이 정석 교수의 신학 문답 Q&A

1. The Nature of Ministry

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(i) The work of the church is often called ‘ministry’, which means the work to be done as it is ordered by the superior, i.e., by Christ, the Head and Lord of the Church. The English word ‘ministry’came from Latin word ‘ministerium’, the translation of Greek word diakonia, which means the work of servant executed in obedience to the command of the lord. Also, the Latin word ‘minister’ corresponds with the Greek word diakonoj, i.e., servant. It implies that the work of the church should not be done by our own arbitrary decision or favor. As Moltmann pointed out, “not that the church ‘has’ a mission, but the very reverse; that the mission of Church creates its own church. Mission does not come from the church; it is from mission and in the light of mission that the church has to be understood.”(10) Therefore, it begins with the order and commission of the Lord. The ministry of he church is not a volunteer system, though it should be done actively and willingly with “love-motivated obedience”, following the model of Christ who did only the work that God commanded him to do with perfect obedience to death. Though we participate in the ministry in the form of calling and commission through the church, not like the apostles, any ministry of the church follows the Word of the Lord in the matter and form of ministry.

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(ii) The ministry of the church is essentially the ministry of reconciliation that Christ entrusted to the church, whatever form it takes. All the particular ministries serve for theKingdom of God, in which the unity of ministry is established.

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(iii) The Church of Christ should be efficiently organized for the effective execution of ministry with Christ as the Lord and ministers as His servants to whom the work of the church is committed. His prayer for the unity of the church presupposes the united structure and systematic organization. Therefore, the visible and institutional church is necessary. A new believer’s union with Christ means the simultaneous union with the fellow believers, both those who are already united and will be united in the future. The Body of Christ is an organism in which every member is organically interrelated with all the other members of the body, and it is an organic and living holy building which is always growing and expanding with new members. Because it is not many but one building however big it is, every part is connected and integrated with all the other parts of this mysterious building. Therefore, the organization and operation of the church is the foundation of church ministry. The church is demanded to build and develop herself, as well as to protect and survive herself in the human society.

 

2. The Various Functions of Ministry

 

(i) The institutional church has the responsibility to execute the Lord’s commission to the church. Or, it is not a dynamic and living church, because it does not properly function. The Reformers understood that the most basic functions to be the church are the declaration of the Word and the administration of the sacrament, and insisted that those two are notae verae ecclesiae. Later, the exercise of church discipline was added. But, they are essential and basic internal functions to be the church of Christ rather than all ministries committed by the Lord.

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(ii) In the New Testament, the church ministry has many works to do, which are traditionally distinguished into three areas, i.e., leitourgia, diakonia and koinonia. The declaration of the Word is expanded to worship leitourgia, and prayer and praise are included there. The church is primarily a worshipping community, as she is commanded to gather (Heb 10.25, 1Cor 14.26) and worship God in praise, declaration of the Word, and prayer (Jn 4.23, Ps 29.2, 95.1, 96.2-3, 1Ch 16.9. 23, Heb 13.15, 1Pet 2.9, 1Tim 4.13). Diakonia is related with the office of deacon, and it denotes various forms of ministry of service. It is primarily to help the weak and suffering neighbors like orphan and widow with love. In the early church, offering was initiated and maintained only for this purpose, but later it was mostly diverted to the other purposes, mainly the maintenance of the institutional church. Since the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the problem of the difference between the rich and the poor caused the rise of Marxism and socialism, and the church’s awareness of this issue expressed in various social ministries and movements including the Social Gospel of Walter Rauschenbush and the Liberation Theology of Latin America, which supports the weak not only financially but also politically.

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(iii) The church is defined as communio sanctorum, i.e., the fellowship of the saints in the Apostles’ Creed. Koinonia is the eternal nature of the church, for it is indispensable to sublimate the institutional church to the organic church, and it continues in the glorious and heavenly church even after the other ministries of the church do not need any longer. Even worship and service may be included in koinonia, for they are spiritual and physical fellowship. Especially, it is desperately necessary for the lonely humanity today, alienated by the individualism and loneliness in the crowd. However, the fellowship of the church is differentiated from any social fellowship, because it is together with the triune God: "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."(1Jn 1.3). And, our fellowship imitates the fellowship of God among three persons of the Trinity, which nature is perichoresis, mutual-penetration, mutual respect and love on the basis of equality, distinction and unity. It results in the sanctification of humanity and the union with divinity, and the earthly exercise is developed to the ideal heavenly koinonia. The mutual compassion, care, support, sharing, admonition, edification, service and intercession (Rom 12.15-16, 13, Gal 6.1-2, Heb 10.24-25, Rom 14.1, 19, Eph 4.11-15, Jn 13.12-17, Jam 5.16)

