As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men

but chosen by God and precious to him— you also,

like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 (1 Peter 2:4-5)

Greetings from Amsterdam!  As I’m writing this letter, I’m looking out the window at the wind and rain which signal the advent of autumn in Amsterdam.  The kids have already been back in school for a couple of weeks now, and all the other regular rhythms of the city also seem to be kicking in again.  It’s been a great summer (especially with better weather than usual, for Holland), but we’re actually looking forward to the new season.  We’re hoping and praying for big things in the coming months; and we hope that you will pray with us, too.

The reality of our mission in Amsterdam has been visually reinforced for me, recently, through a personal photography project:  cataloguing dozens of Amsterdam’s grand old cathedrals, originally designed to invoke a sense of God's glory and awe, but now repurposed for other uses.  It’s really quite fascinating to see what has become of these large spaces that have been systematically vacated by the Church over the past hundred years (you can see some of the pictures for yourself here below).  I know that the list sounds crazy, but so far, I've snapped pictures of four exhibition halls, three conference centers, two community centers, two restaurants, two office complexes, two concert halls, one museum, one media production studio, one night-club, one rock-climbing facility, and even one haunted-house tourist trap!

When I started out, I thought to myself:  "Ah, no big deal.  It's an interesting photo project—but it's not the building that makes a church.  I shouldn't get worked up about some deeper spiritual meaning to the historical development of the city."  But I have to admit; as I went gone along I felt increasingly heavy-hearted.  The truth is that it’s sad to see so many of these "church carcasses" scattered around, piled up throughout the city.  It's reminded me of the massive cultural shift that has occurred (and is still occurring) in the West over the last 100 years or so.  It's very clear to see the declined (and still declining) influence of the Church within our society.  And it’s particularly sobering to see the horrific mortality rate of churches in Amsterdam.  This may be overly dramatic, but it can make our ministry here in the city center seem like some kind of Holocaust survivor, amidst all these colossal church carcasses.  I know, of course, that we still haven’t gotten to the “end of the story;” but still, a certain sense of sobriety is probably not a bad thing.

In contrast to the cold stone structures in Amsterdam, our family was recently privileged to experience “church” in the form of a weekend retreat in the village of Groet (just a bit north and west of Amsterdam).  It was just us and a couple dozen leaders from the home groups of Zolder50, spending three days and two nights together in a large group-house right at the edge of a nature preserve.  There were no church buildings anywhere in sight, and the weekend didn’t even feature many of the traditional expectations of “church,” such as singing worship songs or listening to a sermon.  Even so, I came away from the weekend with a profound sense of joy and thanksgiving for this spiritual family—this “church body”—which God has knit together here in the Netherlands.  Our weekend was spent problem-solving (we ran into a lot of transportation problems on the way there because of the largest wildfire that Holland has had in recent history, just a few kilometers from where we were staying), strategizing (about ministry plans for the upcoming fall), performing (a highlight of the weekend was a sort of talent-show that was organized for the Saturday evening of the weekend), story-telling, laughing, strolling, and eating meals together.  And as unspiritual as all of that may sound, it seemed like most of us ended up coming away from the weekend with fresh energy and enthusiasm for what God is doing these days—and for what He will be doing in the coming months of ministry… through His Church in Amsterdam.

In case you might be interested in hearing more stories and/or seeing more pictures about these contrasting experiences of “Church” in Amsterdam, you can find fuller accounts of these experiences at http://www.ericasp.com/blog.php/2009/08/25/church-carcasses  and/or http://www.ericasp.com/blog.php/2009/08/31/adventures-in-and-around-groet.  But for now, I just wanted to let you know that we deeply appreciate your partnership in this ministry.  Please keep praying for us, especially asking for God to build His Church in the city of Amsterdam.  The church (building) is dead; Long live the Church (people)!

Eric