Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 23:2 (Summer 2019)
Article: The Prospects For A “Mere Ecclesiology”
Author: Gregg R. Allison

SBJT 23:2 (Summer 2019) p. 61

The Prospects For A “Mere Ecclesiology”

Gregg R. Allison

Gregg R. Allison is professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He is secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, a pastor at Sojourn Church East, and theological strategist for Sojourn Network. His books include Historical Theology (Zondervan, 2011), Sojourners and Strangers (Crossway, 2012), Roman Catholic Theology and Practice (Crossway, 2014), The Unfinished Reformation (Zondervan, 2016), and 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith (Baker, 2018). Gregg is married to Nora and together they have three adult children and ten grandchildren.

Introduction

I assume that readers of SBJT know that the word “ecclesiology” refers to the doctrine of the church, the systematic theological locus that treats such topics as the nature, identity, attributes, and marks of the church; its ministries/ functions/roles; its leadership, polity, structure; and more. Ecclesiology is the theological consideration of the church, which could be defined briefly as “the people of God who have been saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and have been incorporated into his body through baptism with the Holy Spirit.”1

When the adjective “mere” is attached to the noun “ecclesiology,” several ideas could be intended. “Mere” could be a qualifier that indicates “something that is unimportant.” As I regularly teach seminary courses on ecclesiology and have written a lengthy book on the subject, I obviously do not think it to be a trivial doctrine.

“Mere” could be a descriptor that signifies “something that is simple” in the sense of not complex. In this case my proposal would be for a reductionistic ecclesiology that strips down the doctrine to just a few preferred topics. As

SBJT 23:2 (Summer 2019) p. 62

a pastor who decries the contemporary move to limit churches to just a few ministries (often reflective of the passions and giftings of the lead pastor), I similarly oppose reducing the doctrine of the church to a handful of points. “Mere” could be a qualifier that signals “being nothing more than.” In this sense, the result would be a “lowest common denominator” doctrine that might have broad ecumenical appeal but that ignores or conceals theological distinctives that tend to highlight disagreements that exist between various ecclesiologies. Though my personality is that of a unifier and peacemaker,2 and though I tend to urge people to find common ground, I am (painfully...