Theology, Ecclesiology and Mission (Part 2 of 3)
“The Necessity of Formation for Contextualization between Church and World”
Conklin-Miller, Jeffrey. Duke University Divinity School, Assistant Professor of the Practice of
Christian Formation
American Methodism has long embraced the practices of missional contextualization. Yet, it may
be argued that while such contextualization may have fueled the intelligibility and evangelistic success of
the church, it has been often been engaged without adequate theological reflection and in turn, adequate
concern for faithful ecclesial embodiment. In this paper, I argue that the possibility of faithful missional
contextualization is dependent upon the theological distinction of Church and world and in turn, a robust
account of Christian formation that resists the shaping influence of those elements of the world known as
the principalities and the powers. First I turn to a deeper articulation of the identity and agency of the
principalities and powers active in the formation of imagination, perception, and desire. From here, I
move to a conversation between Miroslav Volf, Alasdair MacIntyre, and James K.A. Smith to suggest the
necessity of an account of formation for the possibility of shaping moral agency amid the competing
powers. Finally, I will tie this to John Wesley’s understanding of both the complicated relationship of
Church and world and of the necessity of formation for the navigation of this relationship. I conclude that
an emphasis on formative ecclesial practices is crucial to the possibility of faithful contextualization.
The Magi and Matthew’s Theology of the Religions
Paul Hertig
This paper examines the religious background of the Magi that compelled them to read stars and
travel to the Holy Land. It proposes that Matthew sets up his framework for a theology of the religions in
this first inter-religious encounter that occurs early in his Gospel. King Herod and all Jerusalem
“disturbed” by the magi’s journey to Jerusalem to worship the king of the Jews was not purely a political
response, but also a religious one. The chief priests and teachers of the law conspired with Herod by
tipping off the Messiah’s location in Bethlehem. The Magi honor Jesus; the religious leaders of Jerusalem
dishonor him, setting up a recurring theme that plays out in Jesus’ encounters with individuals of religions
whom he describes as having faith, even greater than that of Israel. This contrast between the faith of
those from outside the religious establishment with the faith within the religious establishment, sets up an
important discussion on contemporary inter-religious dialogue. It lays the framework for exploration of
contextualization among the world religions. Specifically, how can we be challenged in our own faith
through the faith of those in various religions, and what role might this play in contextualization?
North Atlantic Postcolonial Theology and Interreligious Dialogue
Jan H. Pranger. Concordia College, Associate Professor of World Christianity
This paper proposes for the North Atlantic context a postcolonial theology for interreligious
existence that is attentive to the impact of the North Atlantic’s history on the contemporary religious
situation. As postcolonial theorists have argued, colonial and colonialist societies have both been shaped
by colonialism, which especially includes theological understandings of religious others. Colonialist
theological constructions of North Atlantic selves and colonial (religious) others not only provided
ideological support for North Atlantic colonialism. Christian theology itself has often been ‘colonialist’ in
at least a metaphorical sense. Just as settler colonialism sought to replace the native population, much of
colonial Christian missions sought to replace indigenous religions based upon transcendent claims that
cast theological judgment on other religions without considering the possibility of God’s providential and
graceful relationship to those religions. Postcolonial North Atlantic theology must seek to overcome this
continuing legacy by proposing theologies that seek reconciliation with religious others. This paper
contributes to such reconciled interfaith existence by proposing an inclusivist yet de-centered Christian
theology that explores God’s Otherness and God’s Love for otherness as way to decolonize North
Atlantic Christianity’s relationships with religious others, and discussing the implications of this theology
for Christian understandings of mission and dialogue.
An Ethnoecclesio Turn: On The Dynamic Relation Between Ecclesiality and Locality of the
Church
Pascal D. Bazzell, Postdoc. Fell., Swiss Nat’l. Sc. Fnd., Humboldt U/OMF
This essay explores the methodological divide between the study of the church from a Platonic
(idealist) philosophy and an Aristotelian (realist) philosophy. Classical ecclesiology whose influences
have been more an idealistic approach are generally concerned with the “deep-level” meaning of the
essence of the Church. The focus is on theological understanding of the church - e.g., images of the
Church, marks of the Church, etc., which may tend to draw conclusions using ideal abstractions from its
concrete ecclesial reality. Alternatively, congregational studies whose influences are more a realistic
approach focus on the ecclesiastics of the church, which may yield a more “surface-level” meaning of the
essence of the Church. In this essay, I further develop an ethnoecclesio hermeneutic that embraces the
dynamic relationship of ecclesiality (ideal ecclesiology) and contextuality (local ecclesiology) of the
Church that are closely interrelated. As ubi Christus - ibi ecclesia is central to this dynamic relationship; a
triangular hermeneutical space is defined by virtue of Christ’s identifying assurance of his presence in the
Church, among the poor, and in his parousia. Being attentive to the narrative at the margins, an
ethnoecclesio hermeneutic articulates an ecclesial ethnography of a robust corrective to ‘blue-print
ecclesiology’ (Healy); while at the same time contributes an idealistic perspective to the study of the
visible ecclesial gathering addressing the empirical Church. To illustrate this ecclesiological framework, I
then proceed to re-reading the marks of the Church through the lens of the “preferential option of the
poor” developed by the global South. In this way a more appropriate ecclesiology may emerge in order to
deepen the ecumenical understanding of today’s ecclesial reality.
ASM Series—Publication Progress Report: Case Studies in Incarnational Mission (Dan
Shaw/Bill Burrows)
R. Daniel Shaw
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