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Here is a recent post that I wrote for our church's blog:
Not Vineyard Amsterdam (yet!)
“The church is a whore, but she is my mother.” What? I couldn’t think of a more harsh or awkward way to describe the church. But apparently, a North African berber from the 5th century thought that it was an accurate and appropriate description. His name was Augustine, and he said a lot that has influenced Christians this past 1600 years.
I think that it is worth taking some time to analyze his quote – maybe it will help explain why we think having this church called Vineyard Amsterdam is a good idea.
When referring to a woman, there probably could not be two more extreme words to describe her than “whore” and “mother.” The former connotes unfaithfulness, betrayal and disloyalty in the most carnal ways possible. The latter: belonging, nuture, love and comfort.
So why would Augustine go so far as to call the church a whore? He may have had his own reasons; I can think of mine: the crusades, the inquisition, fundamentalist extremism, hypocracy, and strange political agendas are a few off the top of my head. All of these represent to me what I would consider unfaithfullness to God. Not only unfaithfulness, but unfaithfulness in the worst possible way: that which represents him for what he is not.
But it is easy to brush off all of the wrong-doings of the church as merely historical or as an accusation reserved for extremists. The reality is that the church is a “whore” because it is made up of people. More accurately, it is made up of people like me. I myself have played a part in mis-representing God to the world. Whenever I chose to act out of hate and not love; whenever I turn a blind eye to injustice; whenever I rejoice in another’s misfortune; whenever I am a hypocrite (and I am a lot!), then I am unfaithful to the God of the Christian scriptures.
What should we do, then? Disregard or even discard the church? Become cynical at all the ways that we’ve personally seen the church fail? Augustine’s answer is a resounding “no”. She is my mother, he says.
When the church is faithful to God, when the church is actually a “mother”, then we can see some amazing things happen:
First, community happens. The church isn’t a building, but a people. One of the great tragedies of the western post-modern world is that many people live utterly isolated lives. Loneliness is an epidemic in the West. But God, through the church, offers an alternative. He offers a family, a party, a feast to be a part of. One thing is so unique about the church is that it is not merely made up of like-minded people. Communities can form easily and quickly around common interests. But the church is the “single great river formed from tens of thousands of scattered tributaries,” as someone once said. It’s a single family formed by innumerable cultures, nationalites and backgrounds, united together through shared faith. There could be no better place on the planet to experience this than Amsterdam – the most diverse city in the world.
Second, we fall in love with the world. The church was never intended to be isolated from the rest of the world; it was also never inteded to be a factory of hate. Rather, we read in the Christian scriptures that God chose the church to bless the rest of the world. The church exists to love people; to provide help and support in difficult situations and to party together when there is something to celebrate; to offer justice to those who exist on the margins of society. Ultimately, we hope to proclaim that God loves the world and wants to make everything new and right through Jesus.
Finally, we encounter a living God. In a city like Amsterdam, where there is such an emerging spirituality and questioning of deeper reality, the Christian story needs to be told again. It is the story of a God who is not only spiritual and powerful, but also personal and compassionate. It is the story of a God who desires to give you purpose and hope. It is in the church, where that story is told and retold again – through song, symbolism, scripture, and even through the everyday living of life – that you can find your place in the whole thing. In the midst of hearing the story and taking part in it, we encounter and interract with God.
I think Augustine got it right all those years ago: the church is a mother. Motherhood is a beautiful picture of self-sacrifice. In the same way the church doesn’t exist for itself, but for others. She draws us into family, teaches love and compassion, and points us to our ultimate purpose. That is why Vineyard Amsterdam exists. We hope to be one of many different wonderful expressions of church here in this amazing city.
When referring to a woman, there probably could not be two more extreme words to describe her than “whore” and “mother.” The former connotes unfaithfulness, betrayal and disloyalty in the most carnal ways possible. The latter: belonging, nuture, love and comfort.
So why would Augustine go so far as to call the church a whore? He may have had his own reasons; I can think of mine: the crusades, the inquisition, fundamentalist extremism, hypocracy, and strange political agendas are a few off the top of my head. All of these represent to me what I would consider unfaithfullness to God. Not only unfaithfulness, but unfaithfulness in the worst possible way: that which represents him for what he is not.
But it is easy to brush off all of the wrong-doings of the church as merely historical or as an accusation reserved for extremists. The reality is that the church is a “whore” because it is made up of people. More accurately, it is made up of people like me. I myself have played a part in mis-representing God to the world. Whenever I chose to act out of hate and not love; whenever I turn a blind eye to injustice; whenever I rejoice in another’s misfortune; whenever I am a hypocrite (and I am a lot!), then I am unfaithful to the God of the Christian scriptures.
What should we do, then? Disregard or even discard the church? Become cynical at all the ways that we’ve personally seen the church fail? Augustine’s answer is a resounding “no”. She is my mother, he says.
When the church is faithful to God, when the church is actually a “mother”, then we can see some amazing things happen:
First, community happens. The church isn’t a building, but a people. One of the great tragedies of the western post-modern world is that many people live utterly isolated lives. Loneliness is an epidemic in the West. But God, through the church, offers an alternative. He offers a family, a party, a feast to be a part of. One thing is so unique about the church is that it is not merely made up of like-minded people. Communities can form easily and quickly around common interests. But the church is the “single great river formed from tens of thousands of scattered tributaries,” as someone once said. It’s a single family formed by innumerable cultures, nationalites and backgrounds, united together through shared faith. There could be no better place on the planet to experience this than Amsterdam – the most diverse city in the world.
Second, we fall in love with the world. The church was never intended to be isolated from the rest of the world; it was also never inteded to be a factory of hate. Rather, we read in the Christian scriptures that God chose the church to bless the rest of the world. The church exists to love people; to provide help and support in difficult situations and to party together when there is something to celebrate; to offer justice to those who exist on the margins of society. Ultimately, we hope to proclaim that God loves the world and wants to make everything new and right through Jesus.
Finally, we encounter a living God. In a city like Amsterdam, where there is such an emerging spirituality and questioning of deeper reality, the Christian story needs to be told again. It is the story of a God who is not only spiritual and powerful, but also personal and compassionate. It is the story of a God who desires to give you purpose and hope. It is in the church, where that story is told and retold again – through song, symbolism, scripture, and even through the everyday living of life – that you can find your place in the whole thing. In the midst of hearing the story and taking part in it, we encounter and interract with God.
I think Augustine got it right all those years ago: the church is a mother. Motherhood is a beautiful picture of self-sacrifice. In the same way the church doesn’t exist for itself, but for others. She draws us into family, teaches love and compassion, and points us to our ultimate purpose. That is why Vineyard Amsterdam exists. We hope to be one of many different wonderful expressions of church here in this amazing city.
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