{"id":63418,"date":"2016-06-07T00:09:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T05:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=63418"},"modified":"2016-06-05T07:08:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-05T12:08:00","slug":"unprecedented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/","title":{"rendered":"Unprecedented!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Screen<\/a>To catch how radical his vision really was, we need to enter into a different worldview and a different mindset \u2014 we need to go back, and behind where we usually go, to the world of Paul to see what he was actually trying to accomplish. As James Thompson, in\u00a0The Church according to Paul<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, puts it, it was unprecedented \u2014 there was no map for Paul to follow, no instructions came in the box, he was on his own \u2014 and off he went:<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s task is unprecedented in antiquity. The creation of a corporate identity for converts whose only common interest was the conviction that Jesus suffered, died, and was raised from the dead (cf. 1 Thess. 4:14) separated the believers from the communities from which they had come\u2014the family, the clan, the tribe, the civic assembly (ekklesia<\/em>)\u2014and brought them together with those whom they did not choose. This new community came together in a house church, which played a major role in shaping its identity as a household. In his catechetical instruction to new converts, Paul established the corporate identity of his converts (27).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thompson is right: we need to begin, if we want to understand Paul and the church, with this corporate identity. \u201cI\u201d becomes \u201cWe\u201d in the hands of Paul. Many people like this idea today until the \u201cI\u201d is no longer like their \u201cI\u201d and means including some in the \u201cWe\u201d who are totally different. Liberals and conservatives, conservatives and liberals all \u00a0in a \u201cWe\u201d that outdoes the comfortable \u201cI.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be church, folks, means to let \u201cmy\u201d identity be reformed into a \u201cwe\u201d identity in which those in the \u201cwe\u201d are not chosen by \u201cme\u201d but by God and brought into fellowship with my \u201cme\u201d to form not a club of similars but a fellowship of differents.<\/p>\n

How often, do you think, is the criticism of the church today a criticism of differents in fellowship that are not enough like the club of similars?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s converts at Thessalonica needed, then, to be re-socialized into a new identity if they were to form a group formation identity shaped around Christ. The terms Paul used included these, and notice the major terms Paul uses for the people of God at Thessalonica. What happens to \u201cme\u201d and \u201cwe\u201d when we let these terms reshape ourselves?<\/p>\n

1. Church (ekklesia)
\n2. The believers
\n3. The elect
\n4. The calling
\n5. The holy ones
\n6. Children of light
\n7. Family of God<\/p>\n

These terms in 1 Thessalonians then open a window to see Paul\u2019s vision for the church:<\/p>\n

First, \u201cPaul knows nothing of the individual Christian, for people respond to the gospel by living in communities\u201d (48).<\/p>\n

Second, \u201cLike all communities, the church is united by a shared narrative. A faithful community acknowledges that its confession of Jesus Christ is part of a long narrative of Israel\u2019s story and recognizes its indebtedness to Israel. It retells Israel\u2019s story, speaks the dialect that it has learned from Israel\u2019s Scripture, and makes moral choices based on that narrative. Indeed, the end of the narrative (1 Thess. 4:13-5:11) determines the common life of the community in the present\u201d (48-49).<\/p>\n

Third, \u201cA church that participates in the ancient narrative of Israel will resist becoming a consumer commodity that exists to meet popular demand. As a participant in Israel\u2019s story, the church experiences exile and restoration, disappointment and hope\u201d (49).<\/p>\n

Fourth, \u201cCommitment to the Christian confession creates boundaries between the church and the dominant culture. A community defined by its belief that Jesus rose from the dead and will return (1 Thess. 4:13-18) is a community of hope, in contrast to the majority culture (cf. 4:13). \u2026 Thus the community\u2019s cohesion is evident in its moral behavior. It rejects the majority culture\u2019s view of sexuality and lives in holiness. It practices self-giving on behalf of both believers and nonbelievers. The members participate in building up the community\u201d (49).<\/p>\n

Fifth \u201cWe know nothing about Paul\u2019s expectations for the growth of these communities. Paul\u2019s catechesis is aimed at ensuring that the members live \u201cworthily of God\u201d by accepting the behavioral norms that define this community\u201d (49).<\/p>\n

Finally, \u201cThe faithfulness of the community requires the cohesion and solidarity of members who did not choose each other. The church is not only the place where the word is preached and the sacraments are administered, but it is also a holy people who live in continuity with ancient Israel. It is also a family in which the members encourage one another, support the weakest among them, and continue to recall the confession that brought them into existence. Life in this community requires the intimacy of brotherhood and mutual support among people who were formerly isolated from each other by the barriers of social class and ethnicity. Thus both the \u201cchurch of the Thessalonians\u201d and the church at any other location is God\u2019s creation, a community unlike other communities\u201d (50).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To catch how radical his vision really was, we need to enter into a different worldview and a different mindset \u2014 we need to go back, and behind where we usually go, to the world of Paul to see what he was actually trying to accomplish. As James Thompson, in\u00a0The Church according to Paul, puts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[484],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church"],"yoast_head":"\nUnprecedented!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To catch how radical his vision really was, we need to enter into a different worldview and a different mindset -- we need to go back, and behind where we\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unprecedented!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To catch how radical his vision really was, we need to enter into a different worldview and a different mindset -- we need to go back, and behind where we\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-07T05:09:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-06-05T12:08:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/files\/2016\/05\/Screen-Shot-2016-05-14-at-10.27.26-AM-199x300.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/\",\"name\":\"Unprecedented!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-07T05:09:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-06-05T12:08:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"To catch how radical his vision really was, we need to enter into a different worldview and a different mindset -- we need to go back, and behind where we\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2016\/06\/07\/unprecedented\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Unprecedented!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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