I only put the ‘in Europe’ part as this is my geography and I am trying to intersperse comments about our little adventure in Sicily with posts focusing on Europe. But I also add the ‘Europe’ part as I have this crazy idea that in the body of this old continent something is slowly forming… for the sake of the world. And before anyone thinks I am some kind of ‘head in sand’ post-millennialist let me state that all the pre-, post-and a- are (in my humble opinion!!!) mistaken. (More opinion than humility there!) I am simply focused on the job we are to engage with and leaving all that ‘end-time’ stuff in the hands of God, as I find almost nothing in Scripture pointing me in that direction, but a call to live in the light of the coming age and seek to live, act and relate in a way that is consistent with that age.
Been planning to get a tattoo to mark the time in Sicily. Here is my first attempt at a profound design; Gayle is quite dismissive! And to think all my creativity went into it:
Want a clue? Though pretty obvious… I had to shorten John’s words of what he saw (Rev. 21) by substituting a Pauline phrase… though the form of the last word does not appear in the NT. Pretty sure I have got the form of the irregular noun correct – hope so!!! But waiting for Gayle to bring on her improved version.
A few little background notes. Paul left behind an ekklesia (usually translated as ‘church’) in the cities and regions where he went, doing this throughout ‘Europe’ until he was able to claim a fulfilment of Matt. 24:14. Quite a claim! If we were to do a word-association exercise and I was to say ‘church’ my guess is 90+% of us would imagine a building and a service at the centre. If we read James and the section about a rich person coming in and being given the best seat we probably would not first see a meal table but ‘pews’ or seats inside a building. I am not an iconoclast and given that we all prefer to live in buildings I don’t think anti-building is likely to get us anywhere. However, it is the focus of what we are centred on that is more important. Thomas Finger (Mennonite theologian) wrote that ecclesiology is the least innovative area of theology, so much simply being assumed.
What was Paul up to? Is he simply looking to form groups that are separate from their geography who are expressing a spirituality? If so then we would suggest that it is all about ‘salvation’ to escape from a future. There is that element there… but given that there was already an ekklesia in each place where Paul went we probably have to consider that there is a kind of ‘alternative’ that he is ‘planting’ there. (I like the word ‘planting’ as it is organic and situational.) The ekklesia that was there on behalf of Rome was commissioned to be actively committed to help shape the relevant geography to reflect the culture and values of Rome. Paul leaves behind an ekklesia not of Rome but of Jesus Christ. A company of people whose citizenship was not Roman but derived from heaven. Here then for me is the core clue: this company of people have a corporate purpose – one of enabling where they are planted (organically and situationaly) to mirror at some discernible level the culture and values of heaven. Of course such a company is made up of a mixed-bag, so the restoration of all of us who are ‘mixed’ (should that be spelt ‘messed up’?) is part of the process, but even in our mixed-up-ness we are to be present as agents of helping bring about a shape where heaven’s presence can increase.
[Sidenote: I am not a Universalist, but see a ‘wideness in the mercy of God’ that outworks in two ways – in the ultimate sense any inclusion/exclusion is issue is in God’s hands and not in the hands of any theological system; and the second way in the here and now there are those who are agents of the kingdom who are not disciples (Acts 19 and Asiarchs for me is very key in this approach.)]
Perhaps it is in Europe that an ecclesiology that is diverse – the multiplicity of the small and the richness of diversity – develops. We have that opportunity. Courage and faithfulness to the one to whom the ekklesia belongs and who is the source is required. And finally there is room for optimism. Corinth,for example, a city of around 200,000 in Paul’s day had a mixed-bag ekklesia (understatement) that was not large (Rom.16 shows this). Maybe 0.1% of the population. In desperate need of church growth? Well according to Paul in need of ‘faith-growth’ (but our hope is that, as your faith increases, our field among you may be greatly enlarged, 2 Cor.10:15). If that could happen he could happily get on his donkey and travel to fresh geographies.
I got to be an optimist! And even if that optimism were ultimately to be misplaced I got to keep the central focus of ‘let your kingdom come’, not ‘get me out of here’.