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Shape and Style of the Church Tomorrow
By Stephen C. Rose

"Biblical faith does not rest on the success or failure of the world on human terms, which is to say, Christians are called at once to affirm the the world with every fiber of their being, while being aware that there is another world which is perfect. I am even prepared to argue, if I must, that such a paradoxical posture is essential to a truly secular style of life. Anyone who knows the secular world will not be bemused by its romantic frontiers. Such frontiers may exist; then again they may not. Much churchly frustration today derives from the romantic notion that the grass is greener on the other side. . . . The church must neither reject nor idolize secular society . . . her fundamental task is to recover her own integrity."

IN the late 1930's there existed a vision of the church that was to come into being, but the events of World War II intervened to postpone the dreams of the visionaries. The actualities of history delayed hopeful plans and cancelled out for a time the liberal optimism which mingled with neo-orthodox realism to create what might have become a viable ecumenical consensus. Today the situation is by no means parallel, but it is similar. There is widespread feeling that the church needs a new shape and style. Considerable thought is devoted to the institutional future. The fact of secularism has become a determining motif in much theol-

Stephen C. Rose is a graduate of Williams College and Union Theological Seminary, N. Y. He was one of the founders of Renewal magazine, associated with the Community Renewal Society (formerly The Chicago City Missionary Society). His recent book, The Grass Roots Church: A Manifesto for Protestant Renewal (1966), has been given wide attention. (Cf. THEOLOGY TODAY, April, 1967, pp. 75-84). This present essay was prepared as one of the Position Papers for the Edward F. Gallahue Colloquium, Princeton Theological Seminary, April, 1968.

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ogizing. But world events are again cancelling out the possibility of planned and orderly church reform. The optimism which sought to assert itself in the early 1960's is being proved fatuous. And the shape and style of the church in the coming years will likely be the product not of dialogue, consultation, or negotiation, but rather of inspired or myopic response in each place to the vicissitudes and revolutions of the moment.

I

Any attempt to conceive of a model for the churches-to write scenarios-must seek to do two things at once. Essentially evolutionary models should also be relevant to that remnant which might emerge from the ruins of a totally acculturated and dying church institution. There must be a model for institutional renewal of present forms which is also a model for totally new forms. To clarify this, let me suggest two highly simplified scenarios that might take place in the United States.

(1) An Evolutionary Possibility

January, 1969. The new President did what few thought could be done. Prior to his inauguration he laid the groundwork for extrication from Vietnam and the establishment of a revived Southeast Asia Treaty which clarified the meaning of aggression, nationalism, and other terms relating to the future of that area. In short, the pessimists were proved wrong and the "golden age" that many had associated with John F. Kennedy began to flourish. Vast investment in urban planning and rebuilding was accompanied by a radical change in the tendency of the U.S. toward polarization and the violent solution of problems. Massive changes in foreign policy, culminating in the General World Disarmament Plan and the Russo-American Cooperative Development Bank, took advantage of the shift in China policy, and there was a genuine assault on previously intractable development problems in the Third World.

The amazing thing was the relative ease with which previously "impossible" political notions were accepted. In the mid-1960's the American churches had been totally polarized. They saw little chance of influencing things for the better. Schism of attrition was the pattern. Policy was most unclear. But in the succeeding decades a remarkable change took place. A theological rapprochement

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between liberals and conservatives was worked out, and there were great strides toward church union. The "mission" of the church was sufficiently well-defined to enable a resuscitation of a competent preaching and teaching function through the re-deployment of resources, and also the development of truly meaningful lay participation in the life of the community and the nation. The church maintained a high level of membership, a degree of diversity, and provided much of the insight needed to work out the miraculous progression of events just cited. Somehow all of the social action, experimentation, and concern with controversial social issues that threatened to tear the church apart in the mid-1960's was able to flourish with the full support of the revived church institutions-even as these institutions continued to emphasize "religious" matters. The general "dynamic" which was responsible for positive evolution in both church and state is hard to isolate. Perhaps one major factor was the emergence of a generation of leaders during the 1970's which was able to work politically in both arenas without sacrificing a basic, workable vision of the future which they desired.

