Today’s lecture was about the ideological shift from missio eccesiae to missio Dei. This is Latin for “mission of the church,” and “mission of God.” Christians and church leaders have begun to realize that mission is God’s thing, not the Church’s, but Church can participate in it if it chooses to. God has a mission that is much bigger than the Church’s. This missional movement is not something that is exclusive to only one kind of Christianity. Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians are all beginning to unite on this idea and to make changes to how they do church accordingly. Theological leaders in this missional movement include Karl Barth, and Leslie Newbigin. With the new theological idea of missio Dei comes the Trinitarian view of mission. The Trinitarian view changes our Christology, our eschatology, our ecclesiology, our soteriology, our anthropology, and our culture. The Trinitarian view reframes how we view each of these important aspects by centering them all on the Trinity. Dr. Bolger said that if the Church is sent to follow the work of the Holy Spirit and to participate in it. If this happens the church will be a place of inclusion, diversity, unity, peacemaking, reconciliation, giving/receiving, speaking prophetically/listening, justice, service, communion with creation, and bearing the divine life. I think this all sounds pretty good.

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