Pentecostal Ecclesiologies

Author(s):  
Amos Yong

What can be said about ‘pentecostal ecclesiology’ when there are arguably many ‘pentecostalisms’ and just as many ecclesial forms across the world of pentecostal-charismatic Christianity? This chapter provides a basic sketch of such phenomenological diversity and then moves to present as a viable candidate for pentecostal ecclesiological reflection a pneumatological framework of the church as renewed by the Spirit and always renewing. The first section provides some historical perspective on the classical pentecostal movement The second and third sections argue that pentecostal ecclesiological dynamism is inspired largely by its pneumatic spirituality; they map emerging ecclesiological tendencies under the rubrics ‘the church as the charismatic fellowship of the Spirit’ and ‘the church as the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit’. While the former reflects some of the renewal distinctives about pentecostal ecclesiological self-understanding, the latter situates the pentecostal understanding of the church within the mainstream of ecclesiological developments.

Author(s):  
Angelo Nicolaides

This article unpacks aspects of the Eucharist and how it is understood in various churches using a literature study methodology. It also looks at the notion of the “people of God’. The Greek word εὐχαριστία (eucharistia), means "thanksgiving", appears fifteen times in the New Testament and is a critical aspect of the Christian faith. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday’s is an requisite activity of the Church because the Eucharist establishes the Church as the Body of Christ. The Eucharistic celebration is also known as the Divine Liturgy and is believed to impart the actual Body and Blood of Christ to the faithful. In the act of communion, the entire Church, those past, present, and even forthcoming are unified in eternity. It is the source of her life, the superlative act of her thanksgiving and of her sacrifice of praise to the creator God. The Holy Eucharist is the very core of Christian life, and the means by which each believer is nourished by God's grace and tender mercy. At the Divine Liturgy, the Church is continuously changed from a human community into the Body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the holy People of God.


Author(s):  
Joanna Leidenhag

Charismatic gifts are an understudied and divisive aspect of Christian worship. Yet, in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4, Paul links these phenomena with his famous metaphor for the unity of the church as the Body of Christ. This paper argues that one can better understand how the Holy Spirit unifies both the universal and local church by viewing charismatic gifts as liturgical group actions. After briefly introducing the category of charismatic gifts, I argue that charismatic gifts are a semi–scripted improvisational activity which immerse participants into the core Christian narrative of the universal and invisible church. I then argue that charismatic gifts are given to and enacted by communities, rather than individuals, and so are an example of group action actualising the corporate agency of the local church. When charismatic gifts are seen as liturgical group actions it becomes clear how the Spirit uses charismatic gifts to transform the gathered people of God into the unified Body of Christ.


Author(s):  
Tom Greggs

This chapter examines Bonhoeffer’s account of the church and advocates that throughout Bonhoeffer’s corpus there remains a desire to explicate the reality of the church in terms of its structural being with and for the other. This structure exists both internally in terms of its members’ relation to each other, and externally as the church relates as a corporate body to the world. The chapter considers Bonhoeffer’s ecclesiological method; the visibility of the church; vicarious representation; the church as the body of Christ; the agency of the Holy Spirit; preaching, the sacraments, and the offices of the church; and the question of the church in a religionless age.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 95-114
Author(s):  
Andrzej Pastwa

In the communio Ecclesiae reality, of a unitarian, charismatic, and institutiona structure, the crucial concepts of participation and co-responsibility are firmly anchored in the juridical and canonical discourse. This is the way in which the horizon of the subject matter reveals itself, the study of which — from the point of view of the title triad: synodality — participation — co-responsibility — will never lose its relevance. What is, at the same time, important is the idea of “synodality,” which is adequately recognized as the sacra potestas of a sacramental origin (ontological aspect), which gains the dynamism of libertas sacra (existential and dynamic aspect) through the charisms of the Holy Spirit, thus leading to the inseparability of its personal and synodal aspects. Therefore, in the attempt to illuminate the determinant of the aggiornamento of the Church law in this study, it was appropriate, on the one hand, to consistently refer to the essence of the idea of the communio hierarchica, according to which Christ makes selected servants participate in his authority by means of an office, the exercise of which always remains a diaconia in the community of faith. On the other hand, in reference to the contemporary understanding of communio fidelium, the axis of scientific reflection was to be the communion-creative phenomenon of charisms — gifts of the Holy Spirit that awaken in the People of God synodal co-responsibility for the good of the entire Church community. In both cases — without losing sight of the obvious truth that, in the sacramental structure of the Church (communio), both hierarchical and charismatic gifts converge in the service of the bishop, who updates — according to the logic of the Vaticanum II aggiormamento and the ecclesiological principles of the Council: collegiality, the title synodality and subsidiarity — the fullness of Christ’s service: as Prophet, Priest, and King.


