Forming a Scripture-Shaped Congregation

Paul writes – Warning – Long Post.

A fundamental Christian recognition is that “disciples are learners.”

Back in 1971 Findley Edge saw a great need for the church to become a mature community, conscious of its identity and purpose: ‘It is imperative that we become a people who understand who we are, who God is, what God is about in the world and what God is calling us to be about in the world.’

Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson helpfully write that “Christian theology is reflecting on and articulating the God-centred life and beliefs that Christians share as followers of Jesus Christ, and it is done in order that God may be glorified in all Christians are and do.” There is much in this definition that commends it.

“Doing theology can assist the local church to become a community of biblically formed and socially responsive Christians, continually engaged in discerning the presence and call of God to them and, both individually and collectively, responding in worship and service. These are the characteristics of a healthy church and these should be the objectives of theological work within local church communities.”

“The most crucial ingredient in this vision of a church is the notion of being biblically formed.”

“A biblically formed community is, then, one, which seeks to be indwelt by Christ’s word and spirit, its life formed by his will and way.”

“There are several questions which can serve as criteria to guide a theologically aware Christian community. The church should continually be asking itself:

·         Where is Christ moving in our situation?

·         What is God saying to us, now?

·         What is the Spirit calling us to take notice of, to respond to, to discover or do, in conformity with Christ?

·         What then shall we do—individually, collectively and cooperatively?”

In forming a “Scripture-shaped” (Richard Hays) or “biblically formed” (Frank Rees) community, the central task is reading the bible together, seeking an encounter with God, in ways that shape and direct our lives, individually and corporately.

In the Baptist tradition, reading the Bible together is carried out in the belief that “a contemporary group of disciples is in effectively the same situation as the first hearers of the gospel. They are equally competent to receive and respond to the biblical call and invitation, allowing themselves to be directed by the text and by the Spirit towards God’s promised future.”

We are invited to “consider what we are called to do and to become and thus what we are called to change, to leave behind or to challenge, in order to go with the way of God.”

“The Bible points us forward to what God is doing in the world and calls us to participate in this way of life, a life with God.”

Rees helpfully offers examples of what might be practically done to become theologically responsive communities. I quote him at length:

1.         Preaching, teaching and small group studies should all be directed toward the overall purposes we have described. This requires planning, purpose and leadership, to encourage appropriate emphases. Here the central purposes and themes must be:

·           Christian life as discipleship;

·           Church understood as discerning community;

·           Priesthood of all believers affirmed as the collective responsibility;

·           The mission of the dispersed church seen as theologically significant.

The crucial factor here is seeing the text as a living word in the present and seeing the present alive with the same reality, the same God who is revealed in the text. As a result, pastors and teachers will encourage all participants to see themselves as engaged in a living theology. Faith and life, theology and practice, thus come together and affirm one another. Sermons which tell stories of how people in the local situation are discerning God’s presence, or which include interviews with church members who share such insights, will give inspiration to others and stimulus to the ongoing discovery of theological meaning in the lives of the people.

2.         Church life as story-telling: A vital expression of a theologically aware and responsive community is the sharing of stories about God and God’s presence. Here are a few possibilities:

·           ‘Insights’ segment in services: very short talks by people, sharing where God is present, what God is like, in their daily lives, at work, home, neighbourhood. History segments that relate the story of this church, this place, these people.

·           Church reports written and told as the story of theological response: that is, the story of the church year told as a story of people with God.

·           The history of each church written as the story of theological response.

·           Similarly, new proposals for mission activities; church programs and other developments in the local community can be presented in terms of the continuing story of the church’s engagement with and response to God.

3.         Specific activities encouraging spiritual awareness:

·           Workshops responding to God’s presence in our daily experience.

·           Taking an ‘exegetical walk’ around the local church’s neighbourhood: discovering who is here and what is happening, and relating these activities to theological themes, biblical stories.

·           Viewing a film together, then discussing its social and theological significance.

·           Some introductory classes in biblical imagination: reading the bible in ways that connect stories with our living experience now: where is God, who is God, what is God like in this passage? Where is God, who is God, what is God like in our situation now? What guidance does this reflection offer for our living?

4.         Providing specific opportunities for theological study, in a wide range of activities and levels:

·           For Deacons, Elders or other leaders: a workshop describing the priesthood of this local church, and exploring how the gathered life can contribute to the dispersed and total priesthood, and how the dispersed life can be expressed in the gathered life.

