Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

/ 2 1 5

T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

In order to make sense of the Scriptures, our students must welcome their role as scholars and theologians. In a real sense, everyone with a theological opinion about some religious matter is a theologian. The role of study is to encourage each student to become a biblical theologian, one who finds his or her understanding of life through a critically informed study and engagement of the Holy Scriptures. These contacts focus on some of the common kinds of questions and issues that disciples and disciple-makers of Jesus will find as they engage with others on issues related to the Word of God, and the work of the Lord in the world. Use the contacts to introduce the central themes of the lessons in such a way as to highlight and bring to clear foreground the issues you will be wrestling with as you proceed through the lesson. Have the students briefly share (in groups or with the entire class) what they drew and why. Then ask the students, “Is your identity as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, one identity among many others that make you who you are, or is your membership in the Church the key defining fact about who you are?” “At The Urban Ministry Institute, we contend that incorporation into the Church surpasses and transforms every other form of human identity. In a sense, your identity as a member of the Church is more like the paper you drew on than it is like any of the individual symbols. It is the context in which all other identities come to have their meaning. In today’s lesson we will focus on the critical importance of the Church for understanding salvation and the Christian life.” That all things exist for the glory of God is the core theological notion in all of Scripture. The key Hebrew term is kabod , while the Greek doxa , comes from dokeo , “to think” or “to seem.” The word kabod comes from kabed “to be heavy”, and is linked to concepts of the one possessing glory being laden with riches (Gen. 31.1), power (Isa. 8.7), position (Gen. 45.13), etc. While those who translated the Septuagint used doxa for kabod , it is clear that kabod had a larger meaning of carrying the idea of both honor and reputation. Kabod is associated with the idea of God

5 Page 14 Contact

6 Page 15 Contact 2

7 Page 16 Outline Point I