In a sense, the new style of the society developed from a new image of what it meant to be a man in the world. To be a man was to be an innovator with political sense and social vision. The new technologist who possessed little of this sensitivity was the subject of jokes. It soon became "in" to be morally aware of the consequences of technological decisions. If Ralph Nader, the man who exposed deficiencies in automobiles and meat distribution in the 1960's, bad emerged a decade later, he would have been given power to clear up these obvious hazards, and the public would have seen him not as a minority controvertialist but rather as a cultural hero.

Within the churches the "in but not of" character of the Christian life fit nicely into this "saving" historical style, partly because the church provided a basis of constructive irony and humor with which to view the world. Ultimate things became more important, yet less freighted with sanctimonious "dignity." The minister who was publicized by the mass media tended to be either a person working creatively on a going project or someone of such obvious wisdom, scholarship, and wit that he was a pleasure to hear and see. People used to speak of the need to institutionalize the prophetic function. That is really what happened on a massive scale during the 1970's. Now as we prepare to celebrate the year which many persons thought

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would be symbolic of disaster-1984-we reflect that the optimism which characterized such early works as The Secular City was not naive after all.

(2) Perpetual Polarization

January, 1969. The incredible events surrounding the Chicago riots last summer were, of course, the factors partly responsible for installing the reactionary administration which held power for eight years-until January, 1977. The internment of "radicals" in what they called concentration camps and the vast increase in police budgets for riot control managed, during a two year period, to confirm a form of apartheid in the U. S. As a result, the church in the U.S. split wide open. On one side were those who gave tacit approval or whole-hearted support to the new administration's "law and order" emphasis, and who favored the American Policeman Image in foreign affairs.

But about twenty per cent of the Christians, including about 60% of clergy under the age of 40, both Protestant and Catholic, formed what they called The Underground Church. The most militant members of this schismatic group were arrested and branded as communist dupes. Many of the Protestants simply faded away, keeping their discontent to themselves. Only a small percentage of the schismatics forged an institutional life. In general these Christians tended to hold worship and Bible study in small groups. There were occasional meetings for the Sacrament, and the distinction between laity and clergy became blurred because most theological seminaries served only the status quo church.

Gradually the schismatic church saw that its work in the world could be most effectively implemented by full participation in the secular movements which sought to challenge the status quo. Insofar as specific Christian functions were institutionalized, these functions revolved around worship and training. The notion of a specifically Christian witness in the world of events-the sort of official .programming carried out by the church in previous decades-was thrown aside for a more radical concept of mission based on the "in but not of" character of the church. The positive notions about technology in the 1960's soon were replaced by the conviction that technology was reserved for the "haves"-those psychologically able to endure to the total polarization of the world.

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On the status quo side, man-the good man-was defined as that person who cooperated in maintaining order in a world where much of the population tended to be "sub-human"-unable to achieve "supremacy" and self-discipline and thus unworthy of the benefits which, after all, had to be distributed unequally merely to sustain the "system." In effect, a liberal rationale for polarization was developed, and the style of the haves tended to be very similar-in both positive and negative aspects-to the style of South African whites in the 1960's. Among the have-nots, of course, there was occasional opposition, but it appeared that no major revolution was likely to succeed. The churches in the poor nations tended to revert to an indigenous Pentecostalism, while the adherents to the old ecumenical movement were largely stripped of power or made to conform to the social system of world apartheid. Jesus was seen by the status quo haves as the upholder of Christian values and teachings, but by the underground haves as an agitator and revolutionary, and by the have-nots as an eschatological redeemer or a fraud.

Now both of these scenarios are incomplete and extreme, but the fact that they can be conceived at the same time is testimony to the incredibly fluid nature of the present situation. In our quiet ways we are all thinking in "end of the age" terms, regardless of whether our portrait of the future is one of unprecedented change for the good or a hardening of present polarizations into a regressive world order based on social and economic apartheid. The basic model I would propose for the church is somewhat independent of these scenarios, or of any future scenario. While future events may have profound effects on the fundamental shape of the church (the shape might even be determined by a charismatic movement within the churches), it is still important, and perhaps realistic, to conceive of the functions of the church regardless of the historical situation. It need only be added that a description of churchly functions is relatively useless if it is not at once critical of, and useful to, the present institutions.

