새벽기도 (예배순서)

1) 찬양 (찬송가)
2) 사도신경
3) 성경봉독
4) 말씀
5) 기도
6) 주기도문
7) 개인기도

This is a good, minimal order of Korean Early Morning Worship at our church.

Church Visitation: El Coyote, San Luis Potosí - Mexico

pictured: J. K. Lee (이 정권) and Juan Manuel Rángel in Texas (Brownsville)

view of El Coyote

fenced soccer field for children

burning of effigies and icons

community service: short-term missionaries from the U.S.

distribution of gifts for children

construction

road repair

Pastor Juan Manuel treating a man with severe infection

VBS 2009

Service interpreted by one of our STM team members

worship often led solo

surrounding village church: Llano del Carmen

evening revival worship

surrounding village church: Chancaquero

spartan worship setting

evening revival worship

view of from the MIM compound

children of Coyote


contrast view of an ornate cathedral (Carmen) in the city of San Luis Potosí

For more photo resources, go HERE

The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why

Phyllis Tickle, tackles the question of “Great Emergence,” which is to describe it in terms of a phenomenological, theory of great periodic change which finds its way to the liminality of human (and Christian) experience cyclically, and at the cusp of which we are, presently.

In the first chapter Tickle takes us down the history of the early church, as early as 70AD to bring to our attention the “Great schism” through the “Great reformation” as turning points in the history of Christianity with mention of notable figures such as Gregory “The Great” and the emergence of the monastic movement during the sixth century as significant as having saved civilization (25). She quotes Karl Jasper, a 1948 German scholar who has termed the near millennial waves of transition as “axial age.”

In an illustration, Tickle delves into the “cable of meaning,” this is to incorporate say, the structural anatomy of a community’s woven strands of spirituality, corporeality (embodiment), morality, all cased into the meta-narrative of the community. Whether one terms it “common imagination” or “collective unconscious,” the phenomenon of the sharing of a common story and therefore meaning, is noted, but with a current necessity to mend the frayed ends of this cable of meaning.

And there is no finger pointing when it comes to how this “Great Emergence” came to be: Tickle invites us to examine the Great Reformation as a prime example. With its subtitle: “A Prequel to Emergence,” Tickle shows that it was not in the 1500’s but already after 1378, when the point of no return had been crossed. Inter-papal struggles and tumult begat the Great Reformation, which is often seen as the “Second Great Schism.” By 1517 Scripture was given its place of authority, which had “accelerated the drive toward rationalism and from there to Enlightenment…” (46) Disadvantages and ironic turns of desired effects. While tension rose in the midst of Islam territories and “intercultural, interreligious clashes of the late 14^th and 15^th centuries” (50) the historical milieu was set up to anticipate a reformation of some type. As Protestantism rose, there had been the growth of the middle class, and the revolutionary increase in common literacy through the Gutenberg printing mechanism, church authority would in time be reconsidered, the Catholic church would awaken herself, into a “counter-reformation,” with ensuing missionary elites such as the Society of Jesus. The century would hold its departure with a legitimate air, and spirit of conquest and hegemony.

In the intellectual arena, Darwin was reeking havoc with the theory of evolution, a relatively silent figure, Michael Faraday was revolutionizing the way we think about electromagnetism. Through his work we are able to find practical, technological applications of his findings. Intellectuals such as Freud, Jung, and Joseph Campbell are credited in gradual increase of the “disestablishment of what is called ‘the Christian doctrine of particularity’ and ‘Christian exclusivity.’ To compound the non-problem, the advent of radio and television took on a wholly different way in which to exchange information.

Einstein, Heisenberg’s “Uncertainty Principle,” the quest for the historical Jesus, the influence of Karl Marx and his theories of dialectical materialism instilled into the culture skepticism and doubt, which according to Tickle, took to the fraying of the aforementioned “cable of meaning,”

In a stroke of analytically prophetic statements, Tickle offers four quadrants of the spiritual life during the Great Emergence, as typified by: Liturgicals; Social justice Christians; Renewalists; and Conservatives. There is a central arena where these four converge, which would be the area of desirable connection and communication, and with the surrounding currents of the Traditionalists, Retraditionalists, Progressives, and “Hyphenateds.”

Overall, the highly theoretical weaving of the Western meta-narrative is aptly woven with examples, significant players and advents in technology, to build a case that all signs from the past and present are pointing towards just that, another cycle of an emergence, or “Great Emergence” as Tickle calls, it, of change in the religious (Christian), social and intellectual climate at global proportions.

Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity

In the first chapter of this book, Lamin Sanneh gives us a broad, diachronic survey of Christianity from the point of origin of Western imperial undertakings. Prior to this point in history, Christianity saw persecution and was placed under "penal surveillance." (17) At this time Christianity during its inception, while maintaining critical distinction, took on much of its contiguous cultural elements: namely, Hellenism. The major point of this chapter, is that Christianity had been a force of minority that came to its inception not through some legal forces, but rather instead of legal obstacles.

The second chapter examines Christianity from an Islamic perspective. While both adhere to a strictly ascetic mode of life, namely the call to maintain a certain purity in a perishing generation, in its proliferation Christianity encountered a historical stalemate against the Islamic faith. Notwithstanding the continuously, mutually conflictive stances there had been minor exceptions to this mutual barricade: "Al- Kindí spoke uncompromisingly about how anyone who sought truth that there is nothing of higher value than truth itself. That sentiment had parallels in Christian thought, and it was not surprising that, to the shock of fellow Muslims, al-Kandí wrote Apology for Christianity." (72-73)

The third chapter illuminates the colonial aspects of the expansion of Christianity, and the often, related enterprise of the transatlantic slave trade, exploitative structures such as fazendas, and other critical inconsistencies such as: "unholy greed for worldly wealth and the sins of the flesh..." (91) made vocal by Peruvian descendant of an Inca chief. Scores of inconsistencies are recorded within the pretext of Christendom, practices that far contradict the gospel message its proponents wielded, throughout South America during the 1500s and, West Africa during the 1800s.

