| This project begins with the claims that human identity is shaped communally and that oral events form community. North American congregations are being shaped by preaching, so the speaker needs an intentional ecclesial pattern to work from to assist constructing faithful and appropriate groups. This project suggests the Believers Church, with modifications, as a helpful model to preach from for forming a congregation.;Chapter I takes a look at society and the modern Church, noting the influence of individualistic anthropocentrism (Bellah, Lasch, Berger and Luckmann, Palmer). The chapter includes a survey of church growth and success literature. Chapter II argues the Christian faith needs a communal model of church and shows the preliminary characteristics for it (Bonhoeffer, Brueggemann, Farley, Buttrick). The specific ecclesial model is described in Chapter III. It is the Believers Church, with its roots in the European Radical Reformation, which contains essential traits for an adequate model (Menno, Marpeck, Sattler, Yoder). Chapter IV shows the model in worship, especially in preaching and the Lord's Supper. Representatives from the sixteenth century and contemporary manifestations are cited. Chapter V investigates the historic criticisms of Anabaptism and the Believers Church (Troeltsch, H. R. Niebuhr). Refutations follow (Yoder, Scriven), yet the criticism of withdrawing from the world it promises to serve strikes home. In addition, the model falters in the theological areas of human sin and divine grace. Perfectionism and an exemplary christology overestimate human ability and underestimate grace.;In Chapter VI, suggestions are made to modify the model, especially in preaching and the Lord's Supper, to address these criticisms. Preaching needs to acknowledge human dependance on God, provide a vision of God's Realm, and show the congregation's place in the vision. Linking Word and Table underscores the participants, inability to attain perfection. The Lord's Supper needs to broaden the sense of thanksgiving, remember Christ, and embolden proclamation of the faith. These modifications to the Believers Church model could assist contemporary Christianity to discover a new identity. |
