Reflections on An Introduction to Ecclesiology

Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. An Introduction to Ecclesiology

Chapter 1:
At the center of Eastern Orthodox Ecclesiology is the Eucharist. My church’s traditions could learn from the reverence that Eastern Orthodox Churches have towards the Eucharist. Also, the Eastern Orthodox Churches view salvation as a gradual journey of sanctification and deification. My church’s tradition would benefit from not just viewing salvation through a lens of sin and guilt, but as something continually worked out in our entire lives. Similarly, members are equally honored in Eastern Orthodox Churches, as in my church.

Chapter 2:
Roman Catholic Ecclesiology is committed to Christian unity and appreciates other’s traditions for their transmission of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As part of a non-denominational church, often we tend to forget the value of other traditions and fail to realize elements that could be appropriated.

Chapter 3:
Luther perceived the church as the “communion of the saints.” According to Luther, the only crucial marks of the church are the Word and sacraments. My church is similar in that it does not maintain that sacraments are necessary for salvation. The entire people of God are seen as priests and therefore, the only difference between the members of the congregation and the ordained is the public character of the office. Likewise, my church tradition embraces the universal priesthood perspective and furthermore, perceives members as full-time ministers in any area of society they are part of.

Chapter 4:
Reformed Ecclesiology emphasized confession of faith by example of life and partaking of the sacraments. Within the church structure the minister and elder were separately defined. Calvin legalistically stressed discipline. He perceived the church as a visible community. However, Karl Barth supported congregational church government and saw that the entire church is gifted and called to participate in God’s mission.

Chapter 5:
Free Church Ecclesiology is marked by the concept of the believers’ church, in which each member voluntarily follows Christ. Church mission involves all members who are gifted and have access to God. Significantly Free Churches understand that mission in not a task; instead, it is the reason for all church vitality. Ordination is not perceived as a sacrament; instead, it is understood as the acknowledgment of a divine call that is already functioning in a believer’s life.

Chapter 6:
Pentecostal churches are designed to position the congregation to encounter God. The exercise of spiritual gifts is embraced and a focus is placed on experiencing God during worship. The church is both Charismatic and structured. Emphasis is placed upon the community gathered for mutual edification. Charismatics are more focused on community life than Pentecostals. Perhaps the value for community could be strengthened as Pentecostal churches glean from Charismatics.

Chapter 7:
The ecumenical movement promotes the unity of Christians and believers based on the unity of the Triune God and apostolic tradition. Unity is not to be misunderstood for uniformity. However, different traditions have varying qualifications necessary for unity.

Chapter 8:
According to John Zizioulas, churches consist of persons in communion. He also allows for unique personhood. The Eucharist is a focal point that makes the church and through it, communion is possible. The existence of a local church hinges on the Eucharist and the presence of a bishop. When a bishop is originally ordained, his position alters to a representation of the entire congregation. The laity are also ordained simultaneously when they are baptized.

Chapter 9:
Hans Küng focuses on the necessity for renewal of the church, because of the changing times and err the church can fall into. He was instrumental in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and developed the idea of the church as the people of God, in which every member belongs, based on the call of God and is incorporated through baptism and the Eucharist.

Chapter 10:
Pannenberg presents ecumenism as the ultimate goal of the church and therefore, the church as a sign of the unity of all people submitted to God. He argues that church leadership should be universal. He believes that the end goal of the church is for humanity to be reconciled and united in praise in God’s kingdom. Therefore, Pannenberg recognizes that the church is missionary. He perceives the church as the body of Christ and fellowship of believers. The perception of the church as essentially mission is vital for the life of churches today.

Chapter 11:
Moltmann understands the church as a missionary church, with dialectical hope and dialectical love. His doctrine is messianic and relational, anticipating the kingdom. He understands the church to have a dual nature of “under the cross” and a “festival of freedom and joy.” He supports the Free Church model and disagrees with the state church model of infant baptism. He perceives the church as a fellowship in freedom and equality.

Chapter 12:
Volf identifies the church as a place where two or three people are gathered, committed to God’s will and in Christ’s name, and therefore, where Christ is present. The ordained office is perceived as for the churches well-being, rather than a constitutive part of the church. However, Volf argues that the sacraments are essential for the church. The common confessions of faith link churches together. These confessions have been omitted from the liturgy in my tradition. We could benefit from incorporating them again!

Chapter 13:
McClendon presents the church as a narrative community. The entire church has the task of learning and studying doctrine. Again, this practice has been lost in my tradition. The teaching of sound doctrine needs to be restored in order to stabilize the faith of believers.

Chapter 14:
Newbigin testifies that the essential nature of the church is missionary. Hence, there is no church without mission. He reveals that mission is not just non-western areas. We have largely identified missionary endeavors with traveling to developing countries, meanwhile ignoring the missionary call which is part of our daily lives. The essential missionary nature of the church must be embraced again in my home church.

