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" I'm a bit biased on this book. For some good reviews of ViralHope, go to Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/ViralHope-Good-Bur..."
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Glasser’s thesis is that the Kingdom of God is one of the central, overarching themes of the Scripture, and if we trace this motif through both testaments, we will better understand God’s mission in the world and have greater insight as to the church...moreGlasser’s thesis is that the Kingdom of God is one of the central, overarching themes of the Scripture, and if we trace this motif through both testaments, we will better understand God’s mission in the world and have greater insight as to the church’s mission in today’s world.
In the first half of the book, Glasser demonstrates that the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are an expectation of the Kingdom of God, while in the second half, he shows that the New Testament describes the arrival of the Kingdom and its never ending nature. In the first three sections he demonstrates that God is Creator, Judge and Redeemer, and therefore King. As King, he demonstrates his power over Egypt and forms a covenant people for Himself – Israel. In time, the kings of Israel challenge His rule, so God sends his people into exile to set the stage for the Messiah. The stage is now set for the second half of the book where Jesus announces and inaugurates the Kingdom, and the Spirit enables the church to proclaim the Kingdom of God, which is already but not yet. He concludes by examining the book of Revelation to demonstrate the continued theme of King and Kingdom from creation to the renewed heaven and earth.
What I liked most about this book is that Glasser helps us to view the entire text with a missional lens. He is able to draw out rich missional lessons from each section of scripture, whether it is from the life of Abraham, the life of Israel, the church or Jesus himself. The rich quotes that are sprinkled throughout the text often caused me to stop and ponder our awesome God and His mission. Throughout the book he helps us to remember God’s heart for all nations, and calls us to partner with our missional God to bring about His kingdom, always reminding us that our mission is in good hands – the hands of our triune God.
While the theme of missio dei was traced from Genesis to Revelation, some themes of God’s mission seemed incoherent. For example, in the chapter on the powers, he states, “…they [the powers:] do this through incarnating themselves in existing structures in society and in cultural traditions and religious institutions” (337) and states that “Paul goes beyond the familiar New Testament thesis that Christ’s redemption delivers his people from the guilt of sin… Paul speaks of Christ as One who also liberates his people from… bondage to the powers.” (336) Yet when talking about Jesus he said, “While he advocated sharing with the poor, he did not condemn the economic system that helped make people rich.” Glasser might benefit by reading Wink’s triology on The Powers That Be and Ched Myers Binding the Strong Man.
With that said, I deeply appreciate Glasser’s humility as he closes his book (373), admitting to “truths that have appeared to conflict” and imperfect perception. His humility causes me to humble myself before our awesome missional God for His service.(less)
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Part I – Ecclesiological Traditions
Chapter 1: Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology sees the church as an icon of the trinity. God’s grace is both “mediated and experienced by and through the sacraments” (19) and there is a balance of hierarchy and charisms in the structure.
Chapter 2: Roman Catholic ecclesiology, after Vatican II, sees the church as the people of God, “pilgrim people on the way to the heavenly city” (28). It is sacramental, communal, pneumatological, hierarchal, and under the papacy.
Chapter 3: Lutheran ecclesiology sees the church as the gathering of the just and sinful people; it is non-institutional, and a hospital for the sick. The Holy Spirit works through the word and sacraments to make people holy.
Chapter 4: Reformed ecclesiology sees the church as a graced covenant community. There is a stress on “believing the church” instead of “believing in the church” (51). There are various tensions within the reformed camp.
Chapter 5: Free Church ecclesiology sees the church as the fellowship of believers, and includes groups like Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist and Quakers. Unmediated access to God and the priesthood of all believers are strong values.
Chapter 6: Pentecostal/Charismatic ecclesiology sees the church as a charismatic fellowship empowered by the Holy Spirit. There is sometimes an unhealthy opposition between charism and institution. God’s presence is vital.
Chapter 7: The Ecumenical Movement is trying to live out the reality of being “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church”. There are different understandings and prescriptions for unity.
Part II – Leading Contemporary Ecclesiologist
Chapter 8: John Zizioulas an Easter Orthodox bishop with a communion ecclesiology. The Eucharist is the foundational act of the church. The church is “instituted by Christ and constituted by the Spirit” (99).
Chapter 9: Hans Küng a catholic with a charismatic ecclesiology sees the church as the people of God, on a pilgrimage. He favors a charismatic structure where each person is gifted to edify, serve and unify the body of Christ.
Chapter 10: Wolfhart Pannenberg a Lutheran with a universal ecclesiology sees the church as anticipation “and a sign of the unity of all people under one God” (115). The church is a sign and tool of the coming kingdom for all humanity.
Chapter 11: Jürgen Moltmann with a messianic, eschatological, charismatic, trinitarian ecclesiology views the church as a communion of equals that exists for the world. He advocates a broader view of the Spirits work, in all of creation.
Chapter 12: Miroslav Volf a free church theologian with a trinitarian, participatory ecclesiology. He has an emphasis on the priesthood of all believers and sees the sacraments as necessary, but ordained ministers helpful but unnecessary.
