The times are a-changin’

Well, school is back in full swing for Dee.  In addition to her own classes and research, she was asked to teach a graduate level course.  She is very excited to do so, to say the least.  We went home for several days over Christmas break and enjoyed hanging out with family and friends (esp. Cranium night at the Jay’s Inn!).  And as always, time finds a way of eluding us.  For the most part, I was hidden away in an extra room finishing up my thesis (entitled – Hospitality in the Spirt: A Christlike Embrace of the Other).  

Reading back over the paper, the work seems more like a survey than a research paper.  The resources which I utilized are just so rich.  Take for example, Stephen Seamands book, Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service.  Wow.  Seamands offers insights as to how the biblical witness of God as Triune gives shape to what ministry should look like.  That the Church in her (Christlike) intra/inter-relations bears witness to God’s existence as Father, Son and Spirit.  And the read is very accessible.  Seamands is a pastoral theologian who clearly speaks to the relational needs of the local church. Another great resource is by Wolfgang Vondey, People of Bread: Rediscovering Ecclesiology. (ecclesiology = “study of the church”)  This one I am still working through; however, the section on hospitality is very insightful.  These are two examples of the various resources used.  I hope to continue reading and amending the work to reflect better my thoughts of the material.

For those who may be curious, here is a copy of my abstract for the paper:

The undercurrent of Western individualism tends to constrict our confessional reading of the Church of God Declaration of Faith here in the U.S.  By and large, our ecclesial structures tend to disclose a rather compartmentalized notion of spirituality and tendency to withdraw from our neighbors.  This study explores the grounding of the Declaration of Faith in the hospitality of God.  In so doing, this writer suggests that God’s relationality has significant implications concerning our confession of God’s providence, the nature of salvation and the agency of the Church.   

A Trinitarian framework informs our ecclesiological identity as a people of a transformed lens and Christlike embrace of the other.  The hospitality of God, therefore, should characterize the Body-life of the Church.  In this way, the missio ecclesiae mirrors the relationality in God and, therefore, grounds our confession of faith in compassionate solidarity with and Christlike love for our neighbor.

Anyhow, change is surely on the horizon.  The details of which are a bit fuzzy at the moment.  We do ask for everyone’s prayers during this season. We need wisdom and discernment concerning the post-grad transition.  Thanks.  All in all, God’s infinite wisdom and loving character give us confidence that he is working within our lives in order that our witness of him blazes.  

 Peace,

Shannon

Tagged as: Family, relationships, Study, Testimony