For Highgate we have worked through some Biblical materials to discern a way and also something of how we need to set up to be a missionary emerging church here in this place. Alongside this we have sought to work hard at listening and gathering story from the churche's local history. It has allowed us to read something of the significance for now in digging around in that. therefore it was good to start to read Richard Bauckham, (2003) Bible and Mission (Paternoster/Baker).
What I hope to do is use it as a start basis for gathering in some of what I’ve been musing and see where he takes me. For some time I have been concerned that in church plant/emergent church we tend to look at the practice of HOW? Without a deeper theological basis for much of it. That’s not to say we need to reason things out all the time, but I believe that our discernment needs some theological work. I am aware that many figures in emergent church circles are beginning to grapple with theological matters which is encouraging. Hopefully we will allow biblical-theological reflection to interact with practice and vice versa so that such a hermeneutic will provide praxis for mission.(for a good understanding and definition of praxis see John Swinton,(2000) From Bedlam to Shalom, (Pastoral theology vol.1. Peter Lang Publishing Inc NY).
A hermeneutic for the Kingdom of God.. chapter 1
Metanarratives are rejected by postmodernism, exposing them as ‘projects of power and domination. (6). Rather it opts for ‘particularity, diversity, localism, relativism’.(7).
Bauckham proposes a hermeneutic ie. How to read the Bible in a way that takes seriously its mission direction , a kind of movement from particular to universal. In this there are 3 dimensions – temporal, spatial and social. In another way, these equate to Soja’s trialectics of Being – historical, social and spatial.(in Thirdspace, Chapter 2). It seems we have actually uplifted the historical and social aspects within missiology, but there is little consideration and application of the spatial. But I’ll come to that again. Firstly, he mentions the Temporal in which he defines ‘Mission is movement into the new future of God.’(13) It concerns where identity is to be found, here in the narrative and memory of the past, but also being turned by narrative to the coming of God’s Kingdom in the future. ‘The possibilities the narrative opens up for them, when they find themselves in it, are those God gives as they live towards God’s future.’(13)
Bauckham seems to want to propose a movement from the particular to universal. I need to read on to see where he goes with this. But I am reminded of Brueggemann in Texts that Linger, Words that Explode, chapter 5 ‘The Scandal and Liberty of Particularity.’ –
I shall suggest that the maintenance of a self-aware, self-conscious alternative identity in the face of totalism is precisely the practice of character ethics that aims to generate and authorize liberated “agents of their own history; such practice depends upon the great “thickness” of the community that makes possible such liberated agents on a day-to-day basis. (61)
Israel is seen then, as a counter-community practiced relentless, dense memory as an alternative to the ‘co-opting amnesia of the empire’. He points to the way story of exodus is character forming and liturgy as a launch pad for conversation, but more create a different world; finally it is learning your history which recitation defines the memory for generations to come.
It seems that most exodus communities throughout history have actually gone and dug deep into the temporal past to (re-) discover identity and find I suppose those resources that can sustain.
This is a much needed process for the emerging churches today. Indeed, it is what many are doing. The temptations to cultural syncretism are huge though. I find myself questioning of church plants and others more and more who do not appear to listen to the story from a mission Dei stance. I.e from a position that sees where we are at as part of the ongoing God story in a place. The danger of missing this is that we lose the particular identity God given us, our rootedness and connection. Significantly here I am called back to those genealogies, eg. In Matthew that I for one tend to glance and skim through. As advent approaches I will pay more attention in reading Matthew 1.
