Barnabas File

One Sunday my pastor preached on the passage in Luke 15 about the loving father. Most of us call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but the primary emphasis is on the action of the father and, by implication, the action of the Heavenly Father. The fresh insight I received that morning was that the father in the story took the initiative in reconciliation with both sons. First, when the younger son returned home, the father ran to meet the son without waiting for the son to approach him. Second, when the older brother refused to come in to the homecoming celebration, the father “went out and pleaded with him” (v. 28). The loving father was not passive but active in sharing love and grace with his sons. This text can help us to understand better the nature and mission of God as well as the nature and mission of the church. In the Hebrew Bible, we read that it is God who takes the initiative to redeem humankind. God sends messengers and prophets to inform an...

Hardly a week goes by without another poll dealing with the decline and marginalization of the church.   One might become easily discouraged by such reports, but I believe that one antidote is to develop a new way of looking at the life and work of the church.   This comes through the understanding and implementation of a missional ecclesiology. In theological circles, ecclesiology is the study of the doctrine of the church.  There have been a number of ways of interpreting the nature of the church informed by the Bible, history, context and practice.  Ecclesiology is an evolving doctrine. The term “missional” refers to the essential nature and vocation of the church as God’s called and sent people.  Missional is a way of being and doing life as individuals, groups, and congregations. Living missionally means that we ask the question, “What does God want us to be, do, and become to continue the ministry of Christ within our own community and globa...