Chapter 15:
Faith Life could be grateful for the Non-church movement in Asia, in which Uchimura seeks to discover true ecclesia and reveals that although the church confronts the world, the church should not be isolated from the world. It is easy, in a passion for holiness, to retreat from the world, but Uchimura warns against the separatist mentality and churches edging towards the outskirts of culture and society.

Chapter 16:
The Roman Catholics describe social justice as “a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the gospel” (175). The refocus of the Catholic Church toward social justice, spearheaded in Latin America, could serve as an example for Faith Life to follow. The idea of social justice as a crucial part of the church is only just beginning to develop in Faith Life. Significant knowledge and practice could be gleaned from the Catholic forerunners and implemented.

Chapter 17:
Feminists perceive ministry in the church as an acknowledgment of the gifts that God has bestowed upon people. Therefore, they advocate that roles in ministry should be open for men and women. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, Faith Life is similar to the Feminist movement in that it supports the ministries performed by men and women.

Chapter 18:
Faith Life could be likened to the Pentecostal movement in Africa, in that it similarly proclaims “a holistic gospel of salvation that includes deliverance from all types of oppression such as sickness, sorcery, evil spirits and poverty,” according to Allan H. Anderson (201). The worship could be complimented by communal worship exemplified in the African Independent Churches, which is highly communal.

Chapter 19:
The Shepherding movement stresses personal pastoral care. It has appealed to many Christians and presents renewal ecclesiology as a “contemporary, controversial and challenging contextual case study” to other traditions. The movement emphasizes discipleship and monitors the growth of the disciples as they are exhorted by the shepherd. Submission is stressed, which has been criticized for leading to domination. My tradition promotes discipleship, but largely concerning the spiritual vitality of a person rather than holistic discipleship. Discipleship could progress to include “not just their spiritual well-being, but their full development emotionally, educationally, financially, vocationally, and socially” and still guard against control (206).

Chapter 20:
The church is linked to culture. However, Vincent J. Donovan argues for ecclesiology that is exempt from “cultural baggage” (211). The emerging planetary church is an inquisitive church. This questioning approach would be beneficial to members of my tradition. It would help prevent a spoon fed approach to ecclesiology and provoke the discovery and search for truth.

Chapter 21:
Barry A. Harvey exhorts the church to once again become a distinct people who live differently in the midst of the world, not just for their own sake, but so that the world may be saved. He presents the paradigm of the church as another city. Harvey also challenges the church to “holy madness,” in which they act and think differently (229).

Class Reflection Wednesday Nov 25th

As I listened to professor Bolger teach about the Reformed Church, I became aware of how far my tradition has drifted from valuing the Word of God. The Scriptures are almost merely utilized solely as supportive tool to validate people's personal opinion. Many believers in my home church may not even open the Bible and read it for several weeks, if not months. The respect and orientation around the word that was prevelant in the Reformed church ought to be welcomed back to the body of Christ again. (I had to leave the class early to catch a plane)

Class Reflection Monday Nov 23rd

During our latest class, Professor Bolger began to discuss the issues surrounding a church having paid staff. He explained that when a person is paid, it can encourage other people become passive, because they presume what should be an ordinary part of everyday life for a believer is the duty of the person who is paid. This discourages the priesthood of all believers. It is essential for those who are paid staff, to be recognized as equippers, rather than the one who ministers. As a paid “minister” I am provoked to deliberately encourage people to recognize what I do as an equipping role, rather than a substitutive role.

Class Reflection Wednesday Nov 18th

I was intrigued as I learned about the new monastic movement and the new paradigm of community that Shane Claiborne is exemplifying. I too began to question, in a deeper way, if the American dream is the dream of God! When I heard Shane not only say, but also testify of how he has "given the best things in life away," I began to reexamine what I consider "the best things in life," and wonder if I'd be willing to give them. Shane Claiborne seems to be an extreme example of communal living; however, I struggled to find ways that it was not biblical. My understanding of community was left challenged.

Class Reflections Monday November 16th

During today's class we learned about how Catholicism spread across the globe. Catholicism has largely impacted South America. It now boasts that approximately fifty percent of the people within those nations are Catholic, and some of the Latino nations are nearly one hundred percent Catholic! I was completely unaware of this. During High School, I went to a Catholic school and was amazed by the sincerity of their faith. I would have appreciated the opportunity to learn about the specific distinctions of the Catholic faith, as well as how it spread across the world, so that I could appropriate the good elements of their faith in my own walk with the Lord. On the other hand, I understand that everything cannot be covered in the time we have.

Reflections on emerging Churches

Gibbs, Eddie and Ryan K. Bolger. Emerging Churches. Baker Books, 2005.