Chapter 13: James McClendon Jr. a Baptist theologian calls the church a narrative community that is future oriented, gift-created and a people of peoples. He emphasizes the rule of God, centrality of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit.
Chapter 14: Lesslie Newbigin an Anglican with a missionary ecclesiology emphasizes the visible witness of the church - bearing and witnessing the truth.
Part III – Contextual Ecclesiologies
Chapter 15: The Non-Church Movement in Asia founded by Uchimura from Japan is anti-institutional, emphasizing gospel by faith alone and priesthood of all.
Chapter 16: The Church from below in Latin America lead by Leonardo Boff champions freedom and liberation. It is a grassroots movement of the poor.
Chapter 17: The Feminist Church is shaped by various women and influenced by liberation theology. Leadership in the round and ecofeminism are strong values.
Chapter 18: African Independent Churches are local and autonomous. There is a strong emphasis on communal living as well as the Holy Spirit who is savior, healer, protector, bringer of justice, liberation and inspires caring for the earth.
Chapter 19: The Shepherding Movement was founded many including Bob Mumford. With a heart for discipleship in all of life, it became spiritually abusive.
Chapter 20: The World Church advocated by Vincent Donavan is a church for all people and all creation. Sacraments relate more to the world than inner-church.
Chapter 21: The Post-Christian Church advocated by Barry Harvey sees the church as “another city.” He calls the church to a holy madness for the world’s sake.
I appreciated getting a wide-angle view of ecclesiology. I was familiar with the basic traditions and all of the contemporary ecclesiologists, aside from Zizioulas. I was familiar with the contextual ecclesiologies, aside from the non-church movement. I found the material helpful in thinking through the various issues that every church needs to consider and address. Some of those include the marks of the church, the essence of the church, the metaphors of the church and the functions of the church. Churches need to consider their view on sacraments, structure, leadership, ecumenicalism, the priesthood of all believers and how the Trinity informs our ecclesiology. I appreciated reviewing ecclesiology through the traditions, current ecclesiologists as well as the contextual ecclesiologies.
After reading this book, I was inspired to read some books by Hans Küng, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jürgen Moltmann, John Zizioulas, Vincent Donovan, Leonardo Boff and Barry Harvey. I had already given a lot of thought to marks of a church, primary metaphors and functions of a church. I have also given much thought lately to leadership, structure and how the Trinity ought to inform our ecclesiology. Besides wetting my appetite for more reading in ecclesiology, this book caused me to want to clarify my thoughts on the sacraments and how the Holy Spirit informs structure. This book will inform my current writing on Re-Sketching the Church and help me to consider what the church might look like in the future in light of her past.(less)
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Gorringe argues that theology ought to be concerned about space, architecture, design, public policy, ecological sustainability and city planning, because all of life expresses our theology and even buildings “make moral statements” (1).
Gorringe s...moreGorringe argues that theology ought to be concerned about space, architecture, design, public policy, ecological sustainability and city planning, because all of life expresses our theology and even buildings “make moral statements” (1).
Gorringe starts his argument by basically saying that we build our environment and then our environment builds us, thus we ought to care about how we build our environment. He proposes a Trinitarian mapping of spatiality. God the Holy Spirit, the Redeemer, is “the author and inspirer of all those visions of a better human environment” (48) and God the Father is the Creator who “brings order out of chaos, the structuring of space by form” (48) and God the Son, the Reconciler “takes flesh in order to teach peace to the nations and make justice concrete (49). Gorringe then takes this mapping of spatiality and makes it concrete, by looking at land as a gift that ought to be stewarded for the whole rather than absolutely possessed by the individual. When talking about housing, he proposes environmentally sustainability as a key feature for future building as well as beauty in diversity. He continues to apply this Trinitarian mapping to the town and country, the city, and the built environment in terms of community and art. He concludes with how to proceed in the future with the environmental crises that is upon us.
Having lived in the suburbs and a college town for most of my life and the city for the last six years of my life, I can really appreciate Gorringe’s thesis that we make our space and then our space makes us, so we ought to care about how we make our space. The more I live, the more that I sense the ethos of a place by simply walking around and feeling and sensing what is all around me. As my understanding of the gospel become more robust, I am able to see how God is concerned about redeeming every aspect of life, including space, architecture, our approach to housing, sustainable living and public policy because each of these things that Gorringe talks about in this book shape the kind of people we become. One quote that continues to run around in my mind is, “In the built environment social relations are inscribed concretely in space. All ideologies ‘project themselves into a space, becoming inscribed there, and in the process producing that space itself” (27). This is something that I want to continue to think about as I live out my life here in the city.
Having recently been elected to serve on the board of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, I have had the privilege to learn much more about the environment that I live in, and I have even voted on a number proposals that have come before our board like whether or not a particular house should be torn down and replaced by an apartment complex that doesn’t really fit the neighborhood. I have learned that Los Angeles has the least amount of parks for any major city and I have the opportunity to bring a greater degree of redemption to the city by working for more public parks as well as concrete justice in regards to affordable housing. This book has helped to bring a greater sense of value to the hours that I spend wrestling through a lot of “built environment” issues that we face as a city. I plan to re-read this book so that I might bring a greater sense of beauty and redemption to our neighborhood.(less)
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Bakke contends that if we are going to be faithful to the God of Scripture we must recognize the urbanization of the world and read the Bible with urban eyes so that we might discover a theology that meets the holistic needs of the city.
