ECCLESIOLOGY AND MISSIOLOGY MUST MATCH

Some eager Christians may have a great game plan to reform society outside of the local church, or without involvement of the local churches. That’s a case of having a commendable mission concentration but having a faulty ecclesiology. That would be unfortunate since the apostle Paul called the local church “the pillar and ground of the truth.” That’s a significant role. The local churches should be the equipping and accountability agencies that facilitate the marketplace leaders who are working to reform, serve and build health into societies. Local churches disciple and build character and emotional health into the lives of the reform leaders. Does that make sense? That’s large ‘C’ Church functioning together missionally from a sound ecclesiology.

GOD’S INTENTION: NOT TO REFORM BUT TO REDEEM SOCIETY

God never intended to reform society when it went wrong within a few generations. He determined to redeem humanity. Interesting concept. Why redemption? Going wrong incurred penalty, the loss of relationship with God and the forfeiture of life. Resource data, the Bible, informs us that to accomplish said redemption, he sent his divine Son. Not as a swat team commander or warrior king, but as a human baby he came. Fully human, he identified with humanity. His deity remained unaltered. He was God in a human body. He grew up, matured, and never went wrong. He did not deserve the penalty. He should not die. He was innocent. However, the divine plan scripted that this supernatural son came specifically for this purpose, to die on behalf of all the other wrongdoers. That is, his death would count as the full payment for the transgressions of everyone else who ever lived on planet earth. The proviso being, faith. 

POST CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICALS

When my theology was in its formative stages, I was instructed by Great Tradition evangelicals. It was a conservative Evangelical theology that accepted the Bible as God’s inspired and trustworthy word. At the same time I was aware of scholars and theologians who attempted to reform or correct the great faith traditions. Reform or correction was accomplished by questioning divine authorship of parts of the Bible.