DESCRIPTION: This doctoral seminar, open to a maximum of five advanced master's level students, studies ecclesiastical traditions and developments at the international and ecumenical level as well as ecclesiologies of some leading contemporary theologians. Special topics include mission, unity, communion, Eucharist, charisms, and the ministry of the whole people of God.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Theological reflection on various issues related to the nature and mission of Christian community in its contemporary contexts is an essential task for theologians and ministers.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet weekly for a three-hour session of discussion & student presentations. Once registered for the course, the student must contact immediately Prof. Kärkkäinen for syllabus and pre-seminar assignments (vmk@fuller.edu).

REQUIRED READING:

"Essays and Documents on Ecclesiology," ST838/538 Course Reader (Moodle course website)

Basden, P. & Dockery, S.D. eds. The People of God: Essays on the Believers' Church. Wipf & Stock, 2009. 367 pp. ISBN: 9781606088944. Price: $40.00.
OR Callen, B.L. Radical Christianity: The Believers Church Tradition in Christianity's History and Future. Evangel Publishing House, 1999. 221 pp. ISBN: 9780916035631. Price: $14.95.

Boff, L. Ecclesiogenesis: The Base Communities Reinvent the Church. Orbis, 1986. 122 pp. ISBN: 9780883442142. Price: $22.00,

Fiorenza, E. S. Discipleship of Equals: Critical Feminist Ekklesia-logy of Liberation. Crossroad, 1993. 384 pp. ISBN: 9780824512446. Price: $29.95.
OR Russell, L. M. Church in the Round: Feminist Interpretation of the Church. WJKP, 1993. 256 pp. ISBN: 9780664250706. Price: 29.95.

Gibbs, E. & Bolger, R. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. Baker, 2005. 352 pp. ISBN: 9780801027154. Price: $19.99.

Moltmann, J. The Church in the Power of the Spirit. Fortress, 1993. 430 pp. ISBN: 9780800628215. Price: $25.00.

Pannenberg, W. Systematic Theology. Vol. 3. Eerdmans, 1997. 730 pp. (section on the church). ISBN: 9780802864567. Price: $55.00.

Rausch, T. Towards a Truly Catholic Church: An Ecclesiology for the Third Millennium. Press, 2005. 248 pp. ISBN: 9780814651872. Price: $24.95.

Zizioulas, J. Being As Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1985. 269 pp. ISBN: 9780881410297. Price: $24.00 (selections).

Volf, M. After Our Likeness. The Church as the Image of the Trinity. Eerdmans, 1997. 326 pp. ISBN: 9780802844408. $32.00 (selections).

Frost, M. & Hirsch, A. The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church. Hendrickson, 2003. 256 pp. ISBN: 9781565636590. Price: $19.95.

Haight, Roger. Christian Community in History: Comparative Ecclesiology, vol. 2. Continuum, 2005. 528 pp. ISBN: 9780826416308. Price: $65.00.

Hauerwas, S. & Willimon, W.H. Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony. Abingdon, 1989. 175 pp. ISBN: 9780687361595. Price: $17.00.

Meyer, H. That All May Be One: Perceptions and Models of Ecumenicity. Eerdmans, 1999.

Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of th e Church in North America, ed. Darrell Guder. Eerdmans, 1998.

The Church as Communion. Ed. H. Holze. Lutheran World Federation Documentation No. 42. 428 pp. LWF, 1997. ISBN: 3906706451. No pub. price.

The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church, ed. G. Mannion & L.S. Mudge. Routledge, 2008. 684 pp. ISBN: 9780415567688. Price: $50.00.

1. Careful reading of assigned texts and active participation in class discussions (15%)

2. Class presentations, including a reflection on historical developments in ecclesiology (25%)

3. Major research paper, 25-30pp (60%)