The fourth chapter delves into the unfortunate cooperation marked throughout the history of Africa for one, between colonialist interests and mission. Furthermore, the Western imperialist cultural dominance was prevalent with its marks still lingering today: "In a relatively short space of time, missionaries completely subdued Creek Town and the adjoining country. Missionary ladies took the local girls and fitted them in Victorian clothes, thus imposing through its women the constraints and conceits their Western culture deemed appropriate to the gospel." (133) More recently, Albert Schweitzer who is celebrated in the West as an icon of humility and a "post-Enlightenment wonder," has a sharply contrasting evaluation from the African evaluation of "towering aloofness" (140) while, David Livingstone is noted as a distinguished for his efforts of cultural reciprocity: "...Livingstone adopted the cause of the Xhosa as his own. He said that, while England sympathized with the struggles for freedom that she so well enjoyed, she had inconsistently been trying to crush the Xhosa whose struggle for freedom was every bit as important as that of the Magyars of Hungary." (141-142)

The fifth chapter begins with the eighteenth-century Pietist movement in Europe, "taking a confessional stance against worldliness in the church, demanding repossession of the religion's moral autonomy against the compromisers (colonial and other interests that run contrary to the "purity" of faith, and the church). The revival triggered a movement of translation into the vernacular languages by which a sustainable ecclesiology was made evident without foreign mission control. This promised the possibility, of a non-Western interference in the development of Christianity in their indigenous setting: "...Westermann advanced reasons why vernacular translation was essential to the whole psychology of recasting Christianity in the idiom and psyche of an indigenous culture, translation was empowerment." (178) Sanneh concludes with a note on how we are on the "Post-Western Fault Line," as indicated as emergent churches in their current form in Africa, and also in China.

Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration, And the Transformation of the West

Doctor Jehu Hanciles contends that “despite entrenched notions of Western provenance and dominance within the globalization discourse, non-Western initiatives and movements are among the most powerful forces shaping the contemporary world order.” (37) This discourse begins with correctives emerging from revisionist examination of history and the idea of globalization as not a new concept, but an ongoing interpretation of change as defined through the dominant, western perspective.

This western perspective for the most part, has suffered according to Hanciles a progressive (or perhaps “terminal”) secularization which through promulgation of cultural ideology (academia) and market economy; (technology) has maintained its far-reaching influence and collective dominance.

At one end of the spectrum this perspective finds an analysis of cultural homogenization that would declare “End of History” (Fukuyama), while in reality there is another side to the coin, which is entrenched in between two dialectical poles of: Movement towards homogeneity in tension with resistance. In essence culture matters, and homogenization is in fact selective and not wholesale.

Much of the rhetoric on globalization then, is found to be in a state of partisan perspectives and not without some confusion, as in the tendency is to polarize the “western” and the “non-western.” For example, finding English as the lingua franca of the “global civilization” and considering what is in fact Americanization of the world, globalization. Things are always more complex than at the surface, as Hanciles endorses the view of Samuel Huntington for example, that “the post-Cold War world is a multipolar, multicivilizational world. A world in which the most important distinctions among peoples are not ideological, political, or economic but cultural;” (75)

Christendom is superimposed to this general tendency to identify the movement of western dominant perspective of “globalization” and defined as a post-Constantinian mandate of imperialism, as defining Christianity as primarily a “territorial religion.” Hanciles takes us through a critical tour through history, of the instrumentality of religion at the forefront of conquest and expansion: “mission by the sword” in cases of Charlemagne (c. 747-814), the infusion of nationalism into the mission enterprise by the time of Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), and the ensuing policies upheld by the infamous padroado of Iberian colonial interests. This pattern persisted through the Protestant centuries as: “valid missionary engagement required contiguity with, or access to, territory deemed non-Christian.” (As Roman Catholics had already been in contact with these centuries earlier)

Out of the mire of other salient failures that marks the advancement of the fabled “Christendom,” a turning-point emerges during the twentieth century, as a shift of presumed “center” (of spiritual vitality) is anticipated in the future, to be comprised of these “non-Western world”: and an admission “we must not press upon other races undesirable and unessential features of our Western Church life.” (127) And tying it back to the importance of culture, African Christianity is seen as a tour de force, a phenomenon in the twentieth century. With remarkable growth undertaken during enormous adversities, taking shape primarily of internal, African initiatives, long after colonialism or any Western missionary enterprise, in continuity with primal African religions, retaining indigenous values and world-views, that is marginalized but also seeing some global spread through globalization.

The strongest of Hanciles’ argument emerges out of a hermeneutic that appropriates the Christian religion as essentially, migratory. In the second part of his book is included, powerful account of convincing data in trends of immigration, which beckons a reinterpretation of the phenomenon, through the biblical perspective as well as to read the text with this aspect of relocation in mind. For instance, whereas previously the trend has been a migration pattern of North to South (latitudinally) a reversal is (and has been) in order- from South to North (in a diachronic, continental scale) as evidenced through a fairly recent and sharp increase in patterns of African immigration to its northern, European nations, as well as the migration of peoples from Central and South America to their North American neighbors.

Migration as a phenomenon, was reinforcement of the cause and effect circle of foreign mission during the three phases of Western expansion, namely: 1500-1800 European expansion and the Atlantic Slave Trade; 1800-1960 high imperialism and industrial growth; and global migrations beginning from the 1960s. In conclusion, the current understanding of what is “center” in global culture must be reconsidered, especially factoring the vast and complexities of migration as well as, factoring the elements of African Christianity in its remarkable growth, into the equation. What is anticipated, in final analysis, is of a destabilization of Christianity as European Christendom but to reaching far beyond, into an era where such dominance is naturally palliated by the contributions of Christian expressions from diverse cultures.

Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in Postmodern Cultures

Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger holds a logical thesis, which addresses the fact that the culture that traditional churches have been addressing no longer exists. This is backed by statistical estimates of minuscule church attendance in Europe, especially in the UK, and the rapidly declining patterns of church attendance here in the United States. As an introduction to this chapter the authors pose the incarnation of Jesus as the prime example as to the imperative of engagement and understanding of culture- indicating the modernity and Christendom of its era to be on a rapid decline, approaching its conclusion. Technology and climate of spiritual plurality, the promulgation of information and ideas have undergone dramatic, rapid shift to which a phenomenon of emerging churches is exegeted as necessary response which maintains relevance and shifts gears into a more missional mode- the church going to the places that are over-run, for example, by a club culture in the UK. The Baby boomer generation is conclusively identified as the last that is happy with the modern churches.