Bakke giv...moreBakke contends that if we are going to be faithful to the God of Scripture we must recognize the urbanization of the world and read the Bible with urban eyes so that we might discover a theology that meets the holistic needs of the city.
Bakke gives us a tour from Genesis to Revelation with urban eyes. Bakke starts with the Torah where we see Abraham praying for the city. He uses Moses and his mother to describe urban leadership. He examines the writings and the prophets from an urban perspective as well. He shows how proverbs and the Song of Solomon can be helpful to inner-city youth and how Ezra and Nehemiah are good examples of people concerned for the social welfare and buildings of the city. He shows the need for urban poets like the psalmist and the laments of Jeremiah as well as what cities should look like through Isaiah’s vision (81-83). He talks about the major message of the Minor Prophets, Jeremiah’s letter to urban families and thinking biblically about the family with the help of the prophet Ezekiel. In the last part of the book he looks at Jesus’ heart for the city, the church at the city center in Antioch and Paul on his urban church- planting journey. He helps us see God’s heart for the people and place of the city from Genesis to Revelation.
What I appreciate most about this book is the passion that oozes out on every page from a practitioner who loves the city. One line that is mentioned in a couple of different chapters that I will adopt into my own vocabulary is where he says, “Personally, I am committed to the vision of a local church and its pastors with two basic functions: pastor to the faithful and chaplain to the whole community” (80,81). I love this idea and have been partnering with God to see it embodied in my life. I also appreciate his wholistic approach to the Scripture, where he says, “God’s agenda seeks the personal salvation of all persons and the social transformation of all places” (66), for this is indeed the whole church, the whole gospel for the whole city (66).
There are many wonderful biblical lessons throughout the book, but I really appreciated the last chapter when he reflected on all he has learned by sharing his ten values, which I want to remember and practice, so I will give a summary of each of them. 1) Creation and redemption. Spiritual transformation of people and social transformation of places. 2) Truth and love. Balancing the prophetic with grace and forgiveness. 3) Individuality and community. Balancing the individual with the community. 4) Local and global. Balancing the incarnation of Christ to a specific place and the cosmic Christ with the universal mandate. 5) Unity and diversity. Holding to the historic unity of the church while creating a climate for diverse worship and cultures. 6) Power and powerlessness. Balancing the voluntary setting aside of privilege while gaining things to help the poor. 7) Certainty and mystery. Seeking the Spirit to stay orthodox while recognizing the need for mystery. 8) Commission and commandment. The Great Commission and the Great Commandment. 9) Past and Future. Appreciating the past while looking toward the future. 10) Work and rest. A sustainable ministry requires a rhythm of work and rest (204-205). I plan to carry these simple ideas with me on my journey of life.(less)
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Hauerwas states his thesis well in the introduction when he says, “Though this book touches on many issues it is dominated by one concern: to reassert the social significance of the church as a distinct society with an integrity peculiar to itself. ...moreHauerwas states his thesis well in the introduction when he says, “Though this book touches on many issues it is dominated by one concern: to reassert the social significance of the church as a distinct society with an integrity peculiar to itself. My wish is that this book might help Christians rediscover that their most important social task is nothing less than to be a community capable of hearing the story of God we find in the scripture and living in a manner that is faithful to that story.”(1)
Hauerwas develops his thesis in three interdependent parts. In the first part, he not only demonstrates the necessity of narrative in the formation of any community or polity, but also describes the kind of narrative in which Christian communities are to be shaped. He states that our narrative finds its center in the story of Jesus, not the state, and that our understanding of the authority of the canon is crucial. He says, canon “is not an accomplishment but a task… (68) and the issue is not just one of interpretation but of what kind of people can remember the past and yet know how to go on in a changed world” (67). In part two, he helps the reader understand the necessary interrelation of narrative and character and how the virtues are “finally dependent on our character for direction, not vice versa” (143). Hauerwas makes it extremely clear that if the theoretical arguments posed in the first two parts are to be taken seriously, it must be reflected in a praxis that is faithful to God, and so he makes his theology practical by applying his theory to the areas of family, sex and abortion.
While reading Hauerwas is a task - it takes an enormous amount of concentration to follow his complex arguments and there isn’t always a clear sense of direction - it is a task that I found worthy of my time and energy.
Through reading Hauerwas, I have been able to see more clearly how the presuppositions that we hold, knowingly or unknowingly, are based on the dominant narrative by which we live. I was reminded again how much I have been shaped by the American story. I was also reminded of how our understanding of character and narrative deeply influence our ability to develop the virtues necessary to live a life that is faithful to God’s story. As Hauerwas so aptly puts it, “The kind of character the Christian seeks to develop is a correlative of a narrative that trains the self to be sufficient to negotiate existence without illusion or deception” (132).(less)
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