Allison Sojourners and Strangers

The Doctrine of the Church
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4335-3603-8
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 496 Seiten

Reihe: Foundations of Evangelical Theology

What is a church? This can be a difficult question to answer and Christians have offered a variety of perspectives. Gregg Allison thus explores and synthesizes all that Scripture affirms about the new covenant people of God, capturing a full picture of the biblical church. He covers the topics of the church's identity and characteristics; its growth through purity, unity, and discipline; its offices and leadership structures; its ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; and its ministries. Here is a rich approach to ecclesiology consisting of sustained doctrinal reflection and wise, practical application. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.

Gregg R. Allison (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, a book review editor for the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, an elder at Sojourn Community Church, and a theological strategist for Harbor Network. Allison has taught at several colleges and seminaries, including Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and is the author of numerous books, including Historical Theology; Sojourners and Strangers; and Roman Catholic Theology and Practice.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Allison, Gregg R.

Leseproben

PREFACE

“What is a church?”

At first glance, this question appears to be easily answerable. For nearly two millennia, churches have been planted and expanded, have birthed other churches and gone out of existence, have advanced and regressed, have united and divided. Whether the “sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5) or covert converts meeting underground in the catacombs of Rome or in barns in eastern France, whether an 800,000-member church in Korea or a house church in Seattle, whether a storefront church in Beirut or a thatched-roof hut in Zimbabwe, the reality of churches is undeniable. And it seems that we know what a church is.

Upon further reflection, the question “What is a church?” presents a quandary. One reason for this, as hinted above, is the vast diversity of groups, assemblies, even denominations laying claim to the title “church.” One such entity, the Roman Catholic Church, insists that it and it alone is the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” church.1 Opposed to this claim since their inception, Protestant churches have articulated the “marks of the church,” essential elements that distinguish “true” churches from the “false” (i.e., Roman Catholic) church. Among these Protestant churches are hundreds of variations, including many different types of evangelical churches. Though certainly not as diverse, the Orthodox Church has its various national manifestations—the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and so on. This dizzying array of remarkable and oftentimes confusing diversity renders any answer to the question “What is a church?” quite complicated. Indeed, Howard A. Snyder, focusing his attention on just evangelical churches, has remarked, “I will argue that while there is such a thing as evangelical ecclesiology, we might more appropriately speak of evangelical ecclesiologies, in the plural, and ask what each variety might contribute to the whole.”2

Snyder articulates a second reason for the difficulty in answering the question “What is a church?” “Today, evangelical ecclesiology is (as usual!) in major transition.”3 He could have said this with reference to most current evangelical doctrines. On my bookshelves I have numerous theological works with words like “reforming” and “revisioning” in their titles. It seems, indeed, that most if not all evangelical theological formulations—e.g., the doctrine of God, theological anthropology, the atonement of Christ—are up for reconsideration and restatement today. The doctrine of the church is no exception, as a growing number of evangelicals are addressing and seeking to reformulate ecclesiology. If once there was a paucity of reflection on the doctrine of the church, it is certainly no longer the case today as a steady stream of books on evangelical ecclesiology are being published (not to mention conferences, training summits, websites, blogs, and the like).4 And I doubt that this situation is what it is because of what J. C. Hoekendijk wrote: “In history a keen ecclesiological interest has, almost without exception, been a sign of spiritual decadence. . . .”5 Without commenting on the state of spirituality today, I do take the current “keen ecclesiological interest” as an encouraging sign. But the growing amount of material on the doctrine of the church and the transition underway in evangelical ecclesiology complicate attempts at answering the question “What is a church?”

For these and other reasons, the task set before me—to write a new evangelical ecclesiology as part of Crossway’s Foundations of Evangelical Theology series—was daunting. Yet, I was encouraged to take it on by John Feinberg, my former professor, good friend, and general editor of the series. His work with me on this volume has been immense, challenging, beneficial, and greatly needed. I deeply appreciate his friendship and editorial work. I can say the same for Al Fisher at Crossway, for he kept me focused on the task and was always an encouragement personally. Bill Deckard is a master editor whose meticulous corrections and fine suggestions have made this a better, more readable book. Informally, numerous other people have contributed to this book by way of reading and critiquing it, including my former colleagues at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and my current colleagues at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Special mention must be made of Gerry Breshears, Bruce Ware, Steve Wellum, Chad Brand, Peter Gentry, and Greg Wills.

