Digging Out the Embedded Church - The Maranatha Community

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In the last chapter of his book Frame gives 34 practical steps that can be taken to further unity among Christians. 159 Here are a few which are relevant to the theme of the present book: • Avoid a partisan spirit when thinking of your denomination. • Pray for God‟s plan for the reunion of his Church to come about. • Get involved in local interdenominational Bible studies. • Be open to the teaching of other denominations than your own. • Respect the discipline of other denominations. • Read what others say about your denomination. • Do not insist on re-baptizing or re-ordaining people who enter your denomination from another orthodox (Nicene Creed) body. • Find three good jokes about your own denomination or tradition and share them with your fellow members. • Help your church to look outward rather than inward. • Do not settle for gossip. Evangelicals, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox believers are now coming to appreciate how much they have in common (despite some acute differences) in their attitude to the authority of the Scriptures, in their position on ethical matters, in their devotion to the Person of Jesus and in their acceptance of the confession of the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed. The Charismatic Movement brought into being a whole host of Christian groups (often known under the umbrella terms of „house churches‟ or „restoration churches‟), so causing further divisions of the Church of Christ, but Rosman points out that there is evidence of these groups beginning to appreciate the historic denominations and even, to some extent, cooperating with them. 160 As long ago as 1875 a movement to bring together Evangelical Christians for prayer and Bible study began in Keswick, Cumberland. This was under the banner „All One in Christ Jesus‟. Today, arising mainly, but not entirely, from the Evangelical wing of the Church, have come other interdenominational gatherings: Greenbelt, New Wine, Grapevine, Soul Survivor, Living Water, and others – each attracting many thousands of delegates. When the Pentecostal Movement began, early in the 20 th Century, churches were divided by its dynamic „new‟ approach to worship and witness. The „mainstream‟ Pentecostal groups, Elim and the Assemblies of God, felt it their duty to witness to the truth of the restoration of the gifts of Pentecost to the Church – even if it meant dividing the churches further. 159 Frame, John M, Evangelical Reunion; denominations and the Body of Christ, Baker Book House, 1991, pp 165-169. 160 Rosman, Doreen, Evolution of the English Churches, 1500-2000, Cambridge University Press, 2003, Ch 12. Page 127
But things have changed. Richard Massey, in his biography of Donald Gee, 161 who was one of the most important pioneer Pentecostal leaders, quotes from the publisher‟s foreword to Gee‟s book Towards Pentecostal Unity to show that Gee‟s concern for unity among Pentecostalists was realistic enough to see that there could be no „worldwide denomination to embrace all Pentecostals.‟ Quoting, Massey says of Gee: „He was certain that organizational unity was an impossible dream. His vision and prayer, however, was that Pentecostals would drop petty differences and independent attitudes and then unite in spirit and various ways to evangelise the world. He called for “a world fellowship by recognizing, not organising.”‟ Gee himself quotes from a vision a missionary friend had. The man had written: „I wonder if you still remember a vision the Lord gave me at that first United Pentecostal Missionary Conference in Johannesburg when you were out here? In that vision a large congregation of Christian workers could be seen, all looking forward, towards a platform where Jesus was standing. While they could all see the platform they could not see each other because there were wooden partitions around, so that none could have fellowship with the others. But it was clear they all had the same aim and that all were looking to Christ. Then a wonderful quiet fire came down from heaven, going through these wooden partitions, which burnt up in that fire, but no smoke or flames could be seen and it did not disturb the people. The partitions just seemed to burn up and disappear. And now the workers could see each other and greeted each other and there seemed to be such wonderful harmony and they continued looking forward to Christ who was still standing on the platform. Although the wooden partitions had disappeared, it did not alter the position of the various workers; each one still kept his own individuality, but they all seemed to love each other and esteem each other highly.‟ Gee‟s comment on this was: „We are seeing all over the world the fulfilment of this vision. Those who want to maintain or rebuild the partitions should be very careful lest haply they work against God. Especially mistaken are any zealots trying to build up a new Pentecostal body, hoping thereby to absorb all the others. They never will. It is time to burn our partitions, not one another.‟ What Gee hoped for among Pentecostalists, may we not hope for in a far wider sense? In the vision given, partitions were burned away but each person retained his own identity. In Gee’s words, the call of this book is also for ‘fellowship by recognizing, not organizing’ but on a scale that takes in all Christian denominations. This seems a simple and easy goal, 161 Massey, Richard, Another Springtime, Highland Books, 1992, pp 168-169. Page 128
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Digging Out the Embedded Church Dis
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The Maranatha Community comprises t
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Introduction CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chr
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ead, nicely browned on top. He plac
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HOW DO WE DIG OUT THE EMBEDDED CHUR
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That the Church should express this
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For Alfeyev, „Faith is a gift, th