II

Before outlining a model for the church which might prove relevant, I want to deal with what is meant by "technological society." Often the very existence of technological society-i.e. post-industrial revolution, urban, technique-dependent, science-oriented society-is

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assumed to be a major barrier to the effective existence of the church. This seems to be the presupposition of much of today's literature on evangelism and church renewal. The dilemma of the church in confronting technological society is usually expressed in three ways:

(1) The internal style, manner, and language of the church remains rural and "behind the times."

(2) The nature of technological society makes the church as bureaucracy and membership institution obsolete because the church can neither carry out old welfare and communal functions nor speak from a theological perspective that emphasizes traditional orthodoxies such as "sin," "grace," and "God."

(3) The nature of technological society renders the church impotent not so much because of rural bias or outmoded orthodoxy but because of the internal ambivalence of the church as it confronts the world.

All of these interpretations have merit. Archaic forms and language barriers do exist. Weekly public worship poses problems in the metropolis merely on the level of logistics. Various forms of church activity are obsolete. The imagery of nature is difficult to sustain in a totally man-made environment, though one should point out that some of the most beautiful "nature" in the world-parts of England and France, for example-results from human planning. But surely this first interpretation is inadequate, for if antiquarianism were the whole problem, there would be little difficulty in updating the logistics and the language.

It is also true that the nature of modern society renders much of the churches' traditional welfare work in the world a bit superfluous, or worse, an effort designed to let the secular world off the hook. The Good Samaritan function might well be revitalized in terms of the outreach of local congregations, but the large, bureaucratic welfare activities of the churches today-not to mention their extensive business operations-have the look less of mustard seeds than of pale imitations of what the secular world is already doing. Now add to this the fact that the church as a communal institution in urban society is threatened as never before, partly because of the lack of consensus in today's local congregations, partly because community can rarely be the result of fragmented commitment, and the second diagnosis begins to seem adequate. Technological society forces the church to reappraise her function both as social activist

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in the world and internal community. Yet there is little doubt that if this were the major difficulty, the church could make adjustments in terms both of external mission and internal structure. Indeed the churches have made such adjustments, reducing duplication with secular enterprise, seeking new forms of community-but few see such adjustments as solving the central difficulties of Christian existence in modern society.

III

When one raises the added question of whether "traditional orthodoxies" are adequate today one arrives at a central point of confusion in the church. The confusion stems from a profound ambivalence toward technology and from the existential sense that much traditional Christianity is simply irrelevant to modern man. Of course, it should be pointed out emphatically that the litmus test of traditional orthodoxies can never be their capacity to be "relevant" to man. To make "relevance" the only factor would be similar to predicating the validity of any concept on popular acceptance. If I were to offer a brief judgment on the problem of theological orthodoxy in technological society, I would have to point to the church's failure to apprehend (or believe) these orthodoxies in a creative way today. This, it seems to me, is far more pertinent to the church's failure; the other diagnosis supposes that the church is actually preaching the Gospel, and that presupposition is by no means clear, especially now.

I would opt for the third diagnosis as the most fruitful: the internal ambivalence of the church as it confronts new reality seems to me the most debilitating factor in her present posture. Perhaps this ambivalence is inevitable. The possible tragedy is that it is rarely explored dispassionately. Endless conferences skirt issues, seek to pronounce to the world judgments that scarcely represent the total church institution, and consistently avoid the problem of the church's internal structure and policy. This only accentuates further the need to create a model for the church that will be as relevant to potential schismatics as to the possibly deluded status quo. For while justice in human terms may be on the side of the incipient schismatics, schism based solely on discontent has little chance of creating a viable institutional alternative to the present status quo. A key element of responsible confrontation is lacking, namely the

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honest effort to discover what unites and what divides, and to determine whether a structure of integrity can exist-an ecumenical structure-which takes these diversities into account. Only after such painstaking work-not merely at the official national and international levels but at every level-can there be truly responsible decision. I do not discount the possibility that the present church is an impediment to the Gospel, but my fear is that ardent renewalists and radicals tend to draw their lines not on the basis of the Gospel but merely on the basis of sociological distinctions and current historical diagnoses of ethical imperatives. If my diagnosis is correct, the latter form of sociological polarization may prove as harmful to the world as to the church.

