THIRD
TERM 1997
CONTENTS
1. Ministry as God's
ministry of revelation and reconciliation.
All ministry
is God's ministry. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit carry
out this ministry of the Father. It is a ministry of
revelation and reconciliation. This first study sets
out the Trinitarian basis of ministry.
2. Possibility and actuality.
Accountability for ministry.
Lessons taken
from Abraham and Sarah (Ishmael and Isaac) to illustrate
the meaning of actuality and possibility in ministry.
Ishmael was man's possibility and Isaac God's actuality.
This forms the basis of accountability in ministry,
not in terms of what is achieved, but in terms of what
one is called to minister.
3. The Incarnation (I) - God's
revelation of ministry of reconciliation through Christ's
solidarity with humanity.
The humanity
of Jesus Christ will be discussed. The ministry of
reconciliation is not through an external legal system,
but through Christ's vicarious humanity. He is the
mediator between God and man both in revelation and
reconciliation.
4. The Incarnation (II) - the
Christological foundation of ministry.
Continues from above.
5. The Church - the ongoing
ministry of Christ.
The church
continues the ministry of Christ on earth. Thus Christ's
ministry determines the nature and content of the church's
ministry. We are united with Christ - discussion on
the phrases 'in Christ', 'with Christ' and 'Christ
in us'. The 'indicative' precedes the 'imperative'.
6. The Church - the ongoing
ministry of Christ.
Continues from above.
7. Ministry precedes and determines
the nature and existence of the church.
The church
has often struggled for identity and relevance. It
has been given ministry by its very calling to be the
presence of Christ in the world; its relevance is found
in the gospel it lives and proclaims.
8. A theology of presence -
Christ's presence in the world.
Discussion
on a 'theology of presence' combining servanthood with
transcendence, that is, in ways which make solidarity
with the world occasions for radical freedom, faith
and healing.
9. The Theology of Response.
Reflection and Discussion.
S K THAM 21 JULY, 1997 |