Chapter 1:
Gibbs and Bolger exemplify that there is a desperate need for “culturally appropriate church practices” (15). The culture in the U.K and U.S. has abandoned its spiritual heritage and there is a new challenge to embody the gospel incarnationally amidst post-Christendom and post-modernity.Through reading this chapter I became aware of ways that my home church in England is culturally irrelevant. For example, in general we still expect people to come to the church in order to receive Christ, even though “postmodern generations have simply chosen to ignore organized church as irrelevant to their spiritual quest”(21).
Chapter 2:
Emerging churches are defined as “communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures” (44). Practices that are culturally outdated are purged. Gibbs and Bolger present a challenge to decipher elements of ecclesiology that are culturally viable, as well as a challenge to “mine the riches of many traditions” (39). The need to analyze the cultural relevance of the church is apparent.
Chapter 3:
It is easy to be distracted and preoccupied with the form of the church (49). However, emerging churches endeavor simply to be signs of the kingdom. They have returned to Jesus’ example and hence, retrieved the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel is no longer constrained to salvation alone, but serves to provoke all to participate with God in the fullness of His mission (64).
Chapter 4:
Emerging churches promote sacralization in which every area of life is appreciated as sacred (66). This opposes the sacred secular division prevalent in modernity and in turn, the church satisfies the desire for holistic spirituality, which is prevalent in the postmodern culture. With the extreme desire for holiness, I have found that my tradition almost advocates for the sacred and secular division. This is corrected by emerging churches who exemplify that it is possible for all areas of life to be appreciated and become holy, rather than simply rejected.
Chapter 5:
Unlike my home church, emerging churches understand church as people, or a community, rather than meetings and fellowships in addition to the weekly services. Emerging churches base the principles of the community life from the life of Christ and hence, the practices of the kingdom that He exemplified.
Chapter 6:
Hospitality is a central principle in emerging churches. Emerging churches are purposefully inclusive and embrace the outsider, extending the boundaries of the faith. They are open and receptive to people of other faiths, and “even seek to be evangelized by them” (134). “They do not believe in evangelistic strategies, other than the pursuit to be like Jesus in his interactions with others” (134).
Chapter 7:
Hospitality in emerging churches also includes serving the outsider, without any hidden motive, or expecting anything in return. Through serving others, relationships naturally become opportunities to point to Christ. Therefore, evangelism is through embodying Christ and demonstrating His love, rather than proclaiming the gospel. This is completely different to the tradition I am a part of in which proclamation of the gospel is emphasized and relationships are treated as a means to convert people.
Chapter 8:
Consumerism in our culture has promoted passivity. In contrast, emerging churches emphasize participation of the entire congregation. Worship is a corporate experience in which everyone is able to act as a producer. This reveals how worship can be unintentionally imposed on people, if only one person is leading, and provides an alternative expression of worship to the traditional mode with which I am acquainted.
Chapter 9:
Emerging churches have recognized that creative acts of worship, by the whole congregation, are necessary in order for gifts to flourish, for “worship to remain indigenous,” and for the priesthood of all believers to be fully practiced (179). The fact that people are made in the image of God and therefore, are creative, is valued in emerging churches (179). They understand that creative acts are part of redemption, in which things are made holy.
Chapter 10:
Emerging churches have developed a different paradigm for leadership. The leadership avoids any form of control and instead, is expressed through servant-hood and following the consensus (214). Room is created for everybody’s voice to be heard. This serves as a “prophetic witness” because of the sharp contrast with the “competitive and polarized” leadership that is common in society (214).
Chapter 11:
Corporate and personal spirituality is stressed in emerging churches as well as meeting the search for spirituality that is apparent in culture. Ancient liturgies are embraced to enable the church to be “rooted during a time of profound cultural upheaval” (226). I come from a church which is almost completely void of liturgies, yet desires to be spiritual; perhaps they could adapt the emerging churches’ appreciation of the liturgy too.

Class Reflections Wednesday Nov 11th

As I listened to Bishop Grayham Cray, my heart initially sank as I heard the dim statistics about the marginal number of believers in England. However, as I listened longer, I became encouraged that people are responding and planting highly diverse and culturally relevant expressions of churches, causing people to be reached with the gospel. I am inspired to think outside of the box and reconsider what church looks like in postmodernity and postchrisendom.

Class Reflection Monday Nov 9th

Coming from England, I was intrigued by the "Fresh Expressions in the Church of England." It was interesting to see how the church had responded to the cultural shifts and, therefore, begun to form churches along networks, rather than parishes. The church I attend in England revolves around the Sunday morning service, but I appreciate the new concept of building the church along networks instead.