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„heresies„ of the Early Church
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Traditionally, the Church has made
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CHAPTER 1 CHRISTIAN UNITY IN THE EA
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A certain Docetic teacher, often id
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Novatianism When the persecutions o
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The fortunes of the Arian party in
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An attempt was made in 482 AD (29 y
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was development in the interpretati
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CYPRIAN AND AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO The
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position would see baptism as not t
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The Eastern Church‟s relationship
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insisted from the second Lateran Co
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There is so much that Orthodoxy sha
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we do not talk to each other. Our t
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The question of heresy does not com
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They were missionary-minded and the
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Lollard ideas lingered in English r
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CHAPTER 4 THE SECOND GREAT SPLIT: W
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unity‟s sake in subsequent centur
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Erasmus wrote he asserts, through o
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attle-cry, is perhaps the most famo
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Regulations for the good ordering o
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Eucharist was not just a commemorat
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CHAPTER 5 QUOTATIONS ON THE THEME O
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How rare then it is to meet a man w
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are often much bigger divisions bet
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St Germanus of Constantinople - 8 t
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manner. He declared that men could
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S L Greenslade - 20 th Century: „
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CHAPTER 6 HOPES FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
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imminent return of Christ (Komensky
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a concern that merchant adventurers
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also anti-Socinian. Calixtus himsel
Page 81 and 82: The Eastern Churches were not rent
Page 83 and 84: everyone - from outward forms to in
Page 85 and 86: Women were not usually members of t
Page 87 and 88: work in America, shows him, though
Page 89 and 90: The aim of the conference was to br
Page 91 and 92: From 1768 Harris‟s home at Talgar
Page 93 and 94: twice more to congregations of Whit
Page 95 and 96: denominations was not their distinc
Page 97 and 98: It was from the overseas Protestant
Page 99 and 100: THE OXFORD TRACTARIAN MOVEMENT Anot
Page 101 and 102: the Church of England‟s doctrinal
Page 103 and 104: „We pray that… all who desire t
Page 105 and 106: thereof, in prayer, in the remembra
Page 107 and 108: honours the Lord and his Word; the
Page 109 and 110: apostolic church enjoyed, and that
Page 111 and 112: episcopate were too radical for mos
Page 113 and 114: Denominations began to form their o
Page 115 and 116: In this Shanghai Conference‟s Rep
Page 117 and 118: With so much talk of unity and coop
Page 119 and 120: „The liturgical movement in weste
Page 121 and 122: • Sharing a corporate life of wit
Page 123 and 124: • Our acknowledgement of the Apos
Page 125 and 126: (h) The Evangelical Church in Germa
Page 127 and 128: It changed nothing in respect of do
Page 129 and 130: Some Evangelical Protestants want t
Page 131: • It is in continuity with the
Page 135 and 136: evangelism - (and) state what the r
Page 137 and 138: Repentance and faith are at the hea
Page 139 and 140: outcome of being justified. Agreeme
Page 141 and 142: Virgin‟s salutary influence on me
Page 143 and 144: h) Confession The sacrament of pena
Page 145 and 146: demanding way would be sin. The que
Page 147 and 148: If the opportunity for the Church t
Page 149 and 150: Ministers, priests and laypeople in
Page 151 and 152: West Kirby, near to my home, the Si
Page 153 and 154: n) Shared Study Courses There is a
Page 155 and 156: Even some Protestant churches today
Page 157 and 158: Vincent de Lérins spoke of a „pr
Page 159 and 160: It is not likely, in the foreseeabl
Page 161 and 162: Christ and are trying their best to
Page 163 and 164: upon the name of our Lord Jesus Chr
Page 165 and 166: Perhaps this dying process is now b
Page 167 and 168: economic factors giving rise to suc
Page 169 and 170: deeper ecumenism, one that does not
Page 171 and 172: APPENDIX 1 THE NICENO-CONSTANTINOPO
Page 173 and 174: APPENDIX 2 FOUR BIBLICAL TEXTS ON T
Page 175 and 176: The „apostles and elders‟ of th
Page 177 and 178: „The purpose of the Reformation C
Page 179 and 180: What all three traditions have in c
Page 181 and 182: Cromwellian period, in a treatise o
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BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS
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Cullman, Oscar, The Earliest Christ
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McCarthy, Tim, The Catholic Traditi
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Letter concerning the civil princip
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Coptic Orthodox Church, 10 Council
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Parousia, 24, 68, 93 Paul VI, 10, 1
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