The second chapter delves into the other half of the thesis of this book, that emergent churches are not "passing fad representing an avant-guard style of worship," but rather "missional communities arising from within postmodern culture and consisting of followers of Jesus who are seeking to be faithful in their place and time." (28) In the vast array of terminology that is being circulated around the term "emergent churches," such as post-evangelicalism, the definition may be understood in a reductive sense, to be no more than "a way of expressing that we need new forms of church that relate to the emerging culture." (Jonny Baker- Grace, London 41) But to this, is also a list of descriptive characteristics: "...the emerging church is a quest for a more integrated and whole life of faith. There is a bit of theological questioning going on, focusing more on kingdom theology, the inner life, friendship/community, justice, earth keeping, inclusivity, and inspirational leadership. In addition, the arts are in a renaissance, as are the classical spiritual disciplines. Overall, it is a quest for a holistic spirituality." (Scandrette, 42) In short, communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures. Nine practices are identified: 1) identify with the life of Jesus, 2) transform the secular realm, and 3) live highly communal lives- and as result 4) welcome strangers, 5) serve with generosity, 6) participate as producers, 7) create as created beings, 8) lead as a body, and 9) take part in spiritual practices.

It is a good place to begin, with Jesus. If the rhetoric is to be filled with the notion of discipleship, to identify just who we are becoming disciples of seems appropriate. In this section the centrifugal "going out" with the missio Dei is emphasized as the point to relate when considering Jesus Christ and his life, his teachings, his gospel and the message of the kingdom of God. In this the gospel is more strongly tied to how we live, rather than furnish a person with an insurance policy for when we die.

A good measure of this is coming about in the deconstruction of the sacred/secular divide. For the first time, the possibility of a world without God (secularism) was at least a notion that was filled with Cartesian mechanics and science occupying that previous space. The emerging churches redefine the limits of what can be sanctified, in an organic, nonlinear, holistic approach to theology in what is redeemable. In short, while previously the "either or" was the dividing line, now the "both and" situation applies to the dimensions of transcendence and immanence of God; textual culture and the visual culture; incarnation and worship in both the local and wider culture, and body (soma) and mind. But in the final analysis, "Emergent churches face a formidable task as they endeavor to distinguish between parts of church life that are rooted in the modern culture, to be discarded, and the parts that are gospel and need to be maintained." (88)

A feature of the emergent church movement is that of decentralization of worship, and deconstruction of modern conception of ecclesiology. Church is not a place but people, and this is fostered through a wide ranging network of apostolic communities. A group of less that 40 tops, with a median range of about fifteen, dedicated to each other through the long-term, defines the propensity for the emergent church to consider small group. The idea of "two or more" gathered in Jesus' name is taken in at face value, where the aim is to make sacred, any gathering what would be spontaneous worship. The setting is not of importance but rather why a people are gathered: mutual accountability, movement for mission, aiming for a more invasive, "liquidity" of the church into every aspect of society is at the heart of any intentional communities that emerge as church.

One of the major critiques of the modern church is that of its exclusive nature, where conformity appears to be its ensuing central feature. Welcoming the stranger, to practice inclusion, "to integrate worship with welcome" is at the heart of the missional characteristic of the emergent church. Whereas this may have been a peripheral agenda for the church, the missional church dedicates itself to make it central (as led by the Holy Spirit). The welcome space becomes rather, a safe place in an environment of tolerance and mutual understanding, dialogue, discussions. The outreach aspect does not have to be programmatic, the emergent church by its own nature is already entrenched in a transparent humility that would allow those with different beliefs to become conversant with the central convictions of the kingdom, and teachings of Jesus Christ in continuous praxis. Apologetics, rather than a verbal defense of faith, becomes rather, an embodied practice of faith. Effectively, faith moves from a privatized compartment into the public.

Perhaps the most penetrating of issues that the emergent churches confront, is that of the commercial nature of church practices. Religious consumerism with expectations of participation in the form of funding, is addressed as a major violation of the "gift" aspect of the kingdom. The same mistake of humanistic liberalism is countered by way of generously giving to the more fundamental soul necessities of the person, which carry a longer-range commitment in both practicing hospitality, and giving sacrificially. Some of the more radical initiatives in sharing the good news is to become the people of good news, to not focus on the sin-focused presentations of the message which in many presenters is a lack of credibility and consistency. Movements from a spiritualized (dualistic) gospel, towards an embodied (holistic) gospel; from proclaiming a message to demonstrating personal concern; from tithing for the church, towards tithing by the church; in sum, the idea is to be free from institutional costs in order to be able to channel expenditures for necessities and services, with generosity.

Another of the criticisms of the modern church, as it relates to its consumerist tendencies is that for one, it is incongruous to the participatory nature as presented in the New Testament. This may aptly fit the enduring indictments that church has been an agent that suppresses innovation and stifles creativity. In Yorba Linda for example, (Christ Community of Faith) services are structured in a way that if those present were discouraged to engage in detached observation- in effect, that the benefit of the service was through participation and not passive consumption. As producers of the worship service, there is a sense of commitment and responsibility imbued in each participants, conducive to the incarnational approach that the emergent churches are moving towards. In this is also the deep personalization of worship, which may be done out in the world through a variety of accessories that are important to the individual. It may be any modality of the media as graphic design, music, and other arts- to just "be your self before God and encourage others to do the same." The desired effects are, flexibility, interactivity, contribution of individual story (testimony) but not without challenges and false starts. Nevertheless, the aim is to make the worshipers producers, not consumers.

This would lead then, for us to explore what it means to be made in the imago Dei, to be created as creators. "The urge to be creative is not ego driven but rather arises out of a theology of personhood and community identity": The movement away from a certain "McDonaldization of the Church," and its model of efficiency as the highest virtue. To validate creativity of the individual is an affirmation of creativity as worship, to have acts of creativity become an offering to the creator. This is not to disregard tradition, but to encourage its continuous reinterpretation. What maybe unexpected, is that the priority is set on authenticity and not relevancy. In the final analysis, this advocacy for creativity does in fact increase the dynamic range of what could be considered worship, with both intensity and punctuations of humor, sustainability, rituals, public venues, contextualization, adaptation, popular culture and giftedness.

In conclusion, there is a fair amount of revision regarding what the church has been through modernity, and what the biblical church looks like. The emerging church scene certainly purports to reduce the gap. There are many favorable points for the case of the emergent church, while there are critics that are wary on points regarding the maintenance of orthodoxy, the decidedly down-played emphasis on sin, and personal as well as corporate holiness.

Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement

Miller and Yamamori travel throughout the world to compile the current volume offering a portrait of Pentecostalism, a movement of global proportion and of the highest growth rate throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Tracing its roots back to the Pentecost in the second chapter of Acts in the Bible, the modern day phenomena of its re-emergence is attributed to: Charles F. Parham from Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas on January 1, 1901; William J. Seymour in Los Angeles in 1906. Current estimate by World Encyclopedia of Christianity assigns approximately twenty-five percent to fit the description of the Pentecostal.

The diverse expressions in the wide spectrum of Pentecostalism defy the associated traditional stereotypes such as: 1) Ecstatic "slayings in the spirit," required glossolalia or ostentatious, sensationalistic displays of healing; 2) The exclusive background of its adherents as being of uneducated, marginalized, lower socio-economic status; and with 3) such highly spiritualized theology of expected, imminent parousia that hyper-focuses on the other-worldly without regard for the concerns in concrete affairs in the domestic or social realms. These characteristic remain to a certain degree, but Pentecostalism can bee seen as a movement that is highly adaptive to the rapidly changing and widely diverse milieu of its influence. Its growth is attributed to its counteractive effect to anomie and resultant degradation of culture, society, family, and the individual. Secondly, worship which takes its shape both in the fervent expressions of love towards God both musically and otherwise; the practice of love of neighbors as well as the aspects of miraculous healings that are of high importance. The host cultures of the movement that espouses an animistic worldview see a seamless correspondence that is not interrupted by the post-enlightenment disregard for the supernatural. Pentecostalism stands as a forceful opposition or welcome mediation against a static, mechanical, modern worlview and a fragmented, isolated postmodern world view in an organic extension of "familial" body of believers under a developed, praxiological pneumatology- a specialized engagement with the Holy Spirit.

One of the main features of Pentecostalism is that of a marked progressivism. While holiness stands at the center of what is to be taught and guarded, social activism and development of lower economic regions stand as equally important aspects of outreach and a holistic ministry. An eight-fold aspects of these are: 1) Mercy Ministries, 2) Emergency services, 3) Education, 4) Counseling services, 5) Medical assistance, 6) economic development, 7) the arts, 8) policy change. (42-43) These appear as assistance rather than development at an initial glance, but the objective is not temporary solutions rather, a long range development of a community for it to become self-sustaining. Many of the Petecostal ministstries, due to faith convictions outperform many of the nongovernmental organizations in meeting problems such as prostitution in Thailand, which called for not to merely purchase the freedom for the girls which only fueled the trade, aggravating the problem; but to take radical measures such as unionization of sex-workers to give them more power over their circumstances as before. The church in so many parts of the world such as Nairobi, Kenya, Calcutta, has a direct effect on social welfare, so much so that they work in partnership with the NGOs and the government. "Religious ideas never stand alone; they are always influenced by their social location, including the character of the organization that is promulgating them."(53) In praxis, pentecostalism moves with the assumption that the spritual dimension of life is not divorced from the necessities of the physical dimension; which fosters a ministry that would be characteristically described as holistic.

Another remarkable strength of the Pentacostalist movement is its attractiveness to the youth and the manifold ways by which their needs are met. Being that Pentacostals are already engaged in social welfare, the necessities of the children and youth are at the forefront of their programs. This is especially the case in the impoverished areas, Pentecostals with a variety of very creative programs target orphans and at-risk children with survival distress such as AIDS. In various parts of Africa, such as Uganda and Kenya, the shape of childrens ministries are more explicitly committed and long-term, such as make-shift households with both a mother figure that nurtures them, as well as a father figure who mentors the children and the youth. Same is the case for the street children in urban India, where the Christian population is a miniscule minority (3 percent comprised of Catholics and Protestants). In the case of Calcutta, the two-fold focus in the social ministry for the young (Assemblies of God) is heavily invested in education and health services. Christian values as espoused by ministry praxis, is recognized by the young people as valuable. In Caracas, Venezuela for instance, the young people express relief and comfort in the safety of the structure that Sister Marlena provided for them; youth from environments that are otherwise plagued with drugs, alcoholism, sexual abuse, witchcraft among many other disorderly social elements. In the case of the youth community led by Sister Marlena, she provides for the youth in contact with her 1) a maternal figure that imparts discipline; 2) a small worshipping community that functions like an extended family; 3) an encounter with Jesus and the Holy Spirit; 4) channeling of youthful vitality into worship; 5) upward social mobility; 6) testmony of Sister Marlena herself.

The fourth chapter of this book, which outlines an impressive catalog of social transformation is indicative of the sustained social relevance of Pentecostal spirituality. To mention a few, St. Stephens Society, a network of treatment houses for heroin addicts incorporates worship as a central part of its rehabilitation program. Unconditional love is offered as a theoretical explanation on why it sees successes, such as a marked absence of violent withdrawals. The psychological pain that had led them to use the drug in the first place, is countered with God's love as the powerful antidote. In similar ways, the manifold ministries of the Pentecostal movement targets the clinical population in mental health and prisons, AIDS orphans, and small church-operated clinics that acknowledge the healing hands of God which arrive both supernaturally, as well as through medical therapies. Prostitution is also addressed, where rescue missions to women who have been lured by deceptive recruiting agents in rural areas surrounding Bangkok, promising vague positions of employment at restaurants or as housemaids are systematically brainwashed and submitted into turning tricks. An alternative employment is arranged through a deep commitment, in such enterprises as fisheries. The commitment to social transformation, while still under the theological questions of the imminent parousia of Christ is nevertheless carried on by progressive Pentecostals who engage wholly, in issues of economy and politics not just at the margins but very much as active participants who will not shy away from high profile protests such as demonstrations against the corrupt regime of Ferdinand Marcos back in the 1980's as well as micro-loan system for economically troubled areas, taking from the past successes of countries like Bangladesh.

