Perspectief 2016-34

Perspectie 46 Dr. Jelle Creemers In free church ecclesiological perspective, the church in history has two main referents. First, as I just said, the church is the visible local gathering of believers in the name of Jesus. Reference is often made to the promise of Jesus in Matthew 18:20: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.” A local gathering of believers can therefore be confident that Jesus Christ is with them and can be considered a church. Such a local free church typically is led by a plurality of leaders with the consent of the community and in line with Pauline directives. In addition to this first, local referent, the church is also confessed to be the invisible communion of believers of all times and places who partake in the body of Christ through the inhabitation of the Spirit of Christ in each and every one of them. Miroslav Volf argues that as this church is developing over time, its full existence can only be an eschatological reality. 4 Free churches typically are hesitant towards supra-local authority, meaning to a hierarchy of leadership extending to regional, national or international power structures, certainly if this authority is sacramentally sanctioned rather than democratically. They do, however, typically appreciate cooperation of local churches in view of jointly determined goals, such as higher quality of education, a stronger shared identity, or a greater impact in society. Evangelical and Pentecostal free churches typically celebrate two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In line with their focus on conversion as a personal and conscious matter, most would only baptize someone on the basis of a personal confession of faith. The Lord’s Supper is celebrated regularly in line with the teachings of Jesus and Paul as the meal of community with God and with the local and the universal church and in memory of the sacrificial death of Christ, in expectation of his return in glory. Recognition: individual, local church, supra-local church In my recent monograph I argue that, in addition to the conversionist focus, free churches are also characterized by restorationist and revivalist identities, both of which have 4 See Volf, After Our Likeness : The Church as the Image of the Trinity , 259ff.