Centripetal or Centrifugal?

[Pastor Gary]

Hate to get Theological with you on a Tuesday morning, but is your view of the mission of God, and therefore the mission of the church, centripetal or centrifugal?

The centripetal view is that the church exists to provide a place into which people are collected and drawn. It would be represented by what we have heard taught as the "inflow" doctrine. (The church as a gathering place for saints.)

The centrifugal view would be the missional church view, in which the church is seen as a continuation of the concept of "a light to the nations," sent out to carry the message outward.

[Poimen]

Both.
Seriously. I'm not being facetious.

[Russell Roberts]

Pastor Gary,

It seems to me that our task is to participate in the redemption of the world...to be the bearers of the image of God to lost and dying humanity...to bring God's justice to bear in the present...to act as Isaianic heralds announcing the good news that the King has returned to Zion to rule over creation. I guess that would be centrifugal?

Then again, the Church is also the ecclesia, an organic unity, many members with the purpose of building each other up.

Oddly, I think I find myself in agreement with Poimen!!!

[Poimen]

Finally! We are making some head way now.

[TW]

The Church (with a Capital C) should be centrifugal, "a light to all the nations." This is following Jesus command to preach the Gosple to all the world.

At the same time church (with a lower case c) is the gathering of the saints. A time and place where we fellowship, are trained, and join in corperate prayer and worship.


TW

[Shellie]

Centriboth

[c u there]

Both and more

[MacUser]

Each have purpose

But I lean.. centrifugal

[dolfan]

Well, you just went and learned me a new word, PG ---- centripetal. I like it. So much so, that I Googled it, and a Wikipedia entry uses a picture of a roller coaster loop to demonstrate centripetal and centrifugal forces at work; the coaster loop being centripetal because it forces the car toward the center of curvature along its pathway, and the centrifugal force of the speeding car along the track holds it to the track.

It made me think of a rescue mission at a shipwreck site at sea, "centrifugally" jumping into the waters to grab those drowning, and "centripetally" forcing them back to the seaworthy ship.

[paul]

Hate to get Theological with you on a Tuesday morning, but is your view of the mission of God, and therefore the mission of the church, centripetal or centrifugal?

The centripetal view is that the church exists to provide a place into which people are collected and drawn. It would be represented by what we have heard taught as the "inflow" doctrine. (The church as a gathering place for saints.)

The centrifugal view would be the missional church view, in which the church is seen as a continuation of the concept of "a light to the nations," sent out to carry the message outward.

The church is a people called forth. The goal of God's end-time salvation is to create a people for his name. This people are the true succession of the old covenant people of God, and as a people are the object of God's saving activity in Christ. But they are now newly constituted through the death and resurrection of Christ and the gift of the end time Spirit, though they enter the community individually through faith in Christ and the gift of the Spirit.

Formed by the Spirit, they are an end-time peole, who lilve the life of the future in the present as they await the consumation. They are God's family, evidenced by the Spirits crying abba father, from their hearts; they are God's temple, the place of his habitation on earth by his spirit; both individually and corporate, which forms the body of Christ.

The Spirit gathers the newley consittuted people of God in worship for corporate praise and sharing the gifts to build the community of faith.

centrifugal

The church is not a gathering place in the sense of a holding tank. Rather a place of gathering to funnel the end time message to the lost and be a light to the nations of the world

[RamboPreacher]

The Church (with a Capital C) should be centrifugal, "a light to all the nations." This is following Jesus command to preach the Gosple to all the world.

At the same time church (with a lower case c) is the gathering of the saints. A time and place where we fellowship, are trained, and join in corperate prayer and worship.


TW

this

[oletimer]

I don't see have the Church could be one with also being the other.

[Russell Roberts]

I'm still waiting for Pastor Gary to weigh in.

[Pastor Gary]

I'm still waiting for Pastor Gary to weigh in.

Let me ask a clarifying question...

Was the role of God's chosen people in the Old Testament centripetal or centrifugal?

[Russell Roberts]

It seems to have been both. There were laws that set them apart as a particular people but they were also tasked with being a light to the nation. Unpack it for us.

BTW, this question is quite interesting. I have struggled mentally in the past over the same issue.

If I had to pick one or the other I would go with centrifugal. Adam was tasked with subduing creation. I would argue that to rule looks quite different than what many people think. Israel was charged with a similar task. Finally, Jesus took up the task - to rule creation. But exaltation comes about through humiliation and servanthood.