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The Authority of the Asian American Church in the World, Rev. Dr. Young Lee Hertig, Ph.D. The Authority of the Church in the World: A Roman Catholic Perspective, Dr. Terence Nichols, Ph. D. The Authority of the Church in the World: An Orthodox Perspective, Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, Ph. D. Authority in the Armenian Church, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian The Church’s Authority in the World: A Friendly Perspective, Dr. Paul N. Anderson, Ph. D. A Peace Church in the World: A Church of the Brethren Perspective, Rev. Dr. Scott Holland Authority of the Mennonite Church in the World, Dr. Thomas Finger Authority of the Church in the World: An Evangelical Perspective, Dr. R. Keelan Downton, Ph.D. The Authority of the Church in the World from an Episcopal Point of View, Rev. Dr. O.C. Edwards, Jr. United Methodists Bearing Witness to the Gospel, Rev. Bruce W. Robbins
The Authority of the Church in the World: A United
Church of Christ Perspective,
Rev. Dr. Susan E. Davies
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The Authority of the Church in the World
The Authority
of the Church in the World:
Rev. Dr. Dale E. Luffman Introduction The Community of Christ [formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints] has a long-standing concern that the church manifest in its institutional form, and in the patterns of its fellowships, qualities which characterize the church of Jesus Christ. From its very beginnings in the early nineteenth century, the movement has desired to recapture the spirit, vitality and form that characterized the early Christian Church. We have in various ways seen ourselves as a Christian Primitivist (Restoration) movement, and a true church of Jesus Christ. A concern for authenticity has been very important to the history of the Community of Christ. Over the period of the last several decades, and arguably over its entire history, the Community of Christ has continually searched for a clear sense of identity informed by a New Testament understanding of the church. Although there are no specific documents spelling out the authority of the church per se, this paper will attempt to identify several features that are important to a Community of Christ perspective on the authority of the church in the world. The Church It is the confession of the Community of Christ that the church was established by Jesus Christ. “We do indeed believe that Christ established the first-century Christian Church. This does not mean that Jesus fully organized and structured the church during the three years or so of his ministry here upon earth. Indeed, it is clear that he did not. However, he did draw a band of disciples around him, and did establish a fellowship in which there was both form and organization.”[1] Unique among Christian Primitivist movements, the church of the early nineteenth-century was not so much a recapturing of a church of the past as it was in signifying the renewing and vitalizing prophetic spirit that emerged and guided the movement. The genius of “restoration” in Joseph Smith, Jr.’s founding experiences was not so much a recapturing of a church of the past as it was the affirmation of a renewed and vital prophetic contact with God and God’s purposes. It would be our confession that whenever people seek to respond to the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit they may be empowered with an authority from God to do what God has or is calling them to be and/or to do. The authority to function as the church ultimately rests with divinity. The church which is true must ever respond to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and to the truth of God’s revelation in and through Jesus Christ. Such truth is communicated through Scripture, history, the body itself, and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As a Christian Primitivist tradition, the Community of Christ has professed that it is a non-creedal communion. This is not necessarily unique. However, in a Christian Primitivist tradition such as the Community of Christ, a most serious danger lurks around an ill-advised and unwarranted assumption that is sometimes made. Assuming the church is divinely called and authorized in the unique nineteenth-century circumstances that brought the Community of Christ into being, some unwisely have concluded that no other authority to represent God exists outside the Community of Christ. This view is rejected, not being in harmony with the best of our tradition and that of the entire Christian Church. We simply strive to be a true church. The Order of the Church The Community of Christ has a long-standing concern that the church manifest its institutional form and the patterns of its fellowship based on a Christian Primitist reading of the New Testament. There is a real and abiding impulse that the authenticity of the church is fundamental to its authoritative witness and must not be neglected or lost. Its purpose however is to render faithful witness and dedicated service in following Jesus as Lord. This is given expression in the Community of Christ’s understanding of priesthood ministry. “Ministry is humble service offered according to the model of Jesus. Christ calls every disciple to share in his ministry on behalf of the world. Some disciples are called by God and set apart by ordination to priesthood offices in order to serve the mission of the church in specialized ways. The Holy Spirit bestows on all disciples complementary gifts and abilities to equip the body of Christ for its witness in the world.”[2] It is important to note that members of the Community of Christ believe that all are called according to the gifts of God to each one to accept the commission and cost of discipleship. Further, that some are chosen through the spirit of wisdom and revelation by those in authority in the church (i.e.: presiding officers at various judicatory levels) to serve in specialized priesthood ministries. These include pastoral ministries, preaching, teaching, administering the sacraments, witnessing, and directing the affairs of the church. A strong bi-vocational sense of ministry is resident in the ministerial conceptions of the Community of Christ. Educators, business persons, physicians, electricians, secretaries—persons from all walks of life—are called to a bi-vocational (lay) ministry, reflecting a witness in and to the world. The source of such authority is the Triune God. Ultimately, the form which any group of Christians has is not of primary importance. What is important is the unity of faith and mission in witness to the world. The Community of Christ has been open to changes in the structure and patterns of life in the church. Our church order need not and should not be unchangeable. Rather it has often adapted to the demands of mission and witness. The one thing which should characterize the faithful church is not its form, but its faith and its acceptance of Christ’s mission to the world that grows out of faith. Authority and Obedience A key to understanding authority in the Community of Christ is to be found in the “Great Commission”.[3] Ultimately, the authority for the church’s ministry and witness resides in Jesus Christ who commissions the church to make disciples everywhere. All authority belongs to Jesus Christ. The authority of the church comes from obedience to Jesus’ call to discipleship in the world. The authority of the church is, of necessity, understood in terms of its obedience or fidelity to the claims and demands of the gospel. The authority of the “true” church is the church which is obedient to the purposes for which the Church of Jesus Christ exists. Being patterned in the ministry of Jesus Christ the church is called to give witness to Christian obedience, taking the form of a servant.[4] The authoritative church is characterized by the “mind” or concern that inspires its fellowship which in the Community of Christ’s most recent history has been defined as “pursuing peace, reconciliation and healing of the spirit.”[5] This reflects the church’s primary concern: continuing the ministry of Christ through faithful witness and service in the world. The church’s obedience is, therefore, to be understood in an incarnational way. That is, if the church is to be authoritative and related to the Triune God, it must make itself incarnate in the world for service and witness. The church is not an unrelated aggregate of individuals. It is a body of members fitly joined together, empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, actively engaged in doing the will of God in Christ.[6] As the body of Christ, the church is a discerning body which seeks to become increasingly aware of God’s will in the world. The Community of Christ understands itself called to be a prophetic people, revealing the purposes of God through its fellowships, witness and service. As the body of Christ, the Community of Christ yields itself to God in worship constantly. It is in worship that the good news is experienced and heard in hope. Through worship the church is equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is cleansed and strengthened through worship for faithful service and witness bringing divine purpose to bear on human history. Those who choose to become part of the Community of Christ do so by entering into the covenant with Christ through sacraments authoritatively administered through the church. This is not a merely permissive matter. It is imperative for one to become a part of the body of Christ. The Community of Christ claims a recognized authority to act in Christ’s stead on behalf of God’s unfolding purposes in the world. It is through the sacraments that persons are enabled to commit themselves most fully to God in offering their lives in service to Christ. |