The central paradox and wonder of life is that worldly identification and Christian identity are reconcilable, indeed inseparable. This inseparability does not depend on creating a positivism of the world (the tendency of some new theology) nor on developing a positivism of revelation. What reconciles Christian identity and worldly identification is the recognition that the ultimate healing of the world is dependent on the truths that Scripture reveals. On the most elementary level, scriptural injunctions concerning idolatry speak a powerful word to those who would absolutize secular occurrences or create too neat a division between the sacred and the "profane." Many of the basic, root frustrations within the church today can be traced to idolatries, whether they be of institutions or of approaches to problem-solving.

If Christianity is truly a vital religion, its vitality lies in its capacity to represent the truth of the human situation. This truth, in Christian terms, is that God reigns, or if you prefer, administrates. It is likewise that God chooses to reconcile mankind to himself by restoring man's unity with himself, with others, and with ultimate reality. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." I have no theological credentials, but I would assert on existential as well as biblical grounds that the church will never regain her life in any society until the paradox of worldly identification and Christian identity is resolved in viable institutional terms. This is to say, we shall approach our problems at their root when we recognize that theologies which proclaim a world-without-God and theologies which proclaim God-without-the-world are futile exercises in unconstructive polarization. Such exercises repeat at the cerebral

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level the sorts of polarization that exist institutionally: between clergy and laymen, young and old, ecumenists and denominationalists, and conciliar and anti-conciliar persons.

IV

My own thinking locates the problem of the church today not so much in semantic confusion, rural bias, or even in theological impotence. These are symptoms of a much more "orthodox" cause. I would suggest that the church suffers, as Israel suffered in the time of Amos and, perhaps more to the point, of Jeremiah, from hardness of heart, deafness to the Spirit, blindness. Both the prophetic word and the radically saving word are hardly proclaimed or heard today, despite the profusion of language. Then too, I would not discount the possible reality of divine judgment on that portion of the Christian community-and it tends to be worldwide-that is predominantly affiliated with the "haves" of the world. Ezekiel's meditation on the Valley of Dry Bones may be as significant a commentary on both the desperateness and the possible way out in our time as have the efforts to demythologize, to linguistically analyze, to desuperstitionize, and to render somehow "respectable."

The prophetic-redemptive perspective of Scripture provides not only a basis for envisioning the problem of the church today but also a means of evaluating technological society. God acts in history, but the environment is far more the result of human decision than divine decree. To see technological society-secular society-as the "true arena" of "God's action" tends to deny human responsibility, while at the same time limiting the power of God. Anyplace can be the true arena of God's action, including the secular world, but the attribution of given empirical tendencies to the will of God is a deceptive business, especially when one year's empirical observation is shattered by the following year's events. There is room for prophecy, which presumes to designate certain events as "signs of the times," but true prophecy is weakened by the random sanctification of the secular, even as grace is cheapened by the "religious." (It should be pointed out that worldly concern is by far the better path theologically, if a choice must be made.)

If technological society is precisely defined as a macro-environment which provides a context for human self-expression and transaction

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(technology being the means by which this environment is able to function, given the diversity of needs), then what we have today is scarcely technological society. We have the makings of such a society and the future will doubtless render such a society more possible if man is given or exercises the capacity to create such a society. But we have today an inadequate macro-environment, and we see increasingly the erosion of micro-environments. If we look at large units or small, societal units or communal units, material complexes or human arrangements, we see at best a mixed picture, and projection of the future does little to clarify it. We are not heading for an imminent earthly paradise. Starvation, racism, and pollution projections already preclude that. Nor are we necessarily doomed as a planet, though I would say that the latter possibility seems more probable than the former. Biblical faith does not rest on the success or failure of the world on human terms' which is to say, Christians are called at once to affirm the world with every fiber of their being, while being aware that there is another world which is perfect. I am even prepared to argue, if I must, that such a paradoxical posture is essential to a truly secular style of life. Anyone who knows the secular world will not be bemused by its romantic frontiers. Such frontiers may exist; then again they may not. Much churchly frustration today derives from the romantic notion that the grass is greener on the other side.

