Why Church Matters

Recently I read Why Church Matters by Jonathon Wilson, which is no being reviewed by Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed. I've been looking forward to this series, as the book resonated deeply with me because of the way if differs from usual ecclesiological approaches. Though prescriptive or descriptive approaches (ie: "What can be synthesised from the raw biblical data?" or "How can we account for the variety of ecclesiologies?") aren't invalid , Wilson's 'determintive' approach asks a far more timely question, namely, "Why does church matter?" As McKnight suggests, the question has immediate relevance for low- and high-church Christians and not just potentially disaffected emergents.

Sadly, at least one reviewer fails to see the value of Wilson's question, and so fails to appreciate any of his answers. This highlights the importance of the first chapter in which Wilson defines the scope and explains the methodology of his approach; remember he is proposing "why" rather than asking "what?" or "how?" -- these are valid approaches (as has been shown by other more-than-competent theologians), but they are not Wilson's.

Central to Wilson's apporach is a particular understanding of practices as those things which link the life of a community to its telos. In tracing his understanding of telos through the work of Alasdair MacIntyre back to Aristotle, he makes a distinction between the technical term (the telos is determinitative of the community and its practices) and the popular use of its equivalents (a group will often set its own goals or objectives).

In short, church matters because 'church' is how communities practice the gospel, and thereby participate in the kingdom of God -- it's how they demonstrate that they are authentically Christian.