of our “dirt” assets, interest seemed to grow.
The remainder of this post takes the thoughts I developed then, expands on them, and offers thoughts for application beyond churches.
