The Total Christ Church: A Course in Missional Ecclesiology
SYLLABUS
Course Description:
The Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us; to that flesh is joined the church, and there is made Total Christ, head and body.
St. Augustine, On the Epistle of John 1.2.
This course seeks to construct a missional ecclesiology in conversation with reformed catholicity together with its practical relevance to contemporary issues and ministry. The various topics are studied as an investigation in ascension Christology applied, or Augustine’s Totus Christus thesis through the reformed trajectory and qualifications. More than a source of missions, the temple-church is considered as a locus of mission, or Christ vis-à-vis history, in our search for a missional ecclesiology and polity. How would it transform our understanding of the nature and spirituality of church polity to believe that, in the words of John Calvin about the church,
"No extent of space interferes with the boundless energy of the Spirit which transfuses life into us from the flesh of Christ" (John Calvin, Corpus Reformatorum)?
Assignments:
(When noted, topics covered in this class were topics for discussion within a collaborative of chuch planters and pastors in New Haven and may be accessed in a Missional Ecclesiology Playlist.)
Study Guides: Collection of MA Study Guides
Introduction
1. The Church After Modernity
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Lesslie Newbigin, The Houshold of God, Chapter 1, The Setting of the Subject
Handouts:
2. Trends in Reformed Catholicity
Pre-Class Readings:
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Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain, Chapter 1, Reformed Catholicity
Handouts:
Other Recommended: Video 1 (c.f. MA Playlist above)
The Nature of the Church
3. Missional Ecclesiology as Christology Applied: The Total Christ Thesis
Readings:
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James Farrow, Ascension and Ecclesia, Chapter 1
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T.F. Torrance, Royal Priesthood, Chapter 2
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Preston Graham Jr., A Prolegomena in Total Christ Ecclesiology, (unpublished rough draft)
Class Handouts:
Other Recommended:
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(c.f. Video 2)
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Lesslie Newbigin, The Household of God, Chapter 2-4
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Edmund Clowney, The Biblical Theology of the Church; Outline
4. The Covenantal Paradigm of Missional Ecclesiology: By Jure Divino and the Gospel Centered Church
Readings:
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A Biblical Theology of Covenant Ecclesiology Preston Graham Jr. (unpublished rough draft)
5. The Temple Presence of Missional Ecclesiology: By Participatio Divina and the Missional Church
Readings:
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A Biblical Theology of Temple Ecclesiology, Preston Graham Jr. (unpublished rough draft)
Summary: Christology Applied to Ecclesiology c.f. Total Christ Explored (ppt)
6. The Vocations of Ecclesiology: The Paradigm and Presence of Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King
The Ministry of a Five Mark Church
7. The Gospel Centered Church
Video: 2/2/16 Missional Ecclesiology
8. The Confessional Church
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WCF 1
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Samuel Miller, Doctrinal Integrity... (SKIM) Chapter 1, “Arguments in Favor of Creeds,” Chapter 2 Answers for “Objections to Creeds”, “Concluding Remarks”
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John Webster, Chapter 1, Confession and Confessions, in Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism edited by R. Seitz
9. The Sacramental Church
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WCF 27-29, BCO Part III (chapters 47-57)
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James Torrance, Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace, Introduction, Preface, Introduction, Chapters 1-2.
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Bard Thompson, Liturgies of the Western Church, “The Westminster Directory” (p. 345ff), “Geneva”
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John Calvin, A Short Treatise on the Supper of Our Lord
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Preston Graham, The Mystery and Manners of Sacraments, Vision Anabaino Vol 3.
Supplemental:
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E. Brooks Holifield “Mercersberg, Princeton, and the South: The Sacramental Controversy in the Nineteenth Century," Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, 54 (1976), p. 245ff,
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John Calvin, Treatise on Lord’s Supper
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John Williamson Nevin, The Mystical Presence...Chapter 1,Section 1: “Statement of Doctrine” (read), Chapter 3, Section 2, “The Mystical Union” and Section 3: “The Lord’s Supper”
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Handout
10. The Communal Church
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PCA Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, section 6, Chapter 30, Of Church Censures
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Edmund Clowney, The Distinctive Emphasis in Presbyterian Polity, The Organic Principle
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John Murray, The Weak and the Strong
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Timothy Witmer, Shepherd Leader chapter 1-4, Part 2 Intro, chapter 5.
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Richard Hayes, Ecclesiology and Ethics
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When Helping Hurts: A Review
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Multi-Congregationalism
Video: Communal Church
11. The Missional Church
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Lesslie Newbigin, Household of God, Chapter 6, Unto the Nations
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Tim Keller, Center Church, Keller, Center Church, Part 3 (chapters 7-10)
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Preston Graham Jr. The Centrality of the Church as a Social Strategy
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Preston Graham, Lesslie Newbigin’s Missional Ecclesiology Explored (c.f. Lesslie Newbigin, “The Nature of the Unity that We Seek”)
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Michael Goheen, A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story
Missional Ecclesiology Applied: Topics in Ecclesiology
12. Minimalism for Conscience Sake: The Extent and Limits of Church Power
Readings:
James Bannerman, The Church of Christ, Part 1: chapters 2-6, Part 2: 1, 3
Handouts:
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Handout: Bannerman Review
Other Recommended:
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John Calvin, Institutes, Book IV, Chapter 20, sections 1-3
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Michael Horton, Calvin on the Christian Life, ch 11 "God’s New Society"
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Video Session 3
13. The Preliminary Principles of Church Power
Please read before class:
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Edmund Clowney, Distinctive Emphases in Presbyterian Polity
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James Bannerman, The Church of Christ, Part 1: chapters 2-6, Part 2: 1, 3
Handouts (Skim)
Handout: The Preliminary Principles of Church Power (note page 10ff)
Handout: Bannerman Review
Video:Church Power
14. The Mission of the Church: Ecclesial Ethics and Cultural Engagement
Review Handout:
Church-Culture Engagement, Preston Graham
Pre-Class Reading:
Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture, David VanDrunen
Ecclesial Ethics -- The Post-Liberal and Reformational Perspective, Preston Graham
James K. Smith, Chapter 1
Video: Christianity and Culture
15. Church Polity and Missional Ecclesiology (Date TBD)