On Being Church

A Little Latin Goes a Long Way

As I continue to masticate upon the question of what will be the core of my project, two Latin phrases keep coming to mind: participatio Christi and pericrucis. (I think I may have made up the second word.)

Participatio Christi is "participation of/in/with Christ." It is at the core of ecclesiology and the ecclesial question: what does it mean to be church, to participate in Christ? What I'm wondering is in what way our answer might be conditioned by paying attention to the biblical narratives pericrucis - around the cross. So much of our theology is dominated by the cross (justifiably so) and the eucharistic embodiment thereof of Christ's gift to the world, that I wonder if we, as church, have missed something vital in focusing too closely upon Jesus ministry upon the cross, and not looking to what Jesus is doing "around the cross." This seems especially important when we consider the individual salvific emphasis found in much of Protestantism. Did Jesus come to save ME? Or, if we look pericrucis, might we recognize a larger project, maybe even stretching all the way back to Genesis–the creation of a people of God-and, in the life of Jesus, before and after death upon the cross, descent, and resurrection, might we discover the content of what it means to be saved by Christ?

Lost in the Forest

I feel like I've spent the week running around like a mad man. If have this emerging sense of what I'm being called to do, but haven't quite landed the idea. Part of me is wondering if I'm just on an ego trip, trying to be an uber-pastor. Part of me loves to study. I get energized by going to libraries, reading articles, putting the pieces together in my head (or on paper). What I'm looking for is a way to breathe through this process, to not have it become anxiety-driven.

I'm horrible at figuring out where to start. As an intuitive, introvert, I rarely think in logical steps. I think in irruptions–one thing bubbling up, then another. Sometimes the thoughts are directly related, more often than not, they are a few steps apart.

Some of what I'm chewing on:
1. What's with the emerging church condemnation of anything Christian that is older than two weeks? Why do bald men with dark framed glasses think of themselves as new Messiahs, dump on thousands of years of Christianity (because, of course, they know better–they went to seminary) and trot off to the local cafe to start a 'new' church?
2. When are we 'the church'? Is it only during the hour (+/-) on Sunday morning? What about the other 167 hours a week? It seems so much of theology is grounded in an understanding of church as what happens inside a building on Sunday morning. I appreciate that what happens on Sunday morning matters tremendously, but 1 out of 167 is quite a miniscule ratio.
3. Somewhat related to number 2 - the trajectory of much of theology is oriented 'from the people to or towards God.' Sort of like, God did this amazing thing, so we all need to gather together and pay homage. It seems to me that the whole flow of God's intent, initiative, and action has been from God toward people: creation, exodus, wisdom teachings, incarnation, the whole of Jesus' recorded life-constantly reaching out to people who were outside and inviting them into the banquet, the outpouring of the Spirit, etc. What would it mean for people in the pews to 'turn around' and enter into the flow of God's gracious work in the world through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Is the mission of Jesus done? Or are we now the body of Christ, and if such, are we to carry on the ministry of Jesus in the manner of Jesus as revealed in the gospels?

Just a few things on my mind–a terribly disorganized place.

Crossing Barthian t's

In an email to my research advisor, I mentioned the possibility of having Karl Barth be one main theologian I would be in conversation with. He advises against it, as there is now a cottage industry on Barth's theology. Even though I have yet to meet Mike Higton, I already feel like he will guide me toward a fruitful dissertation.

I'm still sifting my interests, rearranging ideas: ecclesiology, revelation, resurrection, the interpretation of Scripture, the church as the real presence of Christ in the world today, worship as a spiritual discipline.

The phrase 'annotated bibliography' keeps bubbling up but it still feels premature. Every time I begin a process like this, I feel like I'm scurrying around at the beginning, unsure of where to start. Eventually, something will bubble up, quicken my spirit, and off we go. I haven't seen the burning bush yet, but I can definitely smell the smoke.

At the Beginning

My experiment is to chronicle the ups and downs of working toward a PhD in Theology at the University of Exeter (UK) part-time while being in full time ministry at the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, MO (a suburb of St. Louis).

I'm not sure what the form of my ramblings will be, or if they will ever be helpful to anyone. My hope is to simply share the pilgrim's journey, to be honest about what is going on.

At the beginning of this adventure, the issues I'm working with are many. By the name of the blog, you might gather that I'm interested in Ecclesiology, the nature of the church, what it means for those who are drawn into the fellowship-of-faith. At the beginning of a PhD program, especially a European one, there is a tremendous amount of freedom to locate your project in any number of places. I'm leaning toward a critical engagement between the biblical stories of the resurrected and (un)recognized Jesus Christ and Karl Barth's understanding of the Christological nature of church. Sound like a mouthful, but it seems to keep calling to me, so...I will follow (for now).

Another conundrum is data/resource management. How to keep track of thousands of pages of notes and articles in a way that will be accessible and useful to research and writing. As I have become a Macophile, I continue to look for appropriate solutions to this dilemma. To date, I have settled upon using Mellel to write and Bookends for bibliographic research. This seems like a good solution. I'm also searching for efficient and economical ways to turn books into PDFs so that I can include them in with all the articles and dissertations I have downloaded. I have yet to find a good solution, but the search continues.

I'm also toying with the idea of buying the Church Dogmatics from Logos Software, to use with my Libronix Library System. There is a new critical edition of Barth's work, and to have it in electronic form would be extremely helpful. The only thing is I like holding paper when I read, so I'll be investing in some serious toner cartridges over the course of the next four years.

As this is the first post, I don't want to spill all the beans, but inaugurate the journey. If you have any thoughts on what it means to be the church, let me know.