Sacred Roots Workshop

8 Sacred Roots Workshop: Retr ieving the Great Tradi t ion in the Contemporary Church

Christian theology and worship. As the fulfillment of God’s ancient covenant promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, Jesus of Nazareth inaugurated and now represents the reign of God present in history – of his person and work all the prophets bore witness, all the apostles gave testimony, and all the Scriptures testify. In a similar vein, the taproots of the Church’s worship, spirituality, theology, and mission are found in the primary truths of Christian faith in the biblical writings of the apostles, articulated by the Fathers, and expressed in teaching and practice of the ancient-undivided Church. Today, this common creedal tradition undergirds our various historical denominational traditions, and has the power to both enrich and empower them for new vistas in spiritual vitality, dy- namic body life, and vibrant mission and justice. Reaffirming our shared, sacred heritage of faith can empower us to affirm the Church of Jesus to live and understand itself as one Church, and can enable us to ward off the effects of historical sectarianism and bitter religious rivalry. This workshop will show how a deliberate rediscovery of our shared sacred roots can help churches, pastors, and associations recover the Bible’s own salvation history in the people of Israel, regain the prophetic and apostolic witness to Jesus Christ about which that history articulates, and recenter our worship and witness in shared ancient consensus of the Great Tradition. These roots are sacred, that is, in them and them alone do we come to know God’s story of love in Christ, and by faith in him, we make that story (his-story) our own. Our sessions will outline the ways in which our churches can renew and refresh all branches of its spirituality and mission by inhabiting and indwelling the Story of God in Scripture, expressed in the Great Tradition. Special focus will highlight the promise of this retrieval for contemporary urban church’s worship, discipleship, and mission. Retrieving the wisdom embodied in the ancient Church’s theology, liturgy, and mission can strengthen our community life and deepen our mission in our world today.

Session 1 Your Kingdom Come: “The Story of God’s Glory”

Living under His Reign and Doing Mission in an Unchurched World This session lays out the significance of story and the importance of myth in the world, and how the Kingdom of God told in Scripture