People of God's Presence , livre ebook

Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2019 by Terry L. Cross
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1796-4
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled NCV are from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Dedication
To the memory of my grandparents, who taught me to love God’s presence and God’s people
Rev. Arthur L. Cross (1895–1984) Essie Thomas Cross (1892–1976) John H. Stockwell (1876–1943) Cora Parks Stockwell (1884–1971)
Contents
Cover i
Half Title Page ii
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Dedication v
Preface ix
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction: A Re-formation of the Church? 1
1. The Church as the Means of Connecting with God? 15
2. The Nature of God and the People of God 43
3. The Encounter between God and Humans 93
4. The Tasks of the People of God in Gathered Community 163
5. The Tasks of the People of God in Missional Outreach 205
6. The People of God Proclaim the Word of God and Hear It Proclaimed 239
Conclusion: For the Sake of the World 273
Select Bibliography 279
Author Index 289
Scripture Index 293
Subject Index 297
Back Cover 301
Preface
This work offers a doctrine of the church for Christians in the twenty-first century. The precise theological location of this ecclesiology will be explained throughout this book and its companion volume, Serving the People of God’s Presence . However, in terms of type or genre, this work is one of constructive theology—like building a house with rooms that are fitting to both one’s environment and personal taste. Nonetheless, the theological foundation will be built on Scripture and in particular on the revelation of God in human flesh, Jesus Christ. The style of the house and the features will be informed by those thinkers within the movement of Christianity who have gone before us and blazed a trail of ideas in relation to their times. Constructing a theological house is a rather apt metaphor for the task of this work, but writing a constructive theology of the church that others will read is quite daunting. It is like inviting strangers into one’s mental construction to render judgment on the dimensions of each room, the placement of doors and windows, and the adequacy of the decor.
A number of years ago, David Ford expressed rather precisely the sentiment with which I wrote this book: “It is riskier to come up with a constructive position, an attempt to design a habitable contemporary dwelling. At every step in the process one is aware of the immense power of the demolition experts with flourishing businesses, of the overcautious insurance and lending companies, of those who protest at one’s building going anywhere near their own . . . , and those who seem quite content that no actual dwellings be built at all if they cannot meet their own impossibly ideal specifications.” 1 Such second-guessing is an important part of the writing process to be sure, but too much focus on how others will perceive one’s theological house can halt construction.
So why am I daring to construct a house that details my understanding of the church? Why not just critique other houses—something with which I am vastly more comfortable? As will be shared in the introduction, I believe that radical shifts are required of the Christian church in this century, the most fundamental of which is a theological renewal of understanding the nature and mission of the church.
Therefore, the reader should understand that my writing is in the form of a proposal, not a set-in-stone system that is always “right.” Even in my most stringent writing I recognize that I could be wrong—that I may need the engagement of others to help flesh out the reality of the community of faith for our times. Nevertheless, the church seems to be in such a condition today (especially in Western societies) that changing the drapery over the windows is not going to help. What I am proposing is really nothing less than building a new theological house from the foundation up, not rearranging furniture or dressing up our already existing houses with laser light shows and condensed fog to create a sense of mystery that we think will appeal to people.
Perhaps it is important at this point that I share some aspects of my church background so that the reader may better understand some influences for the concepts in this book. My own approach to the doctrine of the church arises from three major arenas: my pastoral experience with three different local churches; my theological and biblical study; and my early years of being shaped by Christians in a small, rural church in Michigan. Trained in systematic theology, I engaged in almost twelve years of pastoral ministry during different segments of my career. Raised as a Pentecostal, I have served classical Pentecostal churches as well as an independent charismatic church. I have been connected with the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) all my life and am currently an ordained bishop in that denomination. However, I have also worked across denominational lines in the ecumenical movement, representing the Society for Pentecostal Studies at the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA for nine years. I am well aware that the proposal in this book will not fit many communions of the Christian faith, but I believe that parts of the proposal may provide a beneficial dialogue partner for them.
My training at Lee College (TN) introduced me to hermeneutical and language skills to begin a lifetime of Scripture study. 2 My training at Ash land Theological Seminary (OH) taught me how to do ministry in a church setting—in particular, how to lead body ministry (that is, ministry that arises from and through the body of Christ). Much of what I offer here as a proposal for the church would never have come to mind without the humble, steadfast example of these Anabaptist brothers and sisters in Christ. 3 Added to this approach to ministry was the commitment of the Reformed churches to the work of the church as a witness of Christ’s reconciliation and desire for justice in the world. Their reliance on and respect for Scripture expanded my grasp of what was important from a theological point of view. During my PhD studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, the nature and mission of the church came more clearly into view. 4
Yet it was only as I engaged in the day-to-day task of pastoral work that I began to ask questions of my theological training and of Scripture. From among the conflicting duties demanding my time, how was I supposed to choose which to perform first—if at all? Why did the work of ministry seem to fall entirely on me, the pastor? Should the people of God also be involved in doing the work of ministry? How might that come about? I began to engage in a desperate search to determine what God intended the church to be and do. That search, begun in the throes of pastoral work in the 1990s, has continued over the years as I have shifted from pastoring to teaching theology at Lee University to future pastors, teachers, missionaries, and ministers of God’s work.
What I have discovered from looking into the Scriptures and engaging various theological works on the church has grounded my suspicion that we need a re-formation of the church. It has become the basis for this work.
A word of thanks is due to many people who have contributed to this book, sometimes without knowing they were doing so. President Paul Conn and the board of directors at Lee University gave me a sabbatical to help complete the work presented here. This was the incentive and time I needed as an academic administrator to engage in research, reflection, and writing. I am most appreciative of their continued support. Colleagues and students in the School of Religion have sparked numerous rewrites of my ideas, always making them better conceived along the way. Various secretaries have worked on parts of this manuscript in its primitive stages. Thanks are due to them for assisting me in getting this manuscript in shape—even though it has changed immensely since I began it in 1992. Dori Salvador from the church in Connecticut and Dana Crutchfield, my executive secretary for seventeen years at Lee University, have both assisted me immensely in this work. Student workers and teaching assistants have also cont