The New Testament Church: The Challenge of Developing Ecclesiologies (McMaster Biblical Studies) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 160899998X ISBN 13: 9781608999989

Publisher: Pickwick Publications, 2012

Synopsis

Christian communities today face enormous challenges in the new contexts and teachings that try to redefine what churches should be. Christians look to the New Testament for a pattern for the church, but the New Testament does not present a totally uniform picture of the structure, leadership, and sacraments practiced by first-century congregations. There was a unity of the Christian communities centered on the teaching that Jesus is the Christ, whom God has raised from the dead and has enthroned as Lord, yet not every assembly did exactly the same thing and saw themselves in exactly the same way. Rather, in the New Testament we find a collage of rich theological insights into what it means to be the church. When leaders of today see this diversity, they can look for New Testament ecclesiologies that are most relevant to the social and cultural context in which their community lives. This volume of essays, written with the latest scholarship, highlights the uniqueness of individual ecclesiologies of the various New Testament documents and their core unifying themes.

About this title

About the Authors

John P. Harrison is Professor of New Testament and Ministry, Oklahoma Christian University.


James D. Dvorak is Associate Professor of Greek and New Testament, Oklahoma Christian University. He is the co-editor of Baptism: Historical, Theological and Pastoral Perspectives (Pickwick, 2010).

Edition details

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 160899998X
• ISBN 13: 9781608999989
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 326
• Editor: Harrison John