The Radical Christian: Place in Ecclesiology
“It is a universal tendency in the Christian religion, as in many other religions, to give a theological interpretation to institutions which have developed gradually through a period of time for the sake of practice usefulness, and them read that interpretation back into the earliest periods and infancy of these institutions, attaching them to an age when in fact nobody imagined they had such a meaning.” – Richard Hanson
Ecclesiology is, in essence, the theology of Church. Wikipedia defines it as “that branch of Christian theology that deals with the doctrine pertaining to the Church: its role in salvation, and its origin, its discipline, and its leadership.” Angel fire describes it as follows: “the field of theology which deals with the nature of the church and what it means for the church to be the ‘body of Christ’.”
Protestant theology (particularly soteriology – the study of salvation) changed considerably during the reformation, its ecclesiology did not. This is what a typical Church looks like:
- There is a pastor or clergy or official staff
- There is a laity or general congregation
- There is a church building or special meeting place
- There is a special time each week for a service
- That service primarily involves a sermon from a single preacher and the rest of the congregation listening to him
- Communion may be distributed
- Some songs may be sung
- There may be various announcements for other events the church organisation is doing
All of the above elements were borrowed from Catholicism and, in tern, from Paganism (for a history of traditional Church practices I highly recommend “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola at www.ptmin.org). Not one of these elements is present in the New Testament (or at least not as practised today).
The result is a Christianity in which “the ears are the only organs of a Christian” (Luther – something he thought was good). This ecclesiology of Church creates a comfortable Christianity. The common problems with the “Clergy Driven” Church are outlined here.
The plan of the gospel
Church cannot be understood without understanding its place within the rest of theology. In short, humanity sinned and spoiled God’s creation. God has been working on restoring (redeeming) it since then. This is more than salvation. God does not merely want his creation to survive, we wants it to be “very good” again.
This entails change. The good news is not “accept Jesus and survive for eternity” it is “accept Christ and be made into a New Creation”. As Shane Claiborne puts it, “Few people are interested in a religion that has nothing to say to the world and offers only life after death, when what people are really wondering is whether there is life before death.” (The Irresistible Revolution, pg 117) It is not the purpose of Christianity to get people into heaven; its purpose is to enact change in people on the earth now.
If the Old Testament used the plan “create external laws to change people” then the New Testament uses the plan “change people’s hearts to change their actions”. By being filled with the Holy Spirit our character and actions begins to change. We begin to become noticeably different from non-Christians.
This gospel of redemption is further detailed here.
The purpose of Church
In light of this the purpose of Church is to transform Christians and the world. The Church is the “advance guard” of God’s kingdom (a redeemed world). The Church is the bride of Christ (an organism with an intimate relationship with God). Let us investigate these two dimensions:
The Church is the forbearer of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is one in which human nature is corrected and people place others before themselves. It is a place in which God is honoured by all of us and in which the stains of sin (placing ourselves first) are washed away. Essentially God’s Kingdom is a community where every member places the other members of that community before themselves. This is the result of the transformation I speak of. The Church is meant to be the bearer of this community.
The Church is the bride of Christ. It is a body. The same love that causes us to place others above ourselves results in radical interdependence between Christians much like can be found in an ant colony. I have often wondered how as a Christian I am worthy of being the “bride of Christ” (a bit weird for a guy) but I now realise it is like wondering how a single ant can build a colony – it doesn’t. The Church is greater than the sum of its parts, great enough even to be the bride of Christ. It is our mission, on God’s behalf, to present that bride perfect before Christ. We must get ourselves and the Church ready for our wedding day.
Radical Christians and Ecclesiology
Radical Christians are the key to carrying out the purpose of Church. God’s kingdom is a kingdom made of Radical Christians. Christ’s bride is perfect only if it contains them. As Radical Christians duplicate they slowly transform the Church and the world, perfecting his bride and showing his kingdom.
The Church does not exist just to get people into heaven. It exists to change people at a deep level. Radical Christians are central to this. They are both the result of these processes and the initiators of it. I have talked about Church being changed by Radical Christians, but in reality the church should be changing people and making them Radical Christians. This catch 22 results in a situation where Christians (the Church) begin to build and change each other.
This post has been heavy and far too rapid. In my final post I will take this theory of Radical Christendom and show how it is practically applicable to our lives. In the mean time I remind you of Stanley Hauerwas’ quote:
“The work of Jesus was not a new set of ideals or principals for reforming or even revolutionizing society, but the establishment of a new community, a people that embodied forgiveness, sharing and self sacrificing love in its rituals and disciple. In that sense, the visible church is not to be the bearer of Christ’s message; but to be the message.”
The Radical Christian: An Overview
The Radical Christian: Being the Gospel
The Radical Christian: Revolutionising Society
The Radical Christian: How they got there
Also Recommend: Seven Suppositions about Church
