–Book Review 3– Karkkainen Veli-Matti. Introduction to Ecclesiology

Author: Veli-Matti Karkkainen is associate professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has published numerous articles in international journals of theology, and his books include Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, Internationalm and Contextual perspective and An Introduction to the Theology of Religions

Summary: The book is a survey of different ecclesiological traditions (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Reformed and more) and theologians (Zizioulas, Pannenberg, Newbigin and more) as well as the church in different cultural contexts (Non-church movement in Asia, The Feminist Church, Post-Christian Church and more).

Reflection: The section that got my attention was the “A World Church” which speaks of the catholic missionary Vincent J. Donovan and his work on ecclesiology. This was so since I am currently part of the church planting team of my church (which is also the case study for the class project). Donovan’s main argument is that the church must go and think beyond its four walls and see that the whole world could be the church. He tries to redefine everything that is believed to be the core element of Christianity (i.e. Church, Jesus, Sacraments).
I totally agree with Donovan that Christians have made institutionalized church into something more (or less) than what Jesus had in mind. There are cultural elements, beginning from the Hellenistic down to the current Western culture that have influence and reshaped the church. We have added all this cultural “baggage” (as described by Donovan). The author also criticizes the inwards focus of the church which results in failing to connect with the world and with those we must reach out to.
As much as I agree with his basic ideas, his proposed solutions seem to destandardize (one of the title’s section) the church too much to the point that we loose the uniqueness of Christianity and the church. God speaks of the heart to save the whole world but never deemphasize the idea of the few, chosen people of God; the remnants. We must be outwardly focused but at the same time we must be inwardly conscious of the community of God we are put into. We can truly “reach out” once we know who we are and where we stand. The author’s effort seems to try to destroy the four walls of the church instead of expanding them. As an example, the author states that the authentic Eucharist is found in the world among people instead of on an altar. I see his point, of feeding the hungry, being a crucial part of the church’s ministry but we can only do that once we receive the heart of the servant from our Lord Christ. We don’t feed the hungry and serve the poor just because they need help and we can in fact give them. We do it because it is will of God and because they are also creation of God. The center of all our belief and action must come from God. The church is not a concept but a concrete organization (yes, in need of renewal), a visible sign of the Kingdom of God. Because many times the church is not living in accordance to the Kingdom of God does not mean we should find a different way of portraying the kingdom God. We must reform the existing church by expanding its walls and not by getting rid of them.