Doing Church: Part Two
There are a number of different movements in the church today,
and these are really epistemological, or theological positions, not
alternative practices.
These movements are explained by an old theologian who insisted "that the relationship between an individual’s theories of the church is directly related to his theology".[1] In the last century, Hodge argued that there are three competing views of theology, which led to differing views on the church:
(Evangelical, Ritual, Rationalistic), which have always striven to master the church and have manifested themselves in their respective ecclesiological tenets. For instance, the Ritual perspective sees the church as “the organized professors of the true religion subject to lawful pastors.” The Evangelical view stands in contrast to this as it recognizes the church to be only “true believers.”[2]
Following these, one might see the rationalistic theology of Schleiermacher, in modern liberalism as the attempt of church "to be successful in evangelism". To do so, they tried to "rethink the Gospel in contemporary terms"[3]. The seeker-model seems to follow the same ambition to reach the culture, they have tried to rethink the church with the goal of evangelism in mind—from the outside in, to make the gospel's relevance obvious to all. "The traditional" American church, again focused on the gospel again, sees the church as a stationary evangelistic rally, much like the seeker model, but for an older generation.
All these are rooted in the commercial pragmatism of modernity. "the social ministries of the liberal church, the music of the seeker-sensitive church, the programs of the traditional evangelical church all must be seen to be working well and working now to be considered relevant and successful"[4]. While ritual describes the anglo-catholic liturgy, rooted in ancient rite and tradition, it once again is based on an even older cultural paradigm. Regardless of what approach is taken, from both a biblical and historical standpoint, this cultural accommodation, seeing integration with worldly success as the direction of ministry seems incalculably dangerous.
The Bible is full of images and instructions regarding delayed blessings, and warns of animosity from the culture, forbidding the believer to be "of the world". So what is a Biblical picture of the churches goals? What is the foundation of practical ecclesiology? Do these rule, or do market statistics and cultural connectedness drive one's ministry?
[1] A. Craig Troxel, Charles Hodge on Church Boards: A Case Study in Ecclesiology
[2] A. Craig Troxel, Charles Hodge on Church Boards: A Case Study in Ecclesiology
[3] Dever, mark Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway Wheaton, Ill 2001), 26
[4] Dever, mark Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway Wheaton, Ill 2001), 27
