Lecture - The Church - by William Henn

17 Reageer III The Structure, Content and Contribution of The Church: Towards a Common Vision [16-17] First of all, Faith and Order wanted to clearly distinguish its new ecclesiological statement from many of its other documents which are categorized as “Study Documents.” Instead of a document which merely was offered to stimulate further study, Faith and Order wanted this new text to draw its work over the past decades to a certain level of completion. For this reason, the entire process was guided by the intention to produce not another study document but a “convergence text.” The meaning of the type of document intended by the expression “convergence text” can be found in the short Introduction to De Kerk , which emphasizes the will of God for the unity of the Church, not merely in the usual negative key of stating that division is contrary to God’s plan, but rather by inviting the churches to look together at the Word of God as handed on through the ages for positive indications of the Lord’s will concerning the nature, mission and unity of the Church. [ 18] The new text, like the Lima text on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry , it claims to be a “convergence” text, that is, “a text which, while not expressing full consensus on all the issues considered, is much more than simply an instrument to stimulate further study. Rather the following pages express how far Christian communities have come in their common understanding of the Church, showing the progress that has been made and indicating work that still needs to be done.”