The Marks of the
Church
While
I would much rather confine my thoughts to The
Joy of the Gospel, a work that is brilliantly thought out and abounds with
the Grace of God in the teachings of Jesus the Christ, I feel compelled to speak
to the Rausch’s chapter on the marks of the church, specifically his section on
ecclesiological types (147). To my surprise
I found that he mentioned the Restorationist and more importantly, one of the
founders of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Alexander Campbell.
While
his statement that Restoration Movement “places more emphasis on pneumatology
and restoring the apostolic Church than on historical continuity” (Rausch 148)
is correct, I felt that he ignored the Disciples of Christ (DOC) Church in his explanation
of restorationist. My post then will be a
short apologetic for the ecclesiology of DOC Church as a denomination. So please bear with me.
The
restoration movement began with what is known as the revival at Cane Ridge in
August of 1801. If you have an attention
span of six minutes then I suggest you watch the video clip.
While this revival was extremely charismatic
in nature, it was the start of movement that would have at its core the idea
that all churches should be united together.
I won’t bother you with restorationist history other than to say that its
founder’s; Barton Stone, Thomas Campbell, and his son Alexander Campbell
believed in the small-c, catholic Church, the priesthood of all believers. Campbell Stone Movement That’s why as Disciples of Christ we have always
had as a part of our ecclesiology the unity of all Christian Churches. Furthermore, there are some Disciples theologians
that believe that the Holy Catholic Church should be seen as “papa” church,
while not connected in full-communion, but rather related in familiar terms to the
long history of the Catholic Church and its traditions.
Ecumenicalism
is in our DNA. “The unity of Christians
is not simply one item on a list of ecclesiastical priorities; it is the heart
of the gospel, to be pursued and proclaimed with passion. Barton Stone: ‘If we oppose the union of
believers, we oppose directly the will of God, the prayer of Jesus, the spirit
of piety, and the salvation of the world’” (Kinnamon & Linn 67). As a result, “Disciples have not seen our
movement as a permanent part of the ecclesial landscape. Rather, in the words of a prominent Disciples
pastor from the mid-twentieth century, ‘we are denomination that hopes to die’”
(Kinnamon & Linn 68). Striving for unity: Catholic Church dialogue with Disciples of Christ
Concerning
the Disciples of Christ ecclesiology our restorationist heritage informs our conscious
that the way to a true catholic church is to go back to the very beginning, to
the New Testament era found in the book of Acts, the attested to Pauline letters, and along with the Pastorals. There we find what we believe to be the “essential”
signs of the church expressed by Martin Luther to be “baptism, the Lord’s Supper,
and the preached word of God” (131).
Finally,
as Disciple’s we do have a Christological understanding of the church, we do
believe in a visible and invisible catholicity, we do believe in a church that
was once originally undivided, and our understanding of the apostolic church is
tied to Calvin’s belief that “apostolic succession [is to be understood] in
terms of succession in apostolic faith and life” (Rausch 143). I’ve gone on long enough. Peace to you all in the name of Jesus the
Christ, the One who ties us all together as one body, one vine with many
branches.
Rausch,
Thomas P. Towards a Truly Catholic Church: An Ecclesiology for the Third
Millennium. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 2005. Print.
Kinnamon,
Michael, and Jan Linn. Disciples: Reclaiming Our Identity, Reforming Our
Practice. St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice, 2009. Print.
I have not had much previous exposure to the Disciples of Christ tradition, from your explanation and the brief video, its immediate origins seem to be situated in the pentacostal / revivalist movement of the Second Great Awakening (its roots in the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth notwithstanding). Am I reading that correctly?
ReplyDeleteIt has been my impression, as a Catholic, through my encounters with Evangelical, born-again Christians, who I have associated with Pentacostalism, that visible church unity was not an important theme. Your post and the embedded video offer an timely counter-balance to that perspective.
In Cathoic circles, I have often encountered the argument that a certain amount of institutionalization is neccessary to prolong and extend a movement over time. The early Church, the story goes, developed its institutional forms through the guidance of Christ's Spirit in order to preserve the integrity of the Gospel and preach it through time. Without the institutional Church the preaching of the Word would not occur.
The counter argument is that God's Spirit blows where and when it wills and can not be contained by human institutions. Rausch goes on to describe the eschatological vision of the Church favored those denominations that eschew the hierarchy present in the Roman Catholic tradition.
I am impressed, by the Christological vision of Church laid out by the disciples of Christ. You describe the disciples of Christ as a denomination that longs for its own demise. While there is no doubt an eschatological orientation here, the founding vision laid-out in the Cane Ridge Revival seems to suggest a realized eschatology, an embodied unity through the rejection of denomination. Christ's body was destroyed only to be raised up anew. The "Last Will and Testament" of the Cane Creek Presbytery seems to suggest a foundation in the Pascal Mystery as much as in the movement of the Spirit which had inspired their response to the Word preached
The Catholic Church by analogy sees itself more as Mary (or Peter in certain quarters) than as Christ. Yet the "Body of Christ" is a central analogy for the Church from Paul's preaching on down. What implications might be realized in the Catholic Church or among denominations if they were to see themselves as Christ's crucified and resurrected body? Could such an ecclesiology have a broad appeal? It seems that this sort of ecclesiology would jibe well with the perspective of the Church as Servant and could perhaps also complement an understanding of the Church as Sacrament.
I have yet to read Francis' Joy of the Gospel, but I look forward to seeing the lines of connection between the Word and the Church that preaches it in his theology.
