Markus Bockmuehl and Michael B. Thompson, Editors, A Vision for the Church, Studies in Early Christian Ecclesiology (Evangelical). T and T Clark, 2000.
Referenced in: Ecclesiologies
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Ecclesiology is very important to congregational leadership and renewal. Ecclesiologies come in several varieties. LifeandLeadership.com focuses on three – biblical, comparative, and contextualized. For definitions see the essay on Church Renewal/Ecclesiology.
As a biblical ecclesiology, this is a very helpful survey of the witness of each New Testament book regarding the nature and purpose of the church. Each Gospel and Letter is taken in canonical order, with additional chapters on the Septuagint and the Apostolic Fathers.
Since each major section of this site has a biblical/theological component, see the other theologies categorized under missional, evangelism, social action, pastoral, practical, etc. These are also compiled under one heading, Theology of Mission and Ministry.
From the Publisher
What is the Church? Perhaps more importantly, what is it meant to be? How did its earliest members understand this body of which they had become a part? This is a textbook collection of fifteen essays by an international group of New Testament experts. They bring together a dynamic range of perspectives on how the early Christians viewed the Church: its origins, purpose and relation to Jewish Scriptures and to Jesus Christ; its place in the world and in God’s plan; its community life and worship, in theory and in practice. The concluding chapter draws together the various recurrent strands of early Christianity’s relationship with Judaism. Concise and accesible, with reading lists for each chapter, the book covers every New Testament author and ranges in time from the Greek Old Testatment to the Apostolic Fathers.
About the Authors
Markus Bockmuehl (PhD, University of Cambridge) is a fellow of Keble College and professor of biblical and early Christian studies at the University of Oxford. He previously taught at the University of Cambridge and the University of St. Andrews. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including Seeing the Word, Jewish Law in Gentile Churches, and This Jesus: Martyr, Lord, Messiah. Alan J. Torrance (DTheol, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) holds a chair in systematic theology at the University of St. Andrews and is an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland. He is the author or editor of several books, including Persons in Communion: An Essay on Trinitarian Description and Human Participation.
Michael B. Thompson is Director of Studies and Lecturer in New Testament at Ridley Hall, Cambridge.
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Related Areas
See Other Resources on Theology of Mission and Ministry:
See Other Resources on Church Leadership and Renewal:
- Church Leadership and Renewal, Index
- Church Leadership, Theological Foundations, Ecclesiology
- Church Leadership, Philosophical Foundations – e.g. Church Growth, Missional, Emergent, and Other Missionally Responsive Trajectories
- Church Leadership, Practical Foundations – Church Dynamics and Research
- Church Leadership, Practical Foundations – Congregational Culture, Church Identity
- Church Leadership, Practical Foundations – Size Dynamics, Size Transitions
- Church Leadership, Practical Foundations – Research and Case Studies on Effective Churches
- Church Leadership, Special Situations – Small Church Development
- Church Leadership, Strategies for Renewal
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