Perspectives On Christian Unity

Is gospel Christianity dead? Pundits are writing the obituary of historic, orthodox Christianity, but pastor and author J. D. Greear (Gospel, Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart) believes the postmortems are premature. Jesus promised to build his church. He said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The church is not going away. Along with this promise, Jesus gave clear instructions for how the church would prevail. He promised to build it on the rock of the gospel. The most pressing need for Christianity today is not a new strategy. It is not an updated message. It is a return to keeping the gospel above all.

"In the following I take for granted the theological basis of the Catholic ecumenical movement. We believe that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Jesus Christ, united to him as his earthly body; but we also believe that men outside the Church in good faith who confess Jesus Christ as God and Saviour and are baptized in water and the Holy Ghost are truly Christian, reborn in Christ, alive in the Spirit, and hence, despite their separation, our Christian brethren. I take for granted in these pages that Christian faith and supernatural charity are found in communities beyond the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church, and that Christians guiltlessly separated from us have access to sacramental grace and spiritual life...This book is not written simply to give information. It is also a plea. Its purpose is to create a sense of urgency among Catholics. There is so much we can do for Christian unity, even as lay people. We must find new dimensions of Christian charity; we must discover a new vision of the Church's ecumenical task; and we must pray and suffer for unity knowing that these are the mainsprings of any renewal in the Church." [Foreword].

Vital themes behind Christian unity are often overlooked in the press of sentiment for greater ecumenicity. This study seeks to examine the depths of true spiritual unity.

It has been said that the eleven-o'clock hour on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. In churches that tout Christian unity as the one quality essential to accomplishing God's will in the world, division still remains, the one quality that defines the place of the Church in the world today. That division is not limited to the varied members of the worshiping community but in leadership as well. Scripture, the record of our faith, tells the faithful that regardless of person, the varied gifts and talents that exist among us are the tools essential for building the beloved kingdom Those tools have been dispersed to the faithful who understand the importance of identifying the kingdom of heaven and pointing the way to it. In short, as Scripture describes it, "To make the path straight." Using the eight parables of Jesus that begin with the words "the kingdom of heaven is like" to describe heaven's nature and our place in it is the central focus of the book. The faithful of the Church over ages past understood the work to be carried out if God's will is to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. That work is given to those, regardless of person, who acknowledge heaven as a place of eternal oneness and divine presence. Pointing to that place is the task given to the faithful that all humanity may know the reaches of a loving God. The God of creation has given gifts to the faithful to identify divine presence. The God of divine guidance has given talents to the faithful to illumine the way to that presence. The God of eternal salvation has given blessing to the faithful to help make the way a blessing to all, regardless of person!

This volume of ecumenical documents, key texts, and critical essays is the first collection of its kind exclusively dedicated to Pentecostalism and its contributions to Christian unity. In the first part, a cadre of internationally renowned scholars addresses the ecumenical heritage and perspectives of the Pentecostal movement since the early twentieth century. Part 2 offers a collection of final reports from international dialogues with Pentecostal participation. The final part contains programmatic essays in response to The Nature and Mission of the Church, a major study on the doctrine of the church published by the World Council of Churches. Most of these essays were first presented by the ecumenical-studies group of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, currently the only organized ecumenical think tank among Pentecostals in North America. Since its formation in 2001, the group has encouraged Pentecostal participation in ecumenical concerns, has hosted Roman Catholic-Pentecostal conversations at the annual meeting of the Society, has invited international scholarly debates on ecumenical matters, and has engaged in the study of ecumenical consensus statements. The essays and documents in this collection model the dedication and commitment among Pentecostals today that engage the challenges and opportunities of Christian unity from the perspective of a tradition that has often been falsely accused of being anti-ecumenical. This collection presents an invaluable resource for teachers, scholars, and pastors interested in engaging the global Christian arena from the worldwide and ecumenical image of Pentecostalism. Contributors Carmelo E. Alvarez Harold D. Hunter Douglas Jacobsen Veli-Matti Karkkainen Frank D. Macchia Raymond R. Pfister Cecil M. Robeck Jr. Paul van der Laan Wolfgang Vondey

The prayer of Jesus in John 17 was that His Church would be one, and that together we would display the glory of God to a lost and dying world. Our unity would prove our message. Sadly, we've badly missed the mark. Bishop Robert lifts the veil on what the Holy Spirit has been doing across the globe, enflaming hearts of believers everywhere to fulfill Christ's prayer. Today, God is moving His Church to the place of unity we see in John 17! Count to One lays a simple and compelling foundation every believer can stand upon, examining the issues and answering the questions everyone asks about overcoming the barriers to genuine Christian unity.

When it comes to the sacraments, the church has often been—and remains—divided. Can we still gather together at the same table? Based on lectures from the 2017 Wheaton Theology Conference, this volume brings together the reflections of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theologians, who consider what it means to proclaim the unity of the body of Christ in light of the sacraments.