Christology

Peter’s second sermon in Acts 3 is often overshadowed by the well-rehearsed first sermon in Acts 2. John Howard Yoder particularly bemoans this for the loss of Christological emphasis that ensues in diverse discussions concerning the prophetic stance of the church.[1] It is all the more surprising given Peter’s dependence on the Deuteronomic quote (Deut. 18:15) for the conclusive impact of his address (Acts 3:22), including the unabashed Mosaic comparison (hōs eme) that casts Jesus among the highest order of what Israelite tradition projects into the role of prophet. In fact, the post-resurrection Jesus[2] claims even greater allegiance as the one upon whom “the restoration of all things” revolves and upon whom soul-survival rests. Yoder contends that all succeeding ecclesial expressions of prophetic practice should similarly be Christologically determined.

There have been a couple of discussions recently that have had to do essentially with the clash between the biblical narrative and the sort of ‘liberal’ values and sensibilities that are often shared by the emerging church (see ‘Getting frustrated by An Emergent Manifesto of Hope’ and ‘Belief in traditional Christianity’). My argument has been that the emerging church has not yet really addressed the texts with sufficient seriousness or imagination and should certainly think twice before consigning large parts of the biblical narrative to the cutting room floor.

The most popular concept that has been used – even over-used – to describe effective Christian ministry in recent years is that of ‘Incarnational Ministry’. Many books have been written, many articles posted on the Internet, to explain the concept and explore its implications for contemporary cultural missiology (Google it and see!). Richard Passmore, in his book Meet Them Where They Are At, is perhaps the most pragmatic exponent of this view. Pete Ward, in Youthwork and the Mission of God and Danny Brierley in Joined Up both explore the same idea, as does Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church, albeit within a wider ministerial context than the previous authors.

Towards a ‘Hopeful’ Christological Missiology

Towards a Prophetic Christology