Community formation in the early church and the church today / Richard N. Longenecker, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Longenecker, Richard N.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church polity.

Church polity--History--Early church, ca. 30-600.

History.

Physical Description:

xix, 251 pages ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Community formation

Place of Publication:

Peabody, Mass. : Hendrickson Publishers, [2002]

Summary:

Twelve essays by a multidisciplinary panel of distinguished scholars present a coherent, panoramic picture of the formation of the Christian community. Richard Ascough, Alan Segal, and Peter Richardson explore Greco-Roman and Jewish organizational models. Craig Evans, Richard Longenecker, Scott Bartchy, and Howard Marshall present evidence of early community formation from the Gospels, the major Pauline letters, Acts, and the Pastoral Epistles. Alan Hayes and Frances Young explore post-New Testament Latin and Greek Christianity. John Webster, David Hester, and Miroslav Volf assess modern episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational polities in light of their biblical and theological roots. What has sometimes been called "church order" turns out to be rather the formation of a community, oriented to ministries in which all the people participate.

Contents:

I. The Social Context

1. Greco-Roman Philosophic, Religious, and Voluntary Associations / Richard S. Ascough 3

2. The Jewish Experience: Temple, Synagogue, Home, and Fraternal Groups / Alan F. Segal 20

3. Building "an Association (Synodos) ... and a Place of Their Own" / Peter Richardson 36

II. The New Testament

4. The Ministry of Jesus in the Gospels / Craig A. Evans 59

5. Paul's Vision of the Church and Community Formation in His Major Missionary Letters / Richard N. Longenecker 73

6. Divine Power, Community Formation, and Leadership in the Acts of the Apostles / S. Scott Bartchy 89

7. Congregation and Ministry in the Pastoral Epistles / I. Howard Marshall 105

III. The Early Centuries

8. Christian Ministry in Three Cities of the Western Empire (160-258 C.E.) / Alan L. Hayes 129

9. Ministerial Forms and Functions in the Church Communities of the Greek Fathers / Frances Young 157

IV. The Church Today

10. The "Self-Organizing" Power of the Gospel: Episcopacy and Community Formation / John Webster 179

11. The Sanctified Life in the Body of Christ: A Presbyterian Form of Christian Community / David C. Hester 194

12. Community Formation as an Image of the Triune God: A Congregational Model of Church Order and Life / Miroslav Volf 213.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1565637186

OCLC:

50802620