The communion of believers.

Abstract

Thesis (D. Min.)--Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, 2017.This thesis is written in the spirit of a Kairos document. It is intended both as a challenge to and also an opportunity for Christians to find a way to speak in a unified voice to name, confront and address the injustices both in Christianity and the world. It is meant to provoke conversation and action. It does not assert that it is the final or even the complete word. It is offered as another voice in an important, on-going conversation and looks forward to valuable input and feedback from readers. This paper is not an attempt to solve or mediate the various theological issues that separate Christians. It will seek, however, to offer a new way of envisioning the spiritual link/relatedness among believers that can help Christians within their diverse communities to recognize more clearly and more urgently, their collective identity as the Body of Christ in the world. My proposal offers three planks, as it were, that together are capable of forming/building a bridge (zone of agreement) among and between different Christians and Christian Churches. For the purposes of this paper, three Christian Churches (the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church [U.S.A.] or PCUSA, and the United Methodist [U.S.A.] Church) serve as examples. Each plank represents one of these converging and intersecting ideas: the biblical call for the disciples of Jesus to be one (John 17:11, 20-23; Eph. 4:1-6), the ethical obligations of discipleship (Mt. 22:37-40, 25:31-46), and the articulation of a new understanding of spiritual relatedness among Christians based on the "communion of saints" that I term the communion of believers. The purpose of this bridge is to focus energy and to create synergy among Christians that can help them answer this question for themselves and for the world: Who is my neighbor? I contend that it is the failure to answer this question adequately, consistently, and in one collaborative voice that has hindered the effectiveness of Christians in their efforts, not only to address the injustices of our churches and our world, but in credibly proclaiming the message of the Gospel. I met with small groups from each of these Churches to dialogue about the communion of believers. I used surveys, questionnaires, and interviews to solicit input from a range of Catholic, Presbyterian, and United Methodist preachers, including those whose congregants were part of the discussion groups. The primary audiences for this thesis are Christian congregations and their leaders. Although my discussion is limited to three different Christian Churches, my hope is that the fruits of my research may prove valuable for Christians of all traditions