Applied Ecclesiology Project

Part I -‐ Name both strengths and barriers in your congregation for eschatological embodiment of the Kingdom in your particular place (as you are coming to see them), substantiating this naming process with the words of congregants and your participant observation experiences.
1. The Kingdom of God is both universal and diverse. It spans the planet and indeed all of the cosmos, it includes people from all over the world. My ecclesial community lives this out by the expression of their faith in a universal way and by sharing communion with a diverse community.
2. The Kingdom is a place of where the secular and profane is transformed into the sacred by the power of the spirit. My ecclesial community lives this out by shining the love of the Kingdom of Christ in dark places. They do this via various ministries to the homeless, the sick, and the dying. They do this by networking with other churches to bridge the gulfs of division.
3. My community is in many ways old fashioned and often has trouble embracing our relevant society. As the world is changing rapidly, it often acts as if it is still operating in the 1970's or 80's/. This makes it difficult to reach out to to the communtity at large an be the eschatalogical representation of the Kingdom.
4. My community is a commuter church which makes it difficult to embody a rich theology of place.
Part 2 -‐ How does the Story of God interact with what you are hearing from the congregation and in the neighborhood? What biblical and theological themes really address where the congregation finds itself right now?
1. Acts 10: Peter sees a vision by which he is symbolically instructed to allow gentiles into the church. In many ways, my church is in this limbo being tugged by the demands of a new society and a desire that certain folks be accepted into the body who would have previously been excluded.
2. 2 Kings 2: Elijah is taken into heaven and ;eaves Elisha with a blessing to continue his ministry of prophesying and miracles. My church is in the process of raising up a younger generation of leaders and passing on the blessings which God has given them.
Part 3 -‐ Paint a compelling picture to energize the congregation using eschatological imagination (use language and methods of the poet). This part of the paper may be submitted as or accompanied by some type of media presentation, sermon, or other creative work.
1. Craft an interesting and inspiring video presentation which shows examples of when previous church communities had experienced profound change and entered into a new era of worship and practice. This will maybe loosen people up to the demands of our modern society
Part 4 -‐ Speak to the pastoral processes of leading this particular congregation in this direction.
1. Encourage congregants to consider relocating their homes to the neighborhood in which they worship. Through this and via other less drastic mediums, teach about a robust theology of place.
2. Using books, sermons, and life groups, teach congregants about a eucharistic centered life and what it means to think eschatologically.
3. Be sure to connect all teachings and practices to church history and tradition, making sure that this connection is present and well known in the congragation, thus fostering an appreciation for the historicity of the fresh approaches.

Next up

Applied Ecclesiology Project

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by Sam Bolton almost 9 years ago