chickens and eggs: missiology and ecclessiology

Looking forward to class this weekend!   I appreciate your extra-mile prayer and preparation..  It's an honor to learn with, and from, you all.

I thought I would post these links below; if you have time before Friday (yeah, right!), it would be helpful to engage a bit more with the "which comes first?" questions we began wrestling with in the "Systematic Theology" class, and will pick up this weekend.

I like how  Len Hjalmarson quotes Bosch:

"It is not the church of God that has a mission in the world,

 but the God of mission who has a church in the world.”

 Len also quotes Henri Nouwen: 

"We do not define God’s mission. It defines us.

 It tells us who we are, what our mission is, how we are to do ministry, worship, spirituality, evangelism. There is no aspect of the Christian life, thought, and ministry that is not connected with God’s mission to the world."

Finally, Moltmann says:

 "It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world, it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church, creating a church a it goes on its way."
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So, here are the links to explore...and they will start provoking questions like "What  difference does it make which comes first?" , "What would church look like if it were shaped by Missio Dei?" "What practical implications to the doctrines/realities of The Trinity, and The Kingdom hold for mission?" and  (most importantly)."Who is taking us to lunch on our Saturday lunch break"?:

1. Chicken, Egg, Carts, Horses
2. Does missiology precede ecclesiology?
3. "Who's on first?"
4. The Meaning of History at St. Arbuck's..in 3 Easy Strands  (see first section)