Lohfink, Gerhard. Jesus and Community: the Social Dimension of Christian Faith

The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a changing culture By Will McRaney, Jr. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2003, 268 pp., $19.99 paper.

For the sake of this study, Luke’s Gospel plays an important role in establishing the identity of the members of the community. Indeed, “without Luke’s Gospel our visual images of the Christian story would be impoverished” because “Luke’s Gospel [can be considered] the aesthetic teacher of Christian senses in hearing and speech through story and song and in sight through the many artistic renderings of his stories.” Luke accomplishes this feat by using cultural conventions surrounding hospitality and banqueting to “illustrate such important facets of Jesus’ teaching as generosity to the poor, forgiveness of sinners, humility rather than social power, and the priority given to the word of God.”

When you think “Christian Worldview,” what comes to mind? I know I automatically think; God, Jesus, Christians, and Prayer. As I have learned through my Christian Worldview class, I have learned that there is a lot more to it and this paper will provide you with what I have learned. Throughout this assignment, I will explain about God, Humanity, Jesus, restoration, my analysis of the Christian Faith, and my reflection.

Bruce W. Longenecker emerges as a contemporary innovator of Christian literature through his historical fiction work The Lost Letters of Pergamum. Throughout this work, Longenecker analyzes the fundamental features of first-century Christianity, which were primarily affiliated with the New Testament. The Lost Letters of Pergamum is composed of the combination of letters. These letters primarily document the communication between two citizens: Antipas, “citizen of the blessed empire of Rome, and worshiper of Jupiter, Zeus Olympios the Savior” and Luke, "Doctor, historian, and servant of God” (19, 36). After examining the reoccurring letters between the two citizens and in regards to Luke’s “historical monograph,” it becomes evident that Longenecker’s work focuses on the distinct theme of understanding (29).

Living in Christian community is a necessity for the everyday life of a Christian. Without community, the Christian has no one else to “sharpen” them, no one else to understand the everyday struggle of living in the world, sharing the Gospel, but not partaking in the sinful ways of the world. In “Life Together”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores Christian community, and presents not only the benefits of Christian community, but also the toxins that can destroy the community. Living in Christian community brings incomparable joy and community in and through Jesus Christ, but can be easily lost due to humanistic ideals, or “dreams”.

The purpose of the paper is to differentiate between Christ of faith and Jesus of history. New Testament biblical scholars from the 19th Century have been preoccupied by the notion of Christ of faith versus Jesus of History. Jesus of history can be described as the quest for historical Jesus, while the Christ of Faith is the Christ of Christian belief either through the Church or historically. Some traditions even went ahead to argue that the Jesus of History could never be found and therefore the Christ of faith is the only way forward for Christians. On the other hand, those who have been promoting the Jesus of History have often assumed that the historical Jesus is much superior as compared to the Christ of Faith. Despite the key differences between Christ of faith and the historical Jesus, both these aspect have an implication for Western Christianity.

Over the years, many models have been developed and implemented to endeavor to make disciples. Some of the models have been effective and others have not. Among some of the most biblical and efficient models are the ones that involve small groups. Within the small groups models, they can be broken down into further detail, such as pastoral involvement, the church’s goal, missions mindedness, etc. In this paper, I will explain my philosophy of small groups in a church and the importance of the relational group in authentic disciple making. I will also explain how missional groups can help the body of Christ move out into the community. Finally, I will summarize my status in regards to living in community with other believers and being missional with that community.

The members of the local congregation are “Christ’s body” (v. 23) and that Christ is the Head of the church worldwide (v. 22). Those who are born-again comprise the parts of the local body with each person having gifts to use in benefit of the collective group and others as well. Involvement is crucial for any congregation, and small groups are they key to ensure that all are able to be involved in the life of their church. If small groups operate as they should, the benefit to the corporate body should be realized in terms of faith, service, prayer and edification. Comiskey, Dempsey, et.al underscore service to all with the term “body” fleshing away ethnic patrimony against the “unity and universality of the church, for the church reconciles Jew and Gentile into one body (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:16; cf. 4:4)”. No distinction is made in Scripture regardless of nationality, and that means Jew and Gentile as both are expected to work together in accord with the Spirit as he wills. The ministries of small groups facilitate the idea “on multiple levels by incorporating missional/intentional principles which are exponents of the transformational when one has become born-again in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.”

Countless people express concern for the social conditions of the world today. In general, chaotic conditions describe the social setting, where hatred and violence run rampant. These conditions are most often interpreted, especially by Christians, as a sure sign that the end of the world is near; it will not be long before Jesus returns and “right all the wrongs.” Therefore, an enormous number of people feel that the only reasonable response to this upheaval, other than to pray, is simply to sit and wait. But, is this the way God wants us to react? Of course, we should always pray, but as Christians, are we expected to do more than just sit and wait? Could this attitude cause us to be somewhat

Born in 1906 in Germany and hung in 1945, renowned theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been known as a pastor, an accused assassin, an anti-Nazi dissident, a key founding member of the Confessing Church, and a modern theological writer with no equal. Perhaps one of his most famous works is “Life Together” a personal meditation of the nature of the modern-day Christian community. Naturally, as the title suggests, the main theme of the book is life together as Christians under the Word of God. In the first chapter of the book, Bonhoeffer establishes his thesis, drawing upon examples and passages from the Bible to explain how we are supposed to live together, specifically explaining the role of Christ in our community. Bonhoeffer professes that

Now in considering these earlier formed communities of Christians, we realize that, the evangelist and preachers to these communities used and borrowed the language of the people to communicate to them. Speaking in the language and context of the audience made it very possible to communicate the person of Jesus and his saving works to such communities. I see this approach of evangelization of the early apostles as very instrumental in conveying the Gospel message. That is why I think by proposing a Christology like mine my target community would really come to grasp to a better extent the identity and mission of Jesus. From the mentality and life situation of these communities the apostles were able to borrow ideas, and basic elements which

Before the gospels and Pauline epistles, early church Christians related to the Old Testament as Scripture and viewed their Christian walk as the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel from the Old Testament, which foretold of the coming age of the Messiah. The first New Testament Christians understood the importance of the Old Testament; it was their “Bible” they preached from. Just as in the early church, Christians today need the Old Testament for preaching and in which to reference and understand Christ’s purpose for why he came.

Danker, F W. Jesus and the New Age, A Commentary on St Luke’s Gospel, revised ed. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988.

Mark 12: 30-31 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (New International Version). The church has done a good job in terms of loving God with all its heart, all its soul, and all its strength but has done a poor job of loving God with all its mind. Most churches have a strong sense of community through worship, sermons, bible studies, retreats, and Sunday school but what most churches lack is the desperate need for apologetics. According to a study conducted by the Barna Group, “70-75% of Christian youth in the United States leave the church after high school” (Barna Group, 2006). The Church needs apologetics because Christians are commanded to defend the

Smith, Brandon. “Equipping the Generations: Freed to Make Jesus Famous” Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry 04, no. 1 (Fall 2013): 70-71.