Several of my Garrett Fellows as well as participants in my Systematic Theology 3 course, my PhD seminars on ecclesiology, the PhD colloquium on ecclesiology at SBTS, and friends have read and commented on rough drafts of chapters and/or the entire work. Special thanks goes to Reid Monaghan, Aaron O’Kelley, George Cochran, Chris Bosson, Ryan Lister, Chris Bonts, Chris Clemans, Wayne Shealey, Matt Wireman, Greg Gilbert, Jason Allan, Oren Martin, Jeremy Kimble, Micah McCormick, Karl Schumacher, Jinse Kim, Soon Park, Jeremy Pierre, Lee Tankersley, Toby Jennings, Greg Jackson, Joshua Boswell, Timothy Harris, Michael Galdamaz, Michael Williams, Robbie Sagers, Phillip Bethancourt, Matthew Barrett, Luke Stamps, Kevin Webb, James Risner, Jedidiah Coppenger, Ryan Bishop, Ryan Brandt, Eric Britt, Grant Gaines, Ricky Hardison, David Knierim, Brent Parker, Darryl Pepper, Kenneth Reid, Adam Winters, Michael York, Matthew Claridge, Sung-Hyun (Joseph) Baik, William Brooks, Derek Brown, J. T. English, Joshua Jean, Walter (Scott) Lamb, John LaRue, John Morrison, Seth Osborne, Daniel Patterson, Andrew Record, David (Gene) Roberts, and John Wind. Several churches—Good Shepherd Community Church (with Steve Keels) near Portland, Oregon; Sojourn Community Church (with Daniel Montgomery) in Louisville, Kentucky; Grace Community Church (with Rod Bunton) in Tallahassee, Florida; Calvary Baptist Church (with Matt Burton) in Elgin, Illinois; All Nation’s Church (with Bob Altstadt) near Cincinnati, Ohio; Vintage21 Church (with Tyler Jones) in Raleigh, North Carolina; Immanuel Church (with Ray Ortlund Jr.) in Nashville, Tennessee; and my “Missional Ecclesiology” courses for Re:train (with Mark Driscoll/Mars Hill Church/Acts 29) in Seattle, Washington—have allowed me to experiment on them as I have taught parts of this book in sermons, retreats, Sunday school classes, courses, or special forums. Being the chairman of the board at Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland and working with the leadership there (Bruce Boria, to whom this book is dedicated, and scores of others) taught me much about ecclesiology and actually how to “do church.” Their help has been immensely beneficial. Additionally, being an elder at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville and working with the other elders (Daniel Montgomery, to whom this book is also dedicated, and many others) is teaching me much about leading and shepherding a multisite church. Again, their help is so beneficial. Whatever appears here that is deficient or in error is my responsibility, not theirs. Throughout the writing of this book, my family—Nora, Lauren and Troy, Hanell and Mike, and Luke—was a constant source of encouragement, and I am continuously thankful for their support.

Finally, something else Snyder said (actually, the continuation of his earlier comment) gave me great encouragement to write this volume: “Today, evangelical ecclesiology is (as usual!) in major transition. Precisely for that reason, it faces a large opportunity. What better time to elaborate an ecclesiology that is soundly biblical and evangelical, prophetic and movemental, theologically coherent and sociologically aware, and functional for effective witness to the kingdom of God in an age of rapid globalization?”6 Though I have not aimed at all these elements and have formulated my doctrine of the church with reference to other core values, I have appreciated Snyder’s challenge to elaborate this ecclesiology. Whether I have succeeded in the task awaits your reading and assessment and, ultimately, the evaluation of Jesus Christ, the head of the church and the one who redeems and guides “sojourners and strangers” (see 1 Pet. 2:11).

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1Although segments of the post–Vatican II Church largely minimized this exclusivist claim to be the only true church, Pope Benedict XVI clarified the issue by reiterating the historic position of the Church: because it and it alone possesses apostolic succession, the Catholic Church is the only true church. Accordingly, the Pope specifically denied that Protestant churches constitute true churches. See the motu proprio (July 10, 2007) of Pope Benedict XVI, “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church,” http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/
rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html, accessed June 17, 2011.

2Howard A. Snyder, “The Marks of Evangelical Ecclesiology,” in Evangelical Ecclesiology: Reality or Illusion? ed. John G. Stackhouse (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 77. Such a comment is substantially different from the notion of multiple, divergent ecclesiologies that reflects a presupposition that the New Testament is itself so characterized by different theologies (and, hence, ecclesiologies) that any attempt to amalgamate those diverse strands so as to fashion a somewhat unified...