I found the initial blog posting to be very enlightening. Thank you for offering your critique of Rausch and for the brief historical perspective on the Disciples of Christ. Any time we can learn more about other facets of our Christian body of believers, we are presented with a true blessing. Both your addition to the readings and the readings themselves shed meaningful light into better understanding the history of how we arrived at so many different belief systems. As Rausch describes, “The first great division came in 1054 when tensions between Rome and Constantinople led to a loss of communion between the eastern churches and the Latin west. Then the Reformation in the sixteenth century shattered the western Church. With the charism of unity lost, churches continued to divide.” Pope Francis touches on a similar topic in his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium in the Ecumenical Dialog, paragraph 244. Here Pope Francis states that “Given the seriousness of the counter-witness of division among Christians, particularly in Asia and Africa, the search for paths to unity becomes all the more urgent.” Here the Pope is focusing on seriousness of the divisions, but calls for an even greater focus on the path toward unity. He goes further to state that “If we concentrate on the convictions we share, and if we keep in mind the principle of the hierarchy of truths, we will be able to progress decidedly towards common expressions of proclamation, service and witness.” This is very powerful in that it calls for a higher level of understanding. This understanding calls us to pay more attention to our similarities and less attention to our differences. It calls us to work toward unification and not division. I enjoyed the readings of Rausch as well as the thoughts of Pope Francis. I particularly enjoyed the Disciples of Christ critique. In the end, we are all one body and we should work towards the healing of all parts of that body to truly remain whole.
ReplyDeleteSong/Lyrics, for thought:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/maze/weareone.html
Although this is not necessary a religious song, I can’t help but think about he lyrics of the Maze, Featuring Frankie Beverly song entitled “We Are One.” If you’ve ever been to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival when Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly plays this song, you would have experienced the several thousands of people, from all walks of life, many different cultures, and all different make-ups, singing this song in unison. It’s a powerful experience that could be related to this discussion of the unity of our church. I encourage you all to check it out, if you are interested. Listening to the song is better than reading the lyrics.
JOY. What a gift. As this course has proceeded I have wrestled with my own thoughts and feelings about church, about the Catholic Church and about my place in the church. It has stirred up difficult questions and emotions, joy not being one of them. Catholicism was handed down to me without question through my grandparents and parents along with my olive skin and dark hair. A few years ago I discovered love letters written between my mother and father before they were married. They were joyful. They wrote of the excitement of their upcoming life together and inevitably ended with “I will say a prayer for us tonight”, or “don’t forget to say your rosary”; their Catholic faith and love of God as evident as their love for one another. Those letters made me feel like I was born of love, of JOY, of faith. Nothing that I have read since has filled me with such joy and purpose until reading The Joy of the Gospel. Pope Francis eloquently takes us through a depiction of a life rooted in the gospel, the good news, love, a life with purpose.
ReplyDeleteDisciple of Christ, thank you for offering us the opportunity for ecumenicalism or as Pope Francis announces, the opportunity to “concentrate on the convictions we share” which can “progress decidedly toward common expressions of proclamation, service and witness”. (246) In the video and through your blog you show us that ecumenicalism is at the heart of the gospel. Just as Disciples of Christ arose from turning to the Bible in the wild west in times of atheism, immorality, criminality, and an irreligious society, so we face those same societal diseases today. The exhortation of Pope Francis encourages us also to turn to the Bible to take on these issues by living out the gospel as Jesus did by “taking on the smell of the sheep” (24).
Today’s world can be confusing. It is easy to be lost in our own lives tempted by consumerism and general self -centeredness but Pope Francis challenges us to look outside of ourselves and our individual walls. “The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness” (88). He challenges us to find God in every person, to be tolerant of the common nuisances in life and to open our hearts to Divine love so as to seek others’ happiness. (92) This idea of tenderness and fraternal love crosses all boundaries of society, ethnicity and religion. Pope Francis’ message is seemingly simple yet exponentially challenging; love your neighbor. We do this by experiencing the joy of God’s bountiful and patient love and in turn loving our neighbor with the mercy and dignity shown to each one of us as a people of God.
Thanks for the song, Jay! It reminds me of a song that I sang in school long ago and still sing occasionally in church – They will know we are Christians by our love (written by Peter Scholtes). It has a similar sentiment to ‘We are One.’ The Disciples of Christ seek this out as they strive to see the Christian church unified. Pope Francis addresses this subject as it relates to evangelism in the EVANGELII GAUDIUM (244):
ReplyDelete'We must never forget that we are pilgrims journeying alongside one another. This means that we must have sincere trust in our fellow pilgrims, putting aside all suspicion or mistrust, and turn our gaze to what we are all seeking: the radiant peace of God’s face. Trusting others is an art and peace is an art.'
But what kind of unity are we all striving for? This remains the irresolvable question. In order to find unity in Christ, do we all need to belong to a new version of the Roman Catholic Church, or is communion with the universal catholic church enough? If we’re hoping for one large denomination united together, then we may be waiting a very long time. Many denominations, including my own, have as one of their distinctives the autonomy of the local church. To give up that which is very valuable to us would be impossible without direct Divine influence, but ‘nothing is impossible with God’ (Matt 19:26).
This conversation is vitally important because it is hurting our Christian witness. Why be Christian if you all can’t even get along? What is a Christian anyway? Which faith do I follow? If I follow one will I be received by another? Pope Francis addresses these vital issues:
'Given the seriousness of the counter-witness of division among Christians, particularly in Asia and Africa, the search for paths to unity becomes all the more urgent. Missionaries on those continents often mention the criticisms, complaints and ridicule to which the scandal of divided Christians gives rise. If we concentrate on the convictions we share, and if we keep in mind the principle of the hierarchy of truths, we will be able to progress decidedly towards common expressions of proclamation, service and witness. The immense numbers of people who have not received the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot leave us indifferent (EG 246).'
So, how do we show we are one in the Spirit and Body of Christ, when we cannot yet be one in name?