Church: a colony of heaven in the country of death, a strategy of the Holy Spirit for giving witness to the already-inaugurated kingdom of God
Eugene Peterson, The Pastor, 110
I like the way this brings together the Already and the Not-Yet. The church is not the kingdom; it is far from perfect. But it is a core element in God's strategy.
He then goes on to highlight tow faulty views of church
- the idealistic, where pastors don't stay long enough to bring all the pieces of the jigsaw together (because in fact it can never be done in any church)
- church as catering to consumer tastes of spirituality (business opportunity oriented)
But in fact church is a work of God's Spirit. Peterson notes how the early chapters of Acts are patterned on those of Luke. Church is story. "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons". The church is "conceived by the Holy Spirit".
Eugene Peterson, The Pastor, 110
I like the way this brings together the Already and the Not-Yet. The church is not the kingdom; it is far from perfect. But it is a core element in God's strategy.
He then goes on to highlight tow faulty views of church
- the idealistic, where pastors don't stay long enough to bring all the pieces of the jigsaw together (because in fact it can never be done in any church)
- church as catering to consumer tastes of spirituality (business opportunity oriented)
But in fact church is a work of God's Spirit. Peterson notes how the early chapters of Acts are patterned on those of Luke. Church is story. "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons". The church is "conceived by the Holy Spirit".
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