Not whole without us: Including people with disabilities in our understanding of the church, the gospel, and the world

2021 ◽  
pp. 009182962110488
Author(s):  
Rochelle Scheuermann
Keyword(s):  
Cape Town ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
The World ◽  
Recent Statement ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church

The Lausanne Movement famously organizes Evangelicals around the need for “the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” Years of reflection on what this means has led the movement to make more and more explicit statements about who is included in mission, what that mission looks like, and whom that mission is directed toward. In its most recent statement, the Cape Town Commitment expressly calls for us to “think not only of mission among those with a disability but to recognize, affirm and facilitate the missional calling of believers with disabilities themselves as part of the Body of Christ.” This is the first time that people with disabilities are explicitly included in this evangelical conversation and yet, though it has been over 10 years since Cape Town, scholarship on what this means in terms of theology, ecclesiology, and missiology remains underdeveloped. This article explains why disability must be part of our understanding of whole church, whole gospel, and whole world, and will suggest that when it is, we will change the ways in which we talk about and do mission.

Ecclesiology

2019 ◽  
pp. 224-240
Author(s):  
Tom Greggs
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Corporate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Church

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.

scholarly journals Exegesis Integrative Review of Salvation Because The Love Of God Is The Basic of The Church As The Unity of The Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:11-22)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29
Author(s):  
Tonny Andrian
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Church History ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Shed Blood ◽  
Major Subject ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Church

The subject of the unity of the church has appeared several times during the period of church history as a major subject. Even in the 20th century, differences of opinion on the subject of unity led to divisions. This point cannot be ignored. That is why the researcher conducted an integrated exegessa study on the meaning of the Church as the unity of the body of Christ Ephesians 2: 11-22. Ephesians 2: 11-22 is not a separate passage, but integrative, with other passages in the book of Ephesians. (this would be integrative both with Ephesians 2: 1-10 and Ephesians 4: 1-6) The conjunction "therefore" in Ephesians 2.11, describes the preceding verses that speak of grace. The suffering of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, and His shed blood, are manifestations of grace that saves sinners. A demonstration of grace, which is free gift. It is the grace that saves people from sin. Thus Ephesians 2: 11-22 must be seen as a context that comes from grace. The saving or salvation based on the grace of God, as a building body of Christ, which is a union, which was previously "distant", ie those who are without Christ, not belonging to the citizens of Israel, become one body of Christ as intended by God. Ephesians 2: 11-22 explains that the unification of the body of Christ is a reflection of the journey of a Christian individual who has been saved by the grace of Christ God, is united or united with other Christian individuals to move towards the unity of building the body of Christ, as the Temple of God. the church as the unified Body of Christ, is built on the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets. Thus, the church, which has a government, a doctrine that may not be the same as one another, but the church is a unity in the bonds of the Spirit of peace, one faith, one Baptism, one god, one GOD the FATHER of all God, as salt and The light of the world, brings transformation and restoration for the world, through the carrying out of the task of the grace of Christ, namely the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, so that all knees will kneel and all tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the heavenly Father.

scholarly journals Die karakter van die kerk in perspektief van huidige teologiese besinning

1990 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-208
Author(s):  
P. C. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Community Of Faith ◽  
Ecclesiastical Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Theological Thought ◽  
The Church ◽  
Apostolic Community

The character of the church - a perspective on current theological thought The role of the church in society is currently much focused upon in theological thought. The author analyses various characteristics of the church with reference to views of well known theologians. As community of faith it is the body of Christ revealed very visibly in the world representing the kingdom of God. For that very reason the idea of a national church is unacceptable. The church is one, catholic and apostolic community, even particularly in its visible form. Though Scripture gives no clear guidelines on the structure of the church, there are many general biblical norms to be considered in ecclesiastical law and government.

scholarly journals Sacramental Ecclesiology: Adopting Augustine’s Totus Christus for Evangelical Ecclesiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-253
Author(s):  
Angga Avila
Keyword(s):  
Primary Objective ◽  
The Body ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Evangelical Churches ◽  
The World ◽  
Evangelical Movement ◽  
The Church