Worship is still the focal point of what energizes the believer's community. In the case of Pentecostals, music and dancing, the psychological catharsis of a vibrant worship is instrumental in the meaningful connection to God. A typical worship session includes the spontaneity as well as the more subdued and reflective invitation that may facilitate an ambience that ushers the participants into a space of deep connection to the Holy Spirit. While the chapter on worship dabbles a bit into the religious and social/anthropolgical theories of Emile Durkheim, the experience of "something more" than the participants in the worship atmosphere is not easily explained as merely a phenomena that is of an emergent nature from a collective activity. Pentecostal theology features a worship theology that does not dissociate the mind and body, as some worship may be perceived to be overtly sensuous or ecstatic- dancing, as it is, is deemed inappropriate still in many denominations of non-charismatic traditions. While vocal critics may rouse issue out of its seemingly primitive expressions, the more correct evaluation of Pentecostalism may be, that its an expression of the deeper parts of our primal spirituality, which is consistent with biblical spirituality that is not adulterated with exessive rationalism and reductive functionalism of human philosophies. Overt physical expressions of faith such as raising of hands, crying out to God, glossolalia, are authentic and not for the sake of some pious display. And being that this is often done during corporate worship, there is the bolstering of a collective experience. As for glossolalia, it is specifically mentioned that it is a private gift of the spirit, which defies conventional assumptions as to how some charismatics may insist on its gift as a sure fire sign of salvation. This emphasis, according to Miller and Yamamori, is decidedly absent. It is also interesting to note, that Pentecostals lean towards the more literal interpretation of the Bible. Which comes, to the issues of spiritual gifting such as the gift of healing. Direct experience of both receiving and facilitating healing informs the theology that remains consistent with the healing narratives of the New Testament. Another practice and phenomena in the Pentecostal churches is deliverance ministries as well as its flipside, the possesion or "slayings" by the Holy Spirit. While to outsiders these practices may seem straght weird, the Pentecostal theology conserves much of the ideas of the supernatural which are expressed in praxis. The remarkable thing is that there is apparent efficacy of these beliefs, up to the point of testimonies that frequent, people being raised from the dead.

Upward social movement and individual improvement of economic conditions is the general trend in the Pentecostal movement, and as of late the middle class have been largely attracted to it. The cause of the trend is obvious and clearly outlined, there is a significant connection between the acquired discipline of worship, and the sustentance of gratitude that transforms lives from a destructive or at least non-constructive patterns into one that leans towards Protestant work ethics, which compliments ideals of capitalism. Many who in former lives, lived in poverty, squandering what little they earn, upon conversion experience a dramatic upshift, which has surplus income reintroduced to their mode of production, thereby fostering growth and financial independence. Prosperity gospel is also a minor feature of the Pentecostals and while at its worst they feature a blind-sided, even manipulative tendencies to exploit those who are already poor, ill, and suffering, at its best there are actual advice regarding family planning, budgeting and lifestyle change. With a strong belief that all people are created equal, and that in God's eyes each person has his or her value, the strong democratic tendencies stand at odds with the hierarchical views such as the Hindu caste system.

Empowering the laity is also a major feature of the strengnths of contemporary Pentecostalism. Pastoral leadership is characterized as fairly authoritarian, with an overwhelming majority male, with an understanding that they are the visionaries for the church, it is also a trend for charismatic preachers to start-up a church and then to leave it to the leadership of the people. The church government in this way, is quite "flat" and what continues the organic nature of ministry is the existence of cell groups that grow through mitosis (when it gets larger, it divides). Theological education is emphasized by some of the Pentecostals who seek sophistication from their pastors but widely regarded as something that can potentially take away from the ministry than be helpful to it. Pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing movements because of the successes in church planting and evangelism that meets social needs. Even in the mission fields there is the resistance of depending on foreign money, as self-sustenance is highly sought after in the beginning of any new churches. This inhibits any tendencies of colonialism, or attitudes of paternalism. Miller and Yamamori offers a fairly secular vantage point upon which to explain the wildly successful growth of Pentecostalism. In spite of the remarkably conservative underpinnings, such as the conspicuous absence of women in the pulpit ministry, is the egalitarian representations in the initiative of women in the ministry, and much of the outdated and legalistic obsessions with tradition that has in the past hindered worship, is now from a marketing point of view, in the realm of the Pentecostals, resolved and keeping relevance with the fast-paced change of our world.

In the concluding chapter, the present movement of Pentecostalism is marked as "progressive," in its holistic understanding of Christianity in social engagement, as well as the incorporation of a multifaceted dynamic elements in worship, such as music and the arts. "projects that engage issues at a systemic level are the leading edge of Progressive Pentecostalism." (213) The organic tendencies of Pentecostalism in its operations are fundamentally different with that of liberation theology, which focuses on the social conflict theories espoused by its Marxist origins. So the process of change is more akin to a quiet revolution than "frontal assault," making social change less conflictive and about dismantling existing institutions but rather, offering an alternative that proves to be a better option for engagement. The future of Pentecostalism is not certain, as it is evaluated by Miller and Yamamori as a "renewal movement," nevertheless the Holy Spirit as the impetus for dynamic, energetic worship which is paired with socially relevant ministry praxis, is promising.

An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical, & Global Perspectives

Dr. K. summarizes for us rather elegantly, the distinctive points of emphasis of the eastern (orthodox) ecclesiology, which are: of a trinitarian view (according to Tsirpanlis) where the Father and son are always involved in the activities of the spirit; a mystical and yet concrete pneumatology; gradual, diachronic sanctification/deification (becoming "like" God), free will discussed in terms of a synergistic "cooperation" between the human and divine; not in mutually exclusive categories of merit and grace. The church, is seen as an organic icon of the Trinity- in its expression of both unity and diversity. Soteriology is collective, "We know that when any of us falls, he falls alone; but no one is saved alone. he is saved in the Church, as a member of it and in union with all its other members."(Ware, Orthodox Church, p.240)

In his exposition of the Roman Catholic ecclesiology, Dr. K. relays the significance of the Lumen Gentium as one of its most important recent documents: "Perhaps the most important development of Vatican II was the replacement of the old societas perfecta, institutional-hierarchic ecclesiology with the dynamic 'people of God' notion in which the church is seen first of all as a pilgrim people on the way to the heavenly city.

In Lutheran ecclesiology, the tension of simul justus et peccator is outlined as what shapes the doctrine of the church community of Luther's soteriology. The adherence to Scripture, and the tenets therein, of the priesthood of all believers, and the imagery of the church as a sanctuary for the "incurably sick" is held as theological basis for caring the neighbor as Christ cares.

Reformed ecclesiology sees more of a covenantal language, with Calvin's distinction of the "Church Visible" versus the "Church Invisible," placing an emphasis on the adherence to the visible church and the belief therein as an aspect of sacramentality that honors God in reverence to one another. Faith was central to the sacraments, the efficacy is continued from Luther's tradition, on faith alone.

