Joseph Small writes to introduce ecclesiology in both local congregations and theological colleges. He also sets out to honestly grapple with the stumbling realities of the life of the church so that theology remains rooted in what we know, yet offers us renewed vision of what we might be. He succeeds on many counts, and the book traverses important ground with an ease of style and a depth of content that is impressive and evocative.
An initial inspection of some of the limitations of theological and sociological thinking about the church paves the way for an exploration of the Reformation as a turning point with intended and unintended ecclesiological consequences. Amongst the latter, Small highlights the fracturing of the church into increasingly market-driven denominations fighting for converts. At this point he brings in a thread that remains a consistent and vital one throughout the book; the ecumenical imperative and the challenging witness of the World Council of Churches (later to be joined by reflections upon the Vatican II). Thus ecumenical texts and aspirations become powerful conversation partners and critiques.
Small uses the Nicene Creed to tease out the essence of the church. He suggests ways in which the evocative and minimalist language of the creeds gets overlooked in the lived reality of denominational statements, or becomes a little-known backdrop to congregational life. There are huge assumptions and generalisations here, but much haunting truth. Along the way he touches, often fairly briefly, upon the likes of Calvin, Barth, Tertullian and Irenaeus.
For me the outstanding chapters of the book follow on from this creedal reflection. Small opens up in a host of fairly short but tremendously evocative sections the real presence of Christ in the Word preached and in baptism and eucharist. We are deeply embedded in the Reformed tradition with pertinent biblical discussion and Calvin as a frequent guide. We are drawn towards the possibilities in worship and reminded that worship can tumble into something far less. I wished he had taken longer to open up his thinking for us here, especially in his tantalising but all too brief comments about preaching. Communion is broadened to explore what it is for us to be with God, to share with believers, to be caught up within the truth of the gospel, to offer our resources to others and to be both reconciled and reconcilers. This moves into a reflection upon denominationalism and, again, the strong ecumenical voice resounds with challenging notes from the WCC discussions at Lund (1952) and Canberra (1991).
Small thus sets up the next part of his exploration; the church as the body of Christ. We are taken into the Pauline texts of 1 Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians and Colossians, and Small very helpfully teases out ways in which this body language is not simile (which tends to collapse into a focus upon the church) but metaphor (which places the focus upon the church as belonging to Christ in the power of the Spirit). There is rich material here to invigorate a congregational conversation. He moves to christology in order to reflect upon the call of Christ and the response of the church, drawing upon the work of Moltmann, Ritschl and Frei, amongst others.
From body language we move to reflections upon being the people of God. Small opens a very fruitful discussion about the Bible and the need for Christians to hold together Old and New Testaments in order to comprehend Jesus as a Jew set in the context of God's revelation and covenant. This leads on to an extended discussion of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity and his emphatic conclusion that Christians and Jews are both the people of God.
The closing chapters, exploring proclamation and hope, tend to draw the focus much more fully upon Small's own context and primary audience, the church in secular North America. He writes as the former director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Theology and Worship. Whilst almost all that has gone before easily crosses the Atlantic, some of the perspectives towards the end will need a little more interpretation to bear all their fruit in the UK.
Small's powerful gift is to persistently ask how the reality we know of the church might be refreshed through a more faithful appreciation of the teaching and tradition we inherit. My complaint would be that he often only hints at what this might really mean in practice. Yet he offers us a wonderful range of perspectives upon the church that both challenge and invite. I regularly find myself wondering if I would commend a book to students and congregations. I absolutely would want them to read this.
