Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Applied
Ecclesiology Project
- Part I -‐ Name both strengths and barriers in your
congregation for eschatological embodiment of the Kingdom
in your particular place (as you are coming to see them),
substantiating this naming process with the words of
congregants and your participant observation experiences.
- The Kingdom of God is both
universal and diverse. It
spans the planet and indeed
all of the cosmos, it includes
people from all over the
world. My ecclesial
community lives this out by
the expression of their faith
in a universal way and by
sharing communion with a
diverse community.
- The Kingdom is a place of where the secular and
profane is transformed into the sacred by the
power of the spirit. My ecclesial community
lives this out by shining the love of the Kingdom
of Christ in dark places. They do this via various
ministries to the homeless, the sick, and the
dying. They do this by networking with other
churches to bridge the gulfs of division.
- My community is in many ways old fashioned and often has trouble embracing
our relevant society. As the world is changing rapidly, it often acts as if it is still
operating in the 1970's or 80's/. This makes it difficult to reach out to to the
communtity at large an be the eschatalogical representation of the Kingdom.
- My community is a commuter church which makes it
difficult to embody a rich theology of place.
- Part 2 -‐ How does the Story of God interact with what
you are hearing from the congregation and in the
neighborhood? What biblical and theological themes
really address where the congregation finds itself right
now?
- Acts 10: Peter sees a vision by which he is symbolically
instructed to allow gentiles into the church. In many ways, my
church is in this limbo being tugged by the demands of a new
society and a desire that certain folks be accepted into the
body who would have previously been excluded.
- 2 Kings 2: Elijah is taken into heaven and ;eaves Elisha with
a blessing to continue his ministry of prophesying and
miracles. My church is in the process of raising up a younger
generation of leaders and passing on the blessings which
God has given them.
- Part 3 -‐ Paint a compelling picture to energize the congregation
using eschatological imagination (use language and methods of
the poet). This part of the paper may be submitted as or
accompanied by some type of media presentation, sermon, or
other creative work.
- Craft an interesting and inspiring video presentation which shows examples of when previous church
communities had experienced profound change and entered into a new era of worship and practice. This will
maybe loosen people up to the demands of our modern society
- Part 4 -‐ Speak to the pastoral processes
of leading this particular congregation in
this direction.
- Encourage congregants to consider relocating their homes to the neighborhood in which
they worship. Through this and via other less drastic mediums, teach about a robust
theology of place.
- Using books, sermons, and life
groups, teach congregants about a
eucharistic centered life and what
it means to think
eschatologically.
- Be sure to connect all teachings and practices to church
history and tradition, making sure that this connection
is present and well known in the congragation, thus
fostering an appreciation for the historicity of the fresh
approaches.