Chapter 5 delves into Free Church Ecclesiologies, which stress the fellowship of believers, spirit of ecumenicity, radical reformation, unmediated access to God, and affirmation of the gifts of individuals in a priesthood of all believers. "Holy living has always been of great concern to the ethically oriented mentality of the Free churches. The Anabaptist churches have had 'the ban,' by means of which church members could be excluded from the congregation." (67)

In Chapter 6, Pentecostal/Charismatic ecclesiology is discussed, with an aspect of dynamicity to highlight its features, with the experiential aspect of God's supernatural mystery being central to the worship, which is "another way of saying 'presence of God.'" (71) It is however, rather obscurantist to say the least, to try to define "pentecostal" or "charismatic" as a fully developed ecclesiology. These have shared tendencies to emphasize the Holy Spirit and a more pragmatic pneumatology; participatory nature in worship; empowerment of the laity; importance of the local church; experience of charismatic actions of God; restoration of 'experiential' apostolicty to the whole church; and seamless indigenization to host cultures.

The next movement is one of ecumenical ecclesiologies, which addresses the historically divisive, imposed schisms and their ensuing diversity with the question on ecclesiality for the sake of a unified confession of the one church. The reasoning is simple, "There is one Christ, therefore one church."

In the second section of this book Dr. K. examines some of the contemporary ecclesiologies such as Communion Ecclesiology of John Zizioulas, who taking from the economic Trinity and interactivity of each persons of the Godhead, to be the orthodox expression of the oikonomia Eucharist and communion. "Zizioulas speks of the church as 'instituted' by Christ and 'constituted' by the Spirit."

Although already mentioned earlier, "charismatic" is not an ecclesiology perse, but a characteristic definition of churches that are in the process of renewal. Hans Küng offered some radical tenets that run contrary to those of the Reformation churches: A redefinition of the terms as "invisible" church and an affirmation of the church as is: "A real church made up of real people cannot possibly be invisible. The visible church is the true church, not the false church. Nevertheless, the church is simultaneously visible and invisible." (105 communio santorum- an ecclesiology that stands closer to that of Luther).

In the arena of ecumenics, Wolhart Pannenberg stands as one of the more important ecclesiologists. Noted for a significant contribution to the document, Baptist, Eucharist and Ministry, Pannenberg argues for a unified church for the service of humankind, under the Holy Spirit. "The church then, is the anticipation of the kingdom of God; therefore its essence is constituted by the kingdom, of which it is the sign." (117)

Messianic Ecclesiology may have been the seed that sprouts the emergent movement. Jürgen Moltmann calls for a contextual ecclesiology- drawing from various interests of Pentecostal/Charismatic movements and liberation theology, offering a theology that is "not only contemporary but also contextually relevant." Main features highlighted by Dr. K. are: Christocentrism, egalitarian fellowship (constituted of equal persons with a downplay on hierarchy), invitational "church for others." and a community fostered by the Holy Spirit.

Miroslav Volf takes cues from the ontological Trinity to constitute the church as its image, in what is called "Participatory Ecclesiology." Volf explains church in terms of the presence of the Spirit of Christ- in other words, where He is, so is his church. The church is also, "an assembly of those gathered in Jesus' name." Clustered together in the category of "free churches," the presence of the Holy Spirit as well as the empowerment of the laity are major points of focus.

James McClendon Jr.'s "Baptist Ecclesiology" is perhaps summarized best in the following quote: "In shaping its teaching, the church seeks to be simply church, so that Christians may be a people who find in Christ their center, in the Spirit their communion, in God's reign their rule in life. The convictions that makes such a common life possible fall into three broad, overlapping categories, those that inform Christian living (moral convictions), those that display the substance of Christian faith (doctrinal convictions), and those that open out into Christian vision or world-view (philosophical convictions). (142)

Lesslie Newbigin represents the camp of "Missionary Ecclesiology," where the "understanding of mission is based on the idea that the essential nature of the church is missionary, rather than mission being a task given the church.

In part three of the book, Dr. K. delves into the contextual ecclesiologies of Asia (namely Japan and its emphasis on the non-church: the church that rather is stripped of its institutional aspects) , Latin America and the "Base Ecclesial Communities in Latin America" (175) with its grass roots "bottom-up" approach to church and the necessities of the poor, featuring its liberation theology. And others include: Feminist Churches with the correctives to what is deemed an ongoing gender-biased oppression of the female in the history of the church; African Independent Churches with a certain retention of primal spirituality over and against the Westernization of tribal cultures; and Renewal Ecclesiologies to a full, Global Ecclesiology of the "World Church."

It is a very concise and informative volume that treats a wide range of ecclesiological perspectives, and major points of distinction that in the end do blend together to a few non-negotiable emphasis on God: God of Creation, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, relating to a portion of humanity that identifies itself as set apart, for the love of God to continue through its existence, and practices.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Summary

It is a super-large course, super-condensed into such a tiny fragment of time. Essentially the summer intensive around this time is comprised of the final balancing of what's left of my academic energy (what amounts to showing up to these morning classes everyday) and ministry: Back at church a myriad things like VBS, Short Term Mission Preparation, KM discipleship, Youth Group, etc... In sum, in my case, was this chronic procrastination for even the daily reflections, leaving it to a sector in my HD of recorded lectures.
Overall Dr. Bolger's methodology for this course seems to offer the panoramic, historical breadth of the nature of church throughout identifiable periods from the very beginning with Jesus. The general trend of change has been, from an "ecclesiality" that was at minimal structure, evolving into an institution, by the time of the Calvinist Reformation having documents such as: Luther's theses and "The Institutes of the Christian Religion." But a question that did come up from one of our post-classroom discussions over lunch with the fellow students was: "What about Mission?" This question reflects back to the title of this course. Church in Mission. It appears that it is Mission in terms of Missio Dei (the sending of God), or perhaps more accurately the Actio Dei (The Action of God) as coined by Karl Barth.
What is at the heart of this course? Are we at this time trying to determine the flow of history so as to come to some understanding on the phenomenological trend of God's involvement in the changing shapes of churches? Social engagement such as community service and mission and witness are categories of examination in which the function of the church within the world at large is examined through history, the chief concerns from the early days that are still alive is this idea of self-propagation. The issue of relevance or perhaps the more biblical "abiding in the True vine" deals with the sprouting of new shoots and new branches that yield their fruits in time. I casually asked Dr. Bolger after all was finished (of the lectures): "So, do you ever get arguments from your oppositions?" (At this point I haven't even yet read "Emerging Churches" so I can't engage in any penetrating dialogue) His answer was: "Yeah, I get hate-mail all the time." (or something along those lines) If I was to reflect on the Emergent Church movement, which seems to allow services that include the music of Enya in this sort of restoration movement of (Celtic, in the case of Enya as a choice for background music) mystical spirituality- the question may be: Is there any danger in blurrying the pagan/Christian divide? Or, is this the final call of what means to be "missional" in the North American spiritual landscape?
If we would be able to identify a point of departure as in the period of Jesus and his disciples and the metamorphosis of the church and the understanding of it through our time, at least what may be readily detectable is if there be any movement that calls for a clear return, to such Apostolic networks as proposed by Eddie Gibbs in Church Next. What may be alarming to some, is this idea of post-Evangelical, post-Christendom movements within the faith. Is this a global movement, or something that is pervasive in Europe and North America? What kind of a picture are we looking at in the next ten years? Glad I took the course, still have a mountain of reading on my plate left over, not to mention sermon preparations, sermon preparations, sermon preparations. Actio Dei, may the good God use these limbs and a mind that has given up any kind of resistance. I surrender all- Jesus, do with me as you will.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 9 - Reflection