Class Reflection Wednesday Nov 4th

I was stunned by the life of Justo Cortez, who endeavored to spread the gospel and whose heart seemed soft and quick to repent. Professor Bolger mentioned how Cortez was known for having tears of repentance in his eyes. Yet, he was also a murderer and oblivious to how his life contradicted the gospel. I left the class wondering what things I am unaware of in my life that cause people pain, even though I'm striving to follow the Lord.

Class Reflection Monday Nov 2nd

I had no idea that there had been the role of a pope existing in the early church! However, it was not until the fith or six century that the function of the pope began to be strengthened. As people related to the pope according to their understanding of his authority, the influence of the pope grew, until he emerged as a figure of great power. I was stunned by the concept that the church itself denied the priesthood of all believers and replaced it with heirarchical ideology.

Reflections on God's Missionary People

Van Engen, Charles E. God’s Missionary People. Baker. 1991.

Chapter 1:
My home church often separates mission and the church. Mission is often perceived as conflicting with the growth of the church, rather than the “generative power” that triggers the future maturity of the church, as Van Engen describes (1991, 26-27). Without mission, the life of the church is suffocated and ceases. “The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning” (1991, 27).

Chapter 2:
Faith Life cannot define its nature “apart from its mission” (Van Engen 1991, 38). There is need for “a new missiological paradigm,” in which the missionary church is appreciated as an “‘emerging reality” thrust forward by mission (1991, 41).

Chapter 3:
Mission cultivates the unity, or oneness, of the church (49). Through growing in love to one another, holiness is also produced (54). As the church participates in Christ’s mission to the world, the universal and catholic body is strengthened. Therefore, the church fulfills its “missional expression” as the “‘one, holy, and catholic’” church that Paul spoke of in Ephesians (47).

Chapter 4:
My tradition aligns with the concept Van Engen introduces, that “there must be a movement and development from our conception of what the Church is toward our commitment to what the Church must become” (1991, 65). Continually, I have heard sermons about what the Church is not, and the dire need for holiness and faith. However, the vital need for missions, in order for the church to emerge, is overlooked.

Chapter 5:
Van Engen recognizes that the expression of the church is continually morphing. Some of the current distinctions that testify of the presence of the church are yet to be a part of my church tradition. “Identification with the oppressed” is fulfilled by a minority of the community, even though it is “related to the essential nature of the church” (1991, 78).

Chapter 6:
The nature of the church is not according to our opinion or preferences, rather it is “derived authentically only from the will of Jesus Christ” (1991, 87). It is through “koinonia, kerygma, diakonia, and martyria,” that the church arises into its true calling (1991, 89). It is easy to be a member of a church and still feel isolated. There needs to be a greater recognition of the necessity for fellowship between disciples, for it is an integral part of the church and without this, “koinonitis” develops (1991, 92).

Chapter 7:
The church serves as an “anticipatory sign of the kingdom” (1991, 110). As the church moves outward to unbelievers, people recognize the kingship of Christ and the sphere of Christ’s rule is furthered (1991, 112). The relationship between “Church and the kingdom” unveils the “missionary relationship of the church to the world” (1991, 114).

Chapter 8:
The church’s mandate is to continue Christ’s earthly ministry. Therefore, the church has a prophetic, priestly and kingly role, and cannot fulfill its ultimate calling without realizing and assuming these functions (1991, 24).

Chapter 9:
My tradition needs to be more intentional in developing missional goals and therefore, turn “confession” into “action” (1991, 133-134). The missional nature of the church needs to be “translated into priorities which lead to intentional mission goals” (1991, 143). A failure to do so will leave the nature of the church constrained theoretically and unfulfilled.

Chapter 10:
There is an intrinsic relationship between the equipping of the members of the church to the emergence of the congregation. This shows the vital need for everyone in Christ to be valued and welcomed in their distinct gifting. The church is not a democracy, dictatorship, or club. Instead, it is the mobilization of the missionary purpose of all people.

Chapter 11:
Missionary leaders need to be recognized because they serve as “catalysts for mobilizing the people of God in mission in the world” (1991, 165). Often leaders are understood as a superior people, but great leaders are those who equip others (1991, 176).

Chapter 12:
Administration should not be disregarded and labeled unspiritual. Van Engen advocates for the spirituality of administration and its function to propel people into ministry and facilitate the emergence of the church.

Class Reflections Wednesday Oct 28th

Towards the end of today's lesson, people began to reason if pagan cultural practices should be redirected to glorify God, or be completely removed. I do not see how one can justify eliminating practices that are essentially a part of who people are. Neither can I see how one can justify mixing the holy with the profane. I think the only answer is to look at the practices in light of Jesus' sacrifice and therefore, welcome conviction in areas that do not honor Him and also appreciate the glory that He receives from every nation, tribe, and tongue through their unique cultural expressions.