Author(s):  
Minggus M. Pranoto

Abstract This article highlights a critical question: why is Pentecostal-Charismatic leadership vulnerable to various scandals? This model of leadership often exposes the dark side of leadership characterized by the issues of money, sex, and power. This study suggests that Pentecostal-Charismatic leaders are often trapped in the model of personalized charismatic leadership that is based on misinterpretation of the doctrine of being Spirit-filled. The method used in this article is that of practical theology relating the framework of socialized charismatic leadership to the theological concept of the church (ekklesia) as the body of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.   Abstrak Tulisan ini menyoroti pertanyaan kritis: mengapa kepemimpinan Pentakostal-Karismatik rentan terkena berbagai skandal? Model kepemimpinan ini acap kali memunculkan sisi gelap kepemimpinan yang ditandai oleh masalah-masalah keuangan, seksual, dan kekuasaan. Kajian ini mengungkapkan bahwa para pemimpin Pentakostal-Karismatik seringkali terjebak dalam model personalized charismatic leadership yang didasari oleh penafsiran yang keliru atas doktrin being Spirit-filled. Metode tulisan ini termasuk dalam ranah teologi praktis yang mengaitkan kerangka berpikir socialized charismatic leadership dengan konsep teologis tentang gereja (ekklesia) sebagai tubuh Kristus dan persekutuan Roh Kudus.


Author(s):  
G. M.M. Pelser

The church in the New Testament The article explores the documents of the New Testament in search of the concept church' and finds that,  in a nutshell, the answers are as follows: the  Spirit-controlled, charismatic togetherness of people 'in Christ' (Paul); cross-bearing followers of Jesus (Mk); the people of God on their way through history (Lk-Ac); the faithful locked in battle with Satanic powers, but with the expectation of occupying the heavenly Jerusalem (Rv); the  community with which Christ became solidary, and which is heading for its heavenly place of rest (Reb); the poor but pious community, putting their faith into practice (Ja); the body of Christ in which his universal reign can be experienced (Col); the sphere in which salvation is  realized (Eph); disciples following Jesus as God-with us, experiencing the  rift between synagogue and church (Mt); friends and confidants of Christ, living at loggerheads with the synagogue (In); the household of God, governed by householders (Pastorals); and the socia-ly ostracized elect of God whose way of life should be a demonstration of their otherness as Christians (1 Pt).


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
Terri Martinson Elton ◽  
Richard Osmer

Confirmation is a ministry aimed at strengthening young people's understanding of faith, deepening their experience in Christian community, and equipping them to discern their calling to join in God's mission in the world. As the church engages in confirmation, young people encounter the gospel anew and congregations bear witness to the redemptive love of God and the covenant of grace into which all Christians are baptized. Learning from and with each other, within and across denominations, enhances confirmation as a discipleship ministry for young people. But it does more than that. As the body of Christ comes together to help young people encounter the gospel anew, lives are changed and become open to the Holy Spirit. Embracing our call to share the gospel and cultivate faith within young people not only serves the church today, it invests in the future.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-101
Author(s):  
Constantin Prihoancă

Abstract This article is a critical engagement with D. Stăniloae’s and J. Ratzinger’s ecclesiological thought as shaped by the description of church as the body of Christ and the Trinitarian roots of this ecclesiology. Starting from practical problems of prayer and living a Christian life, the authors argue that God’s relationship to the Christian community has primacy over God’s relationship to individual believers. When one conceives of the Christian community as being the body of Christ, one can uphold the elevated Christian ideal of Eucharist Communio without making it unattainable. The authors show that the being of the church is given to the Christian community not as a possession or property, but as a task to be fulfilled through the power of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. One can discover that in becoming the church, the Christian community is elevated to the Trinitarian life in communion. Communion ecclesiology has the potential to bridge the divide between the Orthodox and Catholic churches.


Author(s):  
Theodor Dieter

Ratzinger’s ecclesiology is a Eucharistic ecclesiology: the church is the people of God existing from the sacramental Body of Christ and thus becoming the ecclesial Body of Christ. Therefore the church is communio: the communion at the table with Christ and among the believers, and also a communion of local churches (communio ecclesiarum) that is the basis for the collegiality of the bishops. The spiritual and institutional dimensions of the Body of Christ are mutually interwoven. In every particular church the universal church is present; its representation and the point of reference in doctrinal matters for all is the pope. The church serves the presence of the Word of God in the world in such a way that the Word as it is witnessed to in Holy Scripture is communicated to all by authorized witnesses. Witness (content) and witnesses are inseparable, as succession and tradition are mutually interrelated as form and content.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. DeVries

This article examines the use of spiritual gifts for church growth, particularly in relation to the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. The article begins with a definition of spiritual gifts and by highlighting their purpose for growing the church. This is followed by two practical considerations: How should Christian believers use spiritual gifts for church growth, and how should church leaders motivate gift use for this purpose? Since the Holy Spirit works though believers to build up the body of Christ, advocates of biblical church growth should seek to employ his means to motivate spiritual giftedness in the church.


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