In the words of the creeds, the church is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic body of Christ.
Of those features, perhaps none is as misunderstood as the church's catholicity (that is, its universality)—because while the church is universal, it is also radically local, connected to a particular community or even found on a specific street corner. How might we reclaim the universality of the church without losing its local situatedness?
In this Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture volume, pastor and theologian C. Ryan Fields offers a surprising solution: he turns to the Free Church tradition, those churches that are historically separate or "free" from state oversight. Juxtaposing the Free Church with its Episcopal counterpart, he argues that far from neglecting the catholicity of the church, the Free Church tradition can helpfully inform our understanding of the one body of Christ while remaining true to its local roots.
Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture, edited by Daniel J. Treier and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, promotes evangelical contributions to systematic theology, seeking fresh understanding of Christian doctrine through creatively faithful engagement with Scripture in dialogue with church tradition.
Reviews
"Catholicity is both a contested and neglected aspect of ecclesiology. It is contested in that there are several definitions for it, and it is neglected in that there are not many recent studies on its biblical and historical foundations, particularly from the Free Church traditions. C. Ryan Fields successfully speaks into this gap in ways that are both imaginative and rooted, generative and definitive. This book should be a standard for studies of catholicity for any tradition, and especially for Free Church traditions." - Matthew Y. Emerson, dean of theology, arts, and humanities at Oklahoma Baptist University and author of "He Descended to the Dead"
"Historically, the Free Church tradition has had a weak ecclesiology. Fields's excellent work is a breath of fresh ecclesial air. Fields biblically grounds and theologically guides our thinking about the church—each local church manifests the fullness of the gospel, meaning it lacks nothing, and it also evidences a gospel-compelled catholicity, as it reveals part of the now of the kingdom, a partial embodiment of Jesus' high priestly prayer, an outpost of heaven. This is an exceptional work, one I heartily recommend, written by an outstanding pastor-theologian who lives out this truth as a pastor in a local church. We all, especially those in the Free Church tradition, are in his debt." - Gregory Strand, executive director of theology and credentialing for the Evangelical Free Church of America and adjunct professor of pastoral theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"The time is long past for Free Church believers both to reclaim the word catholic and to live out the meaning of true catholicity—and to do so precisely as part of our own rich ecclesial tradition. This book advances that argument with rigor and nuance and thus contributes to what I believe is the Spirit's moving in our midst." - Timothy George, distinguished professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
C. Ryan Fields (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor of Faith Evangelical Free Church in Acton, Massachusetts.
