Stranger in a Strange Land » Tony Campolo

Reflections on the Church

Jonathan D. Blundell — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:00:41 +0000

I came across a couple interesting posts recently relating to the Church.

Curtis Honeycutt shares a great open-letter to those who have been burned and hurt by the church.

After reading his post, it reminded of a line from Shane Claiborne’s book and found some great thoughts from St. Augustine of Hippo and Tony Campolo as well.

“The Church is a whore, but she’s my mother”

DK writes, St. Augustine of Hippo… must have been pretty badass in his day to use the word “church” and “whore” in the same sentence.

DK then shares Tony Campolo’s thoughts on the quote and issue as well ::

“It is certainly true that our congregations have, at times compromised the radical requirements of discipleship prescribed by Christ, and you may find yourself put off by the church because of its failure to be faithful to his teachings. But I would urge you to consider this fully, and to think about the words of St. Augustine: “The church is a whore, but she’s my mother.” That statement brilliantly conveys how I feel about church. It is easy for me, like so many of the young Evangelicals I know, to note the ways the church been unfaithful as the bride of Christ… Unquestionably, the church too often has socialized our young people into adopting culturally established values of success, rather than calling them into the kind of countercultural nonconformity that Scripture requires of Christ’s followers (Romans 12:1-2).

Why, then, do I encourage you to participate in organized religion and commit yourself to a specific local congregation? Because, as Augustine made clear, the church is still your mother. It is she who taught you about Jesus. I want you to remember that the Bible teaches that Christ loves the church and gave himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). That’s a preeminent reason why you dare not decide that you don’t need the church. Christ’s church is called his bride (11 Con 11:2), and his love for her makes him faithful to her even when she is not faithful to him.

Through the ages, God has used the church to keep alive and pass down the story of what Christ has done for us. It is the church’s witness that has kept the world aware that Christ is alive today, offering help and strength to those who trust in him. The story of Christ would have been lost during the Dark Ages if the church had not sustained it in monasteries where the Scriptures were laboriously hand-copied while barbarians were tearing down the rest of Western civilization. Church councils have protected Christianity from heresies by examining new theologies. Today, it is against two thousand years of church tradition that our modern-day interpretations of Scripture are tested. In short, it is the church that has preserved the Gospel and delivered it into our hands.”

What do you think? For those who have been burned by people in the church before do you think Curtis’ letter helps? For those who have left the church, does Tony’s letter compel you to return? For those who haven’t been hurt or burned by people in the church, what does all this say to you?

Reflections on the Church

Love the sinner…

Jonathan D. Blundell — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:38:47 +0000

How many of you can finish this statement:

“Love the sinner….”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tony Campolo says “wherever someone is hurting, there is Jesus.”

But then he also finishes the above statement. For those who say, “I love the sinner, but I hate his sin.” His response is that “that is just the opposite of what Jesus saysâ€¦. Jesus says, ‘love the sinner and hate your own sin; and after you get rid of the sin in your own life, then you can begin talking about the sin in your brother or sisterâ€™s life.’”

I continue to believe that the more we get to know people and know their stories and know their backgrounds and know their hurts — the more we realize how similar we are and loving them becomes that much easier.

Huge props to Theresa for sharing this video.

Love the sinner…