TEACHING A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH AT HANOVER FELLOWSHIP CHURCH, HANOVER, PENNSYLVANIA __________________ A Project Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary _________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor in Ministry __________________ by Charles Edward Cruise, Jr. May 2011 APPROVAL SHEET TEACHING A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH AT HANOVER FELLOWSHIP CHURCH, HANOVER, PENNSYLVANIA Charles Edward Cruise, Jr. Read and Approved by: _________________________________________ James M. Hamilton (Faculty Supervisor) _________________________________________ Timothy K. Beougher Date ______________________________ To Laura TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . viii PREFACE . ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Purpose . 1 Goals . 1 Ministry Context . 2 Rationale . 8 Definitions and Limitations/Delimitations . 9 2. A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH . 12 Identity of the Church: The People of God (1 Pet 2:9-10) . 14 Chosen by God in Christ . 15 Redeemed by God through Christ . 17 Empowered to Worship God by the Spirit of Christ . 19 Cared for by God in Christ . 20 Nature of the Church: The Dwelling Place of God (1 Cor 3:16) . 21 Antitype of the Garden of Eden . 23 Antitype of the Tabernacle and Temple of Israel . 24 iv Chapter Page Abiding in Christ as the Corporate Temple of God . 25 Mission of the Church: To Spread God’s Glory throughout Creation (Matt 28:18-20) . 27 Restored to the Image of God through Christ . 28 Reflecting God’s Holiness and Trinitarian Nature . 29 Inheriting the Edenic Mission to Enlarge God’s Dwelling Place . 30 The Means by Which God’s Glory Will Fill the Earth . 31 Conclusion . 32 3. SOLVING THE CHURCH’S ATTRITION PROBLEM . 34 The Problem of Church Perceptions: The Unchurched and Dechurched . 36 Why People Avoid the Church . 36 Why People Leave the Church . 38 Strategies for Increasing Attractiveness . 42 Strategies for Increasing Commitment . 48 Membership Classes . 48 Purpose-Driven Church . 49 Discipleship . 50 Missions . 51 Servant Evangelism . 52 Small Groups . 53 Mentoring . 55 Implications for Ecclesiology . 56 v Chapter Page 4. “I BELONG”: A SERIES ON THE CHURCH AND THE BELIEVER’S PLACE IN IT . 60 Pre-project Questionnaires . 60 Sermon Series . 64 Participation Survey . 69 Post-project Questionnaires . 69 Discipleship Lessons . 73 Focus Group Interviews . 75 DVD Production . 76 5. PROJECT EVALUATION . 77 Introduction . 77 Evaluation of the Project’s Purpose . 77 Evaluation of the Project’s Goals . 78 Strengths of the Project . 80 Weaknesses of the Project . 80 What I Would Do Differently . 82 Theological Reflections . 83 Personal Reflections . 86 Conclusion . 86 Appendix 1. PRE- AND POST-PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE . 88 2. PRE-PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES . 91 3. POST-PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES . 93 vi Appendix Page 4. PARTICIPATION SURVEY . 95 5. SERMON 1 OUTLINE . 97 6. SERMON 2 OUTLINE . 98 7. SERMON 3 OUTLINE . 99 8. SERMON 4 OUTLINE . 100 9. SERMON 5 OUTLINE . 101 10. SERMON 6 OUTLINE . 102 11. DISCIPLESHIP LESSON 1 . 103 12. DISCIPLESHIP LESSON 2 . 106 13. DISCIPLESHIP LESSON 3 . 108 14. DISCIPLESHIP LESSON 4 . 110 15. DISCIPLESHIP LESSON 5 . 113 16. FOCUS GROUP STRUCTURED INTERVIEW . 114 17. PRIOR SERMONS ON BIBLICAL THEOLOGY . 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 126 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Pre-project questionnaire responses . 66 2. Questionnaire total scores . 75 3. Questionnaire results by item . 76 A1. Pre-project multiple-choice and true-false responses . 98 A2. Pre-project short-answer responses . 99 A3. Post-project multiple-choice and true-false responses . .. 100 A4. Post-project short-answer responses . 101 A5. The church as a reestablishment of Eden . 118 viii PREFACE I count it a privilege to have accomplished my M.Div. and D.Min. studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The faculty not only transmitted information, they conveyed a passion for plumbing the depths of scriptural truth. In particular, my seminar in biblical theology, taught by Dean Russell Moore and Professors James Hamilton and Brian Payne, helped me to connect the dots of the biblical storyline in new and exciting ways. I am also grateful to the members of Hanover Fellowship Church, where I am proud to serve, for sharing my excitement for biblical theology. They happily participated in the project at hand, believing that our church would become stronger for it. I thank them for the trust and support they have invested in me as their pastor. Most of all, I thank the Lord for giving me my precious wife, Laura, with whom to share my journey. Her love and encouragement have filled my sails throughout my academic career. As she images God to me, my heart responds in praise to the One who created her and allows me the joy of existing in intimate community. May his glory fill the earth (Num 14:21). Charles E. Cruise, Jr. Hanover, Pennsylvania May 2011 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Purpose The purpose of this project was to equip the members of Hanover Fellowship Church with a biblical theological framework for understanding the nature and purpose of the church and their role in it.1 Goals This project served to accomplish four goals. The first goal was to increase members’ knowledge of the nature and purpose of the church. The content of the eleven- week teaching focused mainly on the spiritual identity of the church vis-à-vis the biblical story rather than other ecclesiological aspects such as government and ordinances. Progress.