Free Churches Case Study: Pentecostalism
Renewal movement (also fundamentalism)- similarly, there is a focus on scripture, and a return to our roots scripturally, but fundamentalists would refuse experiences of speaking in tongues, healing, not so full of testimonies, personal experience.

Fundamental / liberal divide in America

The Azusa Street Revival
very strong women leaders, Pentecostals are typically a lot more open to other races in the community. Open to women leadership, when the focus is on giftedness.

Jesus Christ is your savior,
Jesus will baptize you in the Holy Spirit,
our God is a healing God,
and Jesus is coming again (imminent return) [more Premillennial]

Acts 2 - primary reference for the community

Very narrative and enthusiastic preaching, interpretive, pulling from all sorts of different themes both scripture and elsewhere, understanding and expectation where “this is the word of God today for his people”

music, big part of the expression- often spontaneous, spiritual songs given. Very strong understanding that evil is something over the devil, and that we have power over the devil.

baptism, not that different from other Anabaptists, declaration of death with Jesus and being raised with Christ.
Eucharist as well a memorial, not necessarily the presence of God within the bread and the wine; Foot-washing a significant part,

Christian Community – a lot of body life, prayer for one another, prayer for those who are poor, fighting evil in lives, community really sees itself as a gifted community.

Pentecostal churches are often a majority women, provides and advocates for a very stable family life, good number for Pentecostal churches don’t necessarily have equality for women, that in many ways it is good news for women.

A Marxist in So. Am. Brazil, wanted a revolution to do stuff, but if they wanted real social change they needed to study the Pentecostal movement. Where alcoholism and sexual immorality is prevalent and culturally accepted, Pentecostalism is directly against that. (goes into the heart of the urban problems.) So, something noted by both secular and Christian groups. Pentecostals strongly advocate tithing; no smoking, no dancing, no cursing, no alcohol, sort of wanting to be separate from the practices of the world. So Christian missions is continuing what they were doing, ministering the power of the Holy Spirit to those in the outside.

As far as mission goes, very evangelistic about their way of life.
Just in terms of Leadership, the average person is typically very involved in the Pentecostal church. They might have more of a “father” or “mother” role in the community. Some churches in Nigeria that have reached just over a million people. Often the leaders or the founders are called “papa.” You may have a very strong leader in that way, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other leaders. They are in many ways functioning like the bishops of the early church. Mostly unpaid.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 8 - Reflection

Calvin- Was a pastor first of all, all the theological work was written for the church, not the academy. Simony (buying positions in the church), pluralism both problems in the church. Born in Noyon, (to Gerard and Joan) [Erasmus, Seneca, terence, virgil, homer] Penned in 1536, the first draft of the Institutes. the reformation requiring the reform of “letters”. Breaks down the clergy-laity distinction by retaining the deaconship.

The Reformed Church

Goes to U. of Paris at 14, studies law at 19, and pens Institutes by 27. Geneva excited about getting the Roman Catholics out of there, but not too enthusiastic about the reform initiatives of John Calvin: government hires him to be the reader of scripture. Calvin is eventually driven out to where he becomes a pastor in Strausburg for about 3 years.

Church discipline, restrictions, rebuke (which was not present with Luther) order, regulation, morals, holy life very big for Calvin.

Worship

The Word becomes the central part of service, things that build up to the preaching of the Word; Calvin changes the liturgy much more than Luther. What you do is that you sing and pray before the Word of God, you read the particular section of the Bible and then you have thanksgiving after that. The pastor would forgive sins on behalf of the congregation, public prayers, for congregations and leaders, reflecting on the Lord’s prayer, singing psalm and dismissal.

faith emphasized, more specifically, the faith of the recipient.

Eucharist: deeply connected to where Christ is in heaven.

Community

Really wishes to establish the Pastor’s ability to excommunicate. The church was the community, so the townspeople would want to be there.

Mission/Witness

The church is the avenue for those outside of faith to come into faith. In practice, the church is the way for people to know about God. [modality- the preached word]

holy calling (the idea of vocation) as not restricted to the “sacred” but assigned to the “secular.” [initiation of the protestant work ethic]

Consistory

Holiness accountability group

Excommunication had a way back.

Mission in Christendom are usually within the empire.

Leadership and Organization

Pastor is the core of the community; advocacy of elders, team of elders upon whom the administrative duties fell upon. All pastors were teachers, not all teachers were pastors. Elders were more governing, deacons were more serving.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 7 - Reflection

http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php

NOTES:
“indulgences" – substitution of one penance for another.
Luther's following so great, that movement poses threat to the very civil stability. (Luther declared an outlaw)

John Calvin - "the birth of the middle class"
(spying on friends and neighbors is just one means to preserve moral order)
"vocation in the world” you work out that vocation as you work out your salvation.

The Lutheran Church: Narrative of the Reformation
Europe was ready for something to happen. The printing press made the large impact on the emergence of the “literate” population. The number of people who could read however, were small. The books were expensive. People are however becoming educated and able to read for themselves. And individualism sort of emerges out of the birth of reading. The reading process was formerly, however, corporate.
Influence of the Pope diminishes, and thus the timing becomes ripe, for a revolution. Luther died 30 years after the posting of the 95 theses, was an Augustinian monk, was also a professor of scripture. Around 1518 “justification by grace” became sort of an epiphany which became the grid by which to evaluate every church practice in light of this.
“Priest of all believers” retrieval of some aspects of the early church, going against the sharp distinction between the clergy and the laity.

