aaron klinefelter » Fuller

MC500 – day eight

ak — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:22:37 +0000

I’m fascinated by the idea of “holiness” that seems to have arisen (at least in our conversations) during the Reformation with Luther and Calvin and later taken up (perhaps to a fever pitch) with Wesley and his ilk. Does the idea of “holiness” have a distinctive Reformation/Renaissance ring to it? I’m certain that generations of Christians before the Reformation were concerned with holy living and pure lives, but is there something about the increasing individualism of the Reformation or perhaps reading scripture in one’s native tongue specifically incline someone to think of holy-ness?

MC500 – day seven

ak — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:05:08 +0000

One of the perplexing instances of the Reformation is the retrieval of the “Priesthood of All Believers” doctrine that Luther tied so much to the strong criticism of Roman Catholicism. Certainly, his was a step away from the doctrine of ontological change within the clergy class, but by maintaining a clergy class the ontological change is assumed, or becomes presumed or even subsumed! So while in principle the priesthood of all believers was promoted the function didn’t quite make it. Is there a progressive revelation at work here or is an adaptation and contextualization within culture (theirs versus mine) that is at work?

MC500 – day four

ak — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:41 +0000

As we talked about the changes and developments from Jesus and the Kingdom of God through the Early Church into the Pre-Constantinian Church (AD 100-300), I am struck by the obvious increasingly formalization and the devolution of leadership. I understand that increasing complexity and diversity necessitated the need for more organization, but I can’t help but to grieve what was lost by the process. I’m particularly interested in the ontological change that Bishops (diocesan, metropolitan, etc…) and later Priests assumed. Why did they assume that there was such a change and what did that do to the gathered body both practically and theologically?

MC500 – day three

ak — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:51:52 +0000

What strikes me most about our discussion of the shape of the communities that are the early church was their dynamism and fluidity. While they were becoming more structured and differentiated than they were as original bands of Jesus-followers in Palestine, there was still a “wild west” vibe about these early house churches. At the same time the church didn’t appear ex nihilo. I think that fact is so often missed by average churchgoers and former church reformers (thinking of Wesley and his ilk). The patterns of “house synagogues” and households shaped and defined how the early church lived its communal life.

MC500 – day two

ak — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:08:39 +0000

In this second day of class we dove into the church worksheet, which I find very helpful as a schema to look at church and its accumulated trappings. Thinking of Jesus and the Kingdom of God in this context was particularly illuminating. Specifically, viewing Jesus as being counter-cultural and redefining “family”, in some cases scandalously – men and women living together. Going further the structure of the “organization” was clearly anti-patriarchy/hierarchy. These Jesus-cells were characterized by forgiveness and reciprocity. This sets up by a whole new authority structure where women were not seen as property, but were equal members in the “new family” and the early church.

MT520 – Book Review – Announcing the Kingdom

ak — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:51:18 +0000

Glasser, Arthur with C. Van Engen, D. Gilliland, and S. Redford, eds. Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003)

The scope and drive of Arthur Glasser’s Announcing the Kingdom is the primacy and unity of “God’s purpose and action in mission in human history” (17). Both the Old and New Testaments are pointed in the same direction of God’s rule and reign. Glasser tells the narrative of scripture through the lens of the Kingdom of God. We see that from the creation of the world, God’s covenant with Israel, Jesus’ incarnation, and the church’s continuing mission; God is at work revealing and drawing all nations to himself. Even in the dynamic story of Revelation we are aware of God’s redemptive Kingdom mission coming to its full conclusion. In this sweeping narrative of God’s reign throughout scripture we understand the God’s activity in the history of the world.

This understanding of God’s Kingdom story is essential for our study of mission. It is of utmost importance that we form our mission and ministry in the context of how God has engaged humanity throughout history. By hearing the story of God’s Kingdom through the whole sweep of scripture we begin to understand the pervasiveness and completeness of God’s mission. This is not an isolated story of merely how Middle Eastern deity dealt with an obscure group of people 2,000 years ago. God’s mission extends from the beginning of creation to the end of all things. With this appreciation for the scope of God’s Kingdom our mission is shaped and formed. This is of particular import as I work with college students in 21st century America.

I have often found in working with students living in a post-Christendom world that how the story of scripture hangs together is almost entirely lost. There may even be an appreciation for God, Jesus, or the Bible; but understanding the scope and mission is far from prevalent. Furthermore, for students who do claim a Christian walk the Old Testament seems irrelevant at best, offensive at worst. Setting the context for how both testaments hang together in the Kingdom mission is very helpful. My current ministry context is as a campus minister re-starting a ministry on at Northern Kentucky University. I many ways I feel an apostolic call as one sent from the churches in our conference to the students on campus. As such, I highly value Glasser’s quote of Kung that:

As an individual Christian, I must become a true successor of the apostles. I must bear their witness, believe their message, imitate their mission and ministry (302).

I very much see myself as a missionary sent to the people group called NKU. Understanding that mission through the lens of scripture and, specifically, the Kingdom of God is deeply formative.

Pasadena Star-News – Fuller Seminary to expand

ak — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:52:25 +0000

Pasadena Star-News – Seminary to expand

Good article on Fuller. As a former resident of Pasadena and current (sorta, 5 classes left) student of said seminary, I loved that Fuller was located in SoCal, Pasadena specifically. Wonderfully diverse neighborhoods, easy walking to and fro campus (and theatres and coffeeshops and shopping and friends and …..).