After the 16th-century reformation, the church was faced with the situation of ecclesiological plurality, both differences in traditions and church divisions into many denominations, in­cluding evangelical churches. Despite the fact that the evangelical movement was founded with the primary objective of spreading the gospel, it is devoid of coherence in ecclesiology. Based on Augustine’s idea of totus Christus, this research presents a con­structive ecclesiology proposal for evangelical churches. Drawing primarily on Augustine’s notion of totus Christus, and by showing that this idea is central to his theological construction, the author proposes the importance of revisiting the doctrine of totus Christus to create an ecclesiology that links to sacramentology and soteriology. The contribution of this research is to show that the doctrine of totus Christus is more organic and sacramental so that it can become the foundation and aspiration for evangelical churches united as the body of Christ to participate in His redemptive works for the salvation of the world.

Apartheid and the Church in South Africa

Worldview ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Koji Taira
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Inhibiting Factor ◽  
The World ◽  
Basic Functions ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Church

In order to be truly the body of Christ in the world, the Church seeks the right to give free, unrestricted expression to its basic functions such as worship, proclamation, fellowship, service and teaching. In an avowedly Christian country it legitimately proceeds on the assumption that this right is given. Apartheid legislation and custom, however, place serious restrictions on these basic functions, as well as on the overall administration of the Church.Apart from specific restrictions contained in legislation, there is also the inhibiting factor of uncertainty engendered by the wideness and vagueness of many regulations and laws. A climate of opinion has developed, encouraged by the plethora of regulations and laws, which makes even legally permissible actions seem doubtful and possibly dangerous.

Encountering the Gospel through Confirmation

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
Terri Martinson Elton ◽  
Richard Osmer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
God's Mission ◽  
Bear Witness ◽  
The Church

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.

Joseph Ratzinger

2018 ◽  
pp. 448-466
Author(s):  
Theodor Dieter
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Local Churches ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Joseph Ratzinger ◽  
The Church ◽  
Point Of Reference

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.

The Eastern Orthodox Tradition

2018 ◽  
pp. 182-198
Author(s):  
Andrew Louth
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
The Third ◽  
The World ◽  
Church And Society ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
Church In The World ◽  
The Church

This chapter on Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology consists of three parts. The first section discusses the fundamental theological understanding of the church as the Body of Christ, the Bride of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The second section looks at the four notes of the church, which characterize the church as it exists in the world: unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity. The third section, ‘The Church in the World’, is concerned with practical issues of ecclesiology: the relation of church and society, Eucharistic ecclesiology, and modern problems.

I The Nature and Mission of the Church: A Discussion of Vols. I and II of the Preparatory Studies

1949 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. F. Torrance
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
World Council Of Churches ◽  
The Road ◽  
The World ◽  
World Council ◽  
Actual Material ◽  
The Will ◽  
Doctrine Of The Church ◽  
The Church

The Universal Church in God's Design, and The Church's Witness to God's Design, the first two volumes written in preparation for the meeting of the World Council of Churches at Amsterdam, are an ecumenical event in themselves. They form the most significant attempt at combined thinking about the nature and mission of the Church that has yet taken place. The stage is now set for a fresh and exhaustive inquiry behind the present divisions among the Churches into a Biblical and Christological doctrine of the Church which may yet knit into a theological unity the agreement of the Churches reached at Amsterdam. After all “the only valid argument for the union of the Churches is theological, a belief that unity is the will of God for His Church, and that the Church as the Body of Christ ought to represent on earth the mysterious unity of the Godhead” (Vol. II, p. 202). The purpose of this essay is not so much to review the actual material presented in these volumes as to face the questions they raise and, if possible, to point the discussion further along the road to that theological unity.

Gentiles, Christians, and Israelites in the Epistle to the Ephesians

1986 ◽  
Vol 79 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Alstrup Dahl
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

Most early Christians perceived the world in which they lived as a world of Jews and Gentiles. Ephesians speaks most impressively about the unity of the two parts in the church, which is the body of Christ. Studies of Ephesians have very often concentrated on the idea of the church and the relationship between ecclesiology, christology, and soteriology. Some scholars have paid special attention to the relationship between the church and Israel, Christians and Jews. Statements about the Gentiles have received much less attention, but for reasons which will become apparent in the course of this article, I prefer to begin with them*.

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