Worship in the Protestant Movement (pre-Lutheran church)
The church and state are one (at a local level, not at the “macro” level)
Church is about community (of saints) [who are we?] even though he’s talking about church meaning the universal church, for Luther, church is really this local “believers’” gathering: Practices of people in community.
Preaching of the Gospel; Eucharist; Baptism (reduction from 7 sacraments to about three) The Christendom is still there. Still a Trinitarian understanding, the Holy Spirit continues to sanctify us, gives us gifts for ministry…
One of the primary benefits or identity of the church is the “forgiveness of sins.” This IS the work of the church, and to mediate that. Even though salvation is by faith, he does not envision the individual doing it by his or her own apart from the church.
One of the big shifts in the worship service is to the WORD. It becomes more central, the focus of the church becomes more to the preaching of the gospel (purely, from scripture). Preaching is done in German, people actually understand this. Catechisms are re-written, hymns are written, the sermon becomes a significant part of liturgy. What Luther aims for is for the people receive faith through the preaching of the gospel.
He doesn’t get rid of the sacraments, the Eucharist is still a core part of the church service.
He doesn’t change the practice of the baptism too much, but what he did explain was that the baptism – dying with Christ and rising with him is the “rhythm of life” for the Christian. Specific baptismal practices not altered, infant baptism still prevalent- unless conversion from another religion. Eucharist, the practice was pretty much similar but the understanding was shed more light on. The previous Catholic understanding of “re-sacrificing Christ” was rejected; the Eucharist was seen as the bread and wine was both the themselves and Christ’s. [getting increasingly technical about it: transubstantiation consubstantiation debate]
Orthodox traditions retain the “mystery” aspect of this.

Community: still in Christendom, everybody is a part of the church. And so as far as the vital Christian community, one thing Luther advocated was the closing of the monasteries. “we should not have two levels of Christians, everybody should be doing it.” [attempt to fuse the clergy laity split] confessing and forgiveness (the authority of the latter conferred to each member of the body)

Goes against penance, devotions to saints, relics, wanted actually Christians to live a life in service to the world. Wanted the 10 commandments to be part of the markers of our presence in the world, not the vows and other such things.

Church/state still there, very much a partnership, strong. Rulers and bishops still very intertwined. Luther does not challenge that. When Mennonites and other Anabaptists wanted to start churches, these were strictly prohibited by Luther’s convictions.

Luther saw a reality in terms of mission (three spheres: family, church, government) each had its own set of laws. In the home the natural domestic laws; in the church, the divine law; in government its own set of temporal laws. Same thing that Augustine was doing. In the case of government, God was working thru the prince. And so, the church unless something radically horrible was going on, should obey the prince. Because God has placed that prince there. It is very much a partnership and those two spheres was what Augustine was talking about.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 6 - Reflection

http://wowzone.com/lorica.htm
The Irish had an ethos of study as worship: Saint Patrick is introduced as a case study, in the context of today's portion and in relation to the mission of Patrick as called by God. Patrick was captive as a slave, escaped, and then returned to Ireland- there is the marked absence of Roman influence in the early Irish Christian tradition: It was described as "earthy."

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 5 - Reflection

http://www.antiochian.org/morning-prayers

"Growth has never happened thru paid people, it has always happened when a group of people are captivated by something larger"

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 4 - Reflection

http://www.universalis.com/100/i-lauds.htm
an opening liturgical exercise for today's class:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p584&continuous=1
information on the historical period, focusing on the pre-Constantine era:
By this time churches become more official, the Eucharist becomes the focal point of the sacrament, baptism is required a training period and authorized under the bishopric. Hierarchy is instituted and a distinction is made between the clergy and the laity. Tithing is not yet instituted but the wealthy are still exhorted to give to the poor. Episcopacy becomes increasingly analogous to the Old Testament priesthood. The culture of martyrs emerge on a heightened period of persecution (Perpetua). Prayers still oscillate between fixed and spontaneous, and the New Testament gospels make their way into print and circulation. Vestige still informal during the 200's but by 400's and 500's formal robes are worn by the clergy. The Christian calendar become established and women play a lesser role. What about mission?

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 3 - Reflection

The early church features some overlap with its preceding form (during the time of Jesus' ministry). But the nature of the church is that of house-synagogues (from the Greek συνάγω), taking more structure; the baptism of the holy spirit is introduced in its liturgy and sacraments; the aspect of sharing and renunciation of personal property is a marked feature of its sense of community and service; apostles play a salient part in the mission and witness; and organization and leadership is represented by prominent men and women of the area with resources and funding, not to mention installation of episcopes or "overseers," that begins prior to the martyrdom of the apostles.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 2 - Reflection

During the time of Jesus, church was more of an organic, spontaneous gathering without a specific location for worship, of those who share Peter's confession; liturgy and sacrament featured table-fellowship and the living out of the will and love of the Father; community had a familial undertone which comprised a strict allegiance to the will of the Father, service was shaped with an ethic of humility, non-resistance and dignity that embodied the Kingdom of God; mission and witness was both sodalistic (72/2 sent out); as well as modalistic (gathering of people to hear and witness Jesus- not to mention the mission of Jesus portrayed with brutal clarity of the cross; organization and leadership was at this point still quite organic and not formulaic, paradigmatic in its initial stages with Jesus, as the authority in all the prescriptions for godly living.

MC500: Summer Intensive, Day 1 - Reflection

Unit 1: Jesus, the Kingdom, and the Church
So far, the central figure of Jesus as the one who proclaims the kingdom of God has been discussed at some length. The overall, albeit preliminary impression is that this presentation of Jesus is not without the product of "the historical quest." (presumably with the objective of extrapolating as much information as possible, on the nature of mission and role of the church in it) Some of the notable theologians mentioned: Miroslav Volf (a disciple of Jürgen Moltmann) for one, and Albert Schweitzer. Pentecostal movement also of particular interest, for they have a worldwide growth and stability. The "kingdom" was discussed at some length, as the heralded, central message of Jesus. The kingdom was discussed as not something that is in the far future but imminent. And the kingdom was discussed as not something that we decide as a set of agendas but a realm under that we willfully subordinate ourselves; it is the "in-breaking" of something of a future age, beginning its manifestation in the present.