Today in my church leadership class I heard the Bill Hybels quote that always makes my skin crawl, "The church is the hope of the world". I have always had serious issues with this quote. Then this morning I realized why. I hate this quote because the only people that seem to use it are the same people who subscribe to leadership theories like "speed of the leader speed of the flock" etc. The issue that I have is that when we say the church is the hope of the world, and the speed of the church is directly dependent upon me, then by extension what we are really saying is "I am the hope of the world". If there were ever a blasphemous statement I am sure this qualifies.
I prefer Augustine's quote, "The church is a whore, but she is still my mother". I offered this in class, and everyone just laughed. Then one of the students lectured me on how we are the hope of the world because Christ is not here so he has to work through us. blah blah blah....!!! I acknowledge that the primary means by which Christ continues to redeem the world is through his bride, but I am not ok with those who pretend his bride is a trophy wife and not the whore that she is. I would ask that my readers simply meditate upon Augustine's words. I have found that the profundity of his statement has only helped me in cultivating a deeper devotion to the church. I think that the reason my classmates laughed is because they are uncomfortable with the logical extension of Augustine's words, "I am a whore, but Christ loves me and remains committed to my well being". The church is my mother, in her I was given spiritual birth, in her I have been nurtured and cared for. I have seen her ugly side and I can't stop loving her because she is my mother. I know her reputation but true love loves the other including their brokenness.
We like power and glory and get off on being the hope of the world. But when we pretend that the church is somehow the hope of the world we are setting up our people for disaster. What are they supposed to do when the see through our facade and find that the church is the whore that she is, constantly straying from her groom and prostituting herself with the world? Sadly they often get disillusioned and end up leaving....God help us to be honest with ourselves and to appreciate the mystery that you love your church even though she is a whore.
One final thought. When we teach that the Church is the hope of the world we actually end up cheapening Christ's love for the church because it becomes based somehow on the church's (our) loveliness or usefulness in achieving his purposes. But when teach that the church is a whore we magnify Christ's love because it emphasizes the wonder that Christ would remain devoted to his bride in spite of her (our) whoring.
7 comments:
Great post...loved the "pretend that the Church is a trophy wife" line.
I too am uncomfortable with phrases like "the Church is the hope of the world!" or "the Bible is the hope of the world!" No!!! Christ is the hope of the world! The message of the Gospel is the hope of the world!
I can only imagine the frustration you felt in class today.
Nice blog babe! I take it they don't go in-depth with Hosea at DTS. This reminds me of a quote by the great Andre Nickatina-
"I hate to be a whore but the world's a pimp!"
From the song "Pisces"
I am with Whitney--I immediately thought of Hosea. There is nothing but PRIDE in saying the Church is the hope of the world. It is a trap to think that we are able to do anything at all apart from the indwelling Savior. I believe He laughs at such self-importance (if it doesn't make Him angry) because He knows what He redeemed us from and how quickly we return to our disgraceful state unless we cry out to Him for help every hour. If the Church has any beauty to commend her, that beauty is bestowed by Christ upon her. It is dangerous and simplistic to say that we are THE means by which Jesus is in the world today. We may be A means, but He is not limited to the bodies that make up the Church. He loves us and condescends to be among us, but the entire universe is at His command. He makes Himself known in everything He has created. He has made the Church unique and called her His bride, but she is at her finest and is most useful when she is on her knees worshipping her Lord in abject humility. The Church---as was the nation of Israel, and as are all of us---is a redeemed whore. Her virtue and purity are imputed to her by Christ. At her best the Church reflects His beauty and perfection.
Lolz and thanks for this post. Music to my ears. Oh, and just for kicks, my word verification for posting my comment was "monanica".
Well Spoken
To your Classmates - It was the Roman Catholic Church that proclaimed "there is no salvation outside the church" To which the reformers cried - do not add to Jesus Christ! Never let the institution become what we live for.
To the rest of us - sure the church is a whore. Its filled with people who are obscenely fake and others who criticize so much but have very little obedience to the Savior.
Nice. I think I'd stick with Augustine over Hybels on most days. Way to speak up, when I was in that class I just sat there and stewed. It's interesting that most like to say "the church is the hope of the world" but they are pretty uncomfortable with saying "it's my mother."
Ooops not Pisces but Cocaine Raps, ahh I hate when I don't get the song name right! Sorry!
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