The transformative church: Substantiating new models of ecclesiality with the holistic theology of Jurgen Moltmann

Throughout the course of his theological career, Moltmann has been interested in the ecclesial and societal consequences of systematic theology. From his first major work, Theology of Hope, to his last "contribution," Experiences in Theology, he has devoted substantive space to what each particular doctrine means for our life in this world, as individuals and as a community. It is the purpose of this present work to explore these concerns more deeply, looking at each of his major texts and highlighting themes relevant for a transformative ecclesiology.;These themes will be augmented by adding the perspectives of a contemporary church movement that seems to reflect, in its practices, many of the same themes. With these conversation partners, I hope to construct a more substantive transformative ecclesiology, one that is embedded in this world. The thesis of this work is that we are to become in the church who we are to be in this world, becoming whole in Christ so as to be a messianic people in whatever context we may find ourselves. I begin by first looking at the methodology of the conversation partners. The transformative churches have a holistic, contextual, and vernacular theology. With Moltmann, I highlight his emphasis on experience, ecological theology, hyper-sovereignty, and interest in the liberation of the oppressor. In chapters two through four, I analyze each of Moltmann's major works, following these with related themes derived from two key transformative church texts, and then provide a brief integrative analysis. In the final chapter, I provide a cogent integration of these sources and suggest critiques of each. I conclude by proposing a transformative approach to theology utilizing the method developed in this present work that develops each individual theme further in its own monograph.