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(iv) The rediscovery of mission in the 19th C caused the rise of missionary ecclesiology which had been long ignored from the essential ministry of the church. So, marturia was added. In fact, the great commission to the church was the mission, and preaching the Good News was repeatedly commanded (Mt 28.19-20, Mk 16.15, Mt 24.14, Rom 10.11-15, 1Cor 1.21-25, 2Cor 5.18-20, 1Tim 2.1-3), for the Gospel is the "power of God for salvation"(Rom 1.6). And, the combination of word and deed makes the task more efficient and persuasive. Moltmann understood mission according to the concept of missio Dei: "Mission comprehends the whole of the church, not only parts of it… Evangelization is mission, but mission is not merely evangelization."(10) His political emphasis in the Kingdom of God understands mission as liberation based on the description of salvation by Jesus Himself in Mt 11.5: "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." Bultmann’s understanding that Jesus’ whole existence… is completely merged in his proclamation" is strongly criticized as mistaken.(81) Refer to Bloesch’s criticism. Following these new discovery of the church, the Presbyterian Church added two chapters on the Holy Spirit and mission to the Westminster Confession in 1903.

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(v) The crisis awareness of the church and the evangelical movement in the 20th C understood the importance of education and membership training and recognized didaskalia or matheteia as one of the essential ministry of the church. In fact, it was what Jesus already commanded, and now the church happened to understand its importance and obey it. As the mother of the believers, the church has the duty to nurture them to grow mature, children and adults, by the Word of God, because it is powerful and useful "for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."(2Tim 3.16) Before the ascension, Christ prepared and commanded the essential structure and ministry of His own church: sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and baptism, church discipline, power of gathering and prayer, education, mission, and practice of his teaching etc. (Mt 18.15-20, 26.18-20, 28.18-20) Also, the appointing and training the apostles, commission of ministry, teaching to practice loving neighbors including material giving, defining true worship, and the promise of the Holy Spirit who will guide, empower and protect the church were the preparatory work of the Lord. As the Founder and Head of the Church, Christ established all the principles and systems in the organization and operation of the church.

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(vi) Not only the tasks but also the power to execute them was bestowed to His Church by Christ: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven"(Mt 16.18-19) His newly established Church will be powerfully protected and with the God-given authority and power will effectively execute her tasks to accomplish the will of God and His Kingdom on the earth. The power of the Church is distinguished into three powers, i.e., teaching, governing, and helping power, which empower all the ministries of the church.

　

3. The Balance of Ministry

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(vii) Some churches today concentrate in some particular ministry for differentiation, but it violates the purpose of the church. Robert Recker describes various types of the contemporary churches: social club, school, mediatory, chosen community, hospital, ark, service station, broadcastor, relief agency, volunteer team, counseling clinic, ticketing station, spiritual cafeteria, or army. Avery Dulles introduced five popular models in Models of the Church, and Daniel Migliore offers his critical analysis on each model: (1) the institution of salvation model inevitably develops a rigid structure of hierarchy top to down and refuses reformation and renewal for the dynamic participation of all members and gifts. (2) the intimate community of the Spirit model is a personal and warm community of prayer and healing to share spiritual experiences, but this loosely organized spiritual community hardly differs from the other spiritual community to pursue self-oriented spiritual satisfaction. (3) the sacrament of salvation model is a synthesis of subjectivity and objectivity, but it easily develops ecclesiocentricism and liturgism, and lacks social concern and community consciousness. (4) the herald of good news model concentrates in evangelism and mission, but it is so proud to the world that they would only speak not listen and lacks social concern and the other ministries. (5) the servant of the servant Lord model is a diakonal community for others, often pursuing the ministry of social reconciliation for freedom, justice and peace, but it easily ignores spiritual devotion and follows political ideology of its own favor. Every model of concentration has the danger of triumphalistic ecclesiocentricism. As a matter fact, the church not only realizes the will and love of God, but also has the function of mutual sanctification and training to be able to adapt to the eternal heavenly life. Even though individuals concentrate in their own gift and calling, the church needs balance and totality for both purposes.

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(viii) For the Church is the Body of Christ in the totus Christus, the ministry of the chuch must be the ministry of Christ. Therefore, it is the continuation of the threefold office of Christ who works by the use of his own body, not independent and arbitrary activities of human community. The prophetic office mainly concerns with teaching and preaching the Word of God, and includes the various ministry of witness in evangelism, mission, and prophetic voice. The priestly office includes the ministry of sacrament and diakonia, service and sacrifice. And, the kingly office concerns with the vicarious ruling of the church in church discipline as well as of the world in the ministry of reconciliation and expansion of the Kingdom of God in all areas of life.

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(ix) The church is obliged to obey the command of Christ as the continuum of His work, but the Holy Spirit continuously illuminates and envisions the Word of God so that the church discovers new task in new age, as the redemptive history makes the progress and approaches toward its consummation. The different context in time and space is the new calling for the new ministry, as Jesus mentioned in John 14.12: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."