Contesting the Body of Christ: Ecclesiology's Revolutionary Century (Myles Werntz) - A Review
Ecclesiology is not the sexiest aspect
of Christian doctrine, but it is an important dimension of Christian theology.
When we speak of ecclesiology, we are not speaking of church organizational or
church growth theory. Ecclesiology involves the theological exploration of what
makes the church the church. This must be addressed before we begin discussing
the practical aspects of church life, although the practical elements of church
life raise important questions that must be addressed in the course of doing
the theological work of ecclesiology. So, what is ecclesiology, and what is
this revolutionary century that Myles Werntz speaks of in the subtitle of his
book, Contesting the Body of Christ?
When it comes to the question of
the relationship between the theological and the practical, Myles Werntz
understands why discussions of ecclesiology proper are necessary if we are to
understand the practical dimensions. As a Baptist teaching theology at a Church
of Christ university, Werntz brings an interesting perspective to the
conversation about ecclesiology in Contesting the Body of Christ. Werntz
holds a Ph.D. in theology from Baylor University and serves as associate
professor of theology and director of the Baptist Studies Center at Abilene
Christian University. While Baptists and Church of Christ adherents share much
in common, they differ as well.
Werntz engages in this conversation
about ecclesiology using the four marks of the church as established by the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed—oneness, holiness, catholicity, and
apostolicity. The title itself, using the Pauline phrase to describe the church,
Body of Christ, reminds us that there is not complete agreement in Christian
circles as to the nature of the church. With this in mind, Werntz focuses on
discussions of ecclesiology that took place during what he calls a
revolutionary century. In his mind, this is the century of the Holy Spirit. As
part of this discussion, Werntz engages in an analysis of twentieth-century
ecumenism. This era included the founding of the World Council of Churches,
Vatican II, and numerous interdenominational dialogues.
While there are other lists of
ecclesial markers, Werntz has chosen the four defined in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan
Creed of 381 CE. He writes in the introduction that "if a church has been
called into being by the Spirit, these four marks are, in a very real sense,
parts of its being. It falls to us, then, to ask not whether these marks are
present but in what way they are present" (pp. 6-7). With that in mind, he
invites us to ponder what we can learn from each other concerning the four
marks of the church. While the twentieth century was marked by numerous
challenges, he believes that there are signs of hope present that Christians
can take hold of. So, the question is not if the Spirit is at work in the
church and world, but how the Spirit is at work.
Werntz titles the book’s first
chapter "The Rending of the Cloth: The Church as One." In choosing
this title, the author recognizes the reality of our divisions. However, he
offers a subtitle that reminds us that despite the divisions existing in the church,
it remains the one body of Christ. While the divisions do exist, Werntz wants
to emphasize that there has been a persistent pursuit of unity. He points us to
the decisions made at Vatican II to recognize the fact that non-Roman Catholic
Churches share things in common with all the churches (denominations).
Nevertheless, despite this recognition, complete unity remains elusive. Then
there is the World Council of Churches, which includes its two dimensions of Faith and Order and Life and Work. What the
WCC did that is different from Vatican II is to affirm the equality of the
churches that are part of the Council, while not requiring a common structure.
Then there are the Eastern Orthodox Churches that offer their own contributions
to the conversation, though the relationships remain complicated. Werntz goes
into some detail showing how the different branches of the one body of Christ find
unity in the Spirit, mission, and hermeneutics. The challenges are real, but
there are glimmers of hope. Werntz summarizes what happened during the
twentieth century by noting the "struggle for how to articulate Christian
unity amid myriad material conditions that divided Christians; the degree to
which unity between Christian bodies succeeded, it appears, depended on their
facility in addressing those material issues." (p. 53).
The second chapter, which is titled
“To Be Like God, focuses on "The Church as Holy." The emphasis here is on the nature of God, since
the holiness of the church is dependent on God's holiness. The problem with
speaking of holiness as a marker of the church is due to the practicalities of the
church embodying this call to holiness. Nevertheless, Werntz lays out four
dimensions of holiness that became contested in the twentieth century. These
include worship and liturgy, political holiness, bodily holiness, and holiness
across time. The issue here is not personal holiness but ecclesial holiness.
That is, the corporate dimensions of the church's holiness. As he discusses each
of these areas of concern, he affirms that the church's holiness is first and
foremost a gift of God who is holy and not the result of human effort.
When it comes to "The Church
as Catholic" (Chapter 3), he uses the title, "In All Times and All
Places." Here, the focus is on the universality of the Christian faith,
which again he believes is a gift of God. As such, the catholicity of the church
is not just what is confessed but what is "confessed in continuity with
all churches" (p. 94). This universality exists without immediate unity.
But it can be seen in the mission of God, such that "the mission of God is
to encompass the whole world in that which the church proclaims, and thus, to
be a truly catholic church is to be a church engaged in mission, drawing in
that which is not already present, so that the church might be composed of
localities united in a common faith" (pp. 121-122).
Finally, we come to chapter 4,
which is focused on "The Church as Apostolic." The chapter title
reminds us that apostolicity is about more than the past, for it is "In
the Past, the Present, and the Future." The issue here is one of
continuity and how that is lived out. The issue faced here is that while
apostolicity can be defined in terms of institutions (such as apostolic succession
by way of episcopal succession), Werntz notes that apostolicity is much more
complicated than simply doctrinal continuity or episcopal succession. It does
involve questions of apostolic origins, doctrine, the life of the church, and some
form of apostolic succession (integrity of ordination and relationship to other
churches). When we talk about apostolicity, Werntz notes that in all its
variations, we need to take note of how apostolicity interacts with the other
three marks of the church. As we take the four dimensions together, we must ask
an important question of what the Spirit is up to, such that our discussions of
the four marks, taken together, speak to the future of the churches. This
remains an unsettled question.
Werntz concludes this brief
discussion of ecclesiology with a “Modest Proposal for the Twenty-First Century
Church.” He acknowledges that with all that took place in the last one hundred
years or so, the possibility of answering the question of what the church is seems
even more out of reach. Nevertheless, he believes that we can draw out some
provisional insights that can guide the conversation going forward. He speaks here
using the image of “On Earth as It Is in Heaven.” While the question of what
makes the church the body of Christ remains contested, that does not mean the
church at large should give up its pursuit of unity, which ultimately is a gift
of God given through the Holy Spirit. In Contesting the Body of Christ, Myles
Werntz provides the reader with an important description of the contested
nature of ecclesiology, while reminding us that the Spirit is still at work in
the one church in all its variegations. In this, there is hope. So, as to
whether taking time to engage in theological work on ecclesiology is important,
the answer is yes, for even though the contesting will continue, there are
possibilities for greater unity in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic
church.
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