·           Some classes, forums, films, and workshops on specific and theological ideas: what does it mean to be a disciple? What is the church? Living with questions; living with difference; working out our salvation: gift and task; priorities and values; great lives of faith —historical and contemporary; etc., etc.

·           Book reading groups;

·           Theology café;

·           Making available short papers on specific topics, and encouraging people to read them;

·           Identify some internet resources, such as transcripts of radio talks, or short papers, [and blogs] appropriate for people to read;

·           Establish an on-line forum for discussion and response to studies, sermons, etc. A skilled moderator for this process is crucial;

·           Promote suitable short courses in spirituality;

·           Invite a college teacher to be a scholar in residence for a month— and perhaps do this every year, with a variety of contributions;

·           Hold one weekend per year which is a ‘teaching’ weekend;

You can read Rees’ very useful essay, in its entirety, here. Thanks to Phil McCredden for bringing it to my attention.

Comments

[Merv]

Everyone in church a theologian? Wow! I love it..... Who is God to OUR church?
"If God had a name, What would it be?....If God had a face, What would it look like?" (Joan Osborne: One of Us)
One challenge, though, is that a church is organic. That is, younger members come in, older members move on, all are at different stages of maturity & have different abilities and needs. And this changes through time. A beautiful theological community involves the whole "organism."

shalom,

[Matt Stone]

Paul, I loved the quote:

‘It is imperative that we become a people who understand who we are, who God is, what God is about in the world and what God is calling us to be about in the world.’

As you'll see from discussions going on at my blog http://mattstone.blogs.com/eclectic_itchings/2006/06/the_ec_can_it_b.html
being clear on who God is and what God is can be quite a hot topic and indeed could be getting hotter. Never mind wider theological study, are we even clear on theology proper, on whether Jesus a monotheist?

[bill]

Paul, how does this impact the idea of a churchless faith? How does it impact what you are doing in regards to church?

[Alan and Paul]

Bill, yours was a short yet richly evocative question which we trust is honoured in the response which we have both worked on

One of the great tragedies of a journey towards a 'churchless faith' (with a small 'c') is the loss of challenge, encouragement and stimulation of others around scripture. While there are necessities that mean people need to leave particular churches at particular times, it is a tragedy when this leads to long term isolation from others engaging with and orientating themselves around scripture.

There are times in our lives when we need silence, solitude and reflection. Sometimes these are for prolonged periods of time. But the Christian faith is essentially communal – communities of Jesus-followers/apprentices often called “churches”.

Sometimes those who leave churches become isolated. We don't believe this what a relational God desires. But neither do we believe that the only form of christian fellowship is that provided at your typical local church gathering (remember Melchizedek came to Abraham and 'ministered' to him in the desert - but Melchizedek's pedigree was at best mysterious).

Mentioning Melchizedek is intentional because this mysterious figure reminds us that God provides people to learn from and relate to from the most unlikely of places. While many people leave churches and don't “fellowship” (according to the common expectations and assumptions of others), this doesn't mean they are not in relationships that lead them toward God; and that nourish and resource them on their Godward journey.

Paul (collaborator on this blog) is a good example. His Jesus-following journey hasn’t stopped because he’s not part of a local church. Quite the contrary, and in many ways his sense of belonging to the church universal (what we sometimes call “the communion of saints”) has been richly enlarged during that time. Because he is not currently a part of a local church doesn’t mean that he won’t belong to a local church again, nor does it mean that he doesn’t hold to the importance of “church” in God’s “unfolding drama” (a little allusion to Tom Wright). It’s an embodied paradox – and not always and easy one.

Maybe too there is an implicit challenge (from those who live out a “churchless faith”), certainly from those transitioning, particularly between stages 3 and 4, or 4 & 5) around how we (as churches) engage with Scripture (particularly as “narrative”), around how we are shaped and formed by Scripture within a significantly changed cultural milieu.

I (Alan) also found the list, that Paul has produced, (as part of the post), challenging in terms of our own church in Wellington. There are a number of suggestions here that challenge what we are doing presently.

“So, how does the idea of a “churchless faith” impact what [we] are doing in regards to church?” Alan – Spirited Exchanges is one way our church lovingly responds to the reality that many people leave churches yet continue to grapple with issues and questions around faith, doubt, their own identities, God etc. The experiences of this group (and other groups besides) also shapes how we express what it means to be the church-gathered week-by-week, how we value and honour diversity in people and in their journey’s. The Spirited Exchanges & Wellington Baptist websites are linked to from the right hand column of this blog.

Bill, thanks again for a great question. Is our response helpful?

Alan and Paul