To summarize to this point, the burden of argument is that the church must neither reject nor idolize secular society and that her fundamental task is to recover her own integrity. This integrity rests in turn on the recovery of the functional reality that is the Gospel in human life. To put the matter in blunt terms, prayer is as relevant to the Christian life as picketing. The recovery of worship is as important as writing letters to congressmen. And, whether in a renewed church forged from present institutions or a schismatic new church built on rejection of the status quo, the most radical contribution of the church to the world will lie in a recovery of essential Christianity and of the sacrificial action which essential Christianity makes possible. At this point in history I would make my commitment to renewal rather than the formation of some underground church. I would do this primarily because I believe, for many reasons, that a creative schism is impossible today. Perhaps it is God's judgment on America that we shall be given no remnant.

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I do not know. I do know that mainline churches will fail both Christ and the world unless they can define themselves in such a way as to be faithful to both.

V

The model which I would regard as relevant either to the transformation of present arrangements or to the creation of new ones, incorporates structurally what I would describe as the three basic functions of the church: chaplaincy, teaching (or training), and abandonment. I have outlined these functions in my book, The Grass Roots Church (1966), in an effort to apply them to the local congregation in the U.S. Very briefly, chaplaincy constitutes explicitly Christian celebration, proclamation, and ministration. Teaching (or training) is the non-proselytizing activity of the church in upbuilding the laity, in particular the adult membership. The fact that it is non-proselytizing does not mean that it shies away from content that is explicitly Christian, only that it deals with material in a respectful manner and recognizes the dignity of those who are learning. Abandonment suggests both a posture in relation to the church institution and a style of life for the church in the world. In relation to the church structure, abandonment is the willingness to give up old means of doing business for the sake of the renewed church. It is the willingness to recognize in deed as well as rhetoric the provisional nature of man's churches. In terms of the world, abandonment suggests total identification with humanistic worldly concerns in the context of any structure which best realizes the humanistic aim.

I use the terms chaplaincy, teaching, and abandonment not merely to suggest different functions, but also different structures and, finally, even a theological means of dealing with the paradox of Christian identity and worldly identification. It would require some space to work out these assumptions, but perhaps some brief remarks will be helpful.

By asserting the primacy of chaplaincy and teaching as major functions of the renewed church, we suggest at once a radical change in the structures, but also a change which could be realized within the context of present structures. (I should assert here the obvious: a consistent motive in this effort is to emphasize the utter necessity

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that church renewal be ecumenical at all levels, meaning not only that the church be united but also that its concern be with the oikumene, the whole inhabited earth.) Insofar as present-day local congregations can actually be the locus of proclamation-that non-acculturated celebration of man's worth on divine terms which enables man to live in love under judgment-they remain valid structures. But current reliance on the sort of local congregation that lacks full resources for chaplaincy (notably adequate "chaplains") will force the present institution to seek out different local patterns, and this seeking-out will point to the necessity of horizontal ecumenicity so that the functions not only of chaplaincy, but of teaching and abandonment as well, can be carried out in a rational and competent manner. Teaching (and training), for example, will require ful-time local structures for adults. Such structures should develop among clusters of local congregations so that no area will be without such facilities. Abandonment structures-conduits which enable the most effective deployment of the laity in terms of service to the world-need also to exist in creative relationship to the structures of chaplaincy and teaching. In short, what is needed is the creation of cooperative ministries at the local level which can embody the three functions. Note that the three functions are all suffused with the basic light of the redemptive Gospel. Note also that their differentiation provides both a structural suggestion to the whole church and a beginning means by which the "in but not of" character of the church can be realized in a creative way.

The suggestion to the whole church is that it simplify its total structure by realizing that the fundamental need is to create a viable concept of the church at its base from which the true mission can be launched. This flies in the face of the facile notion that the mission of the church can somehow be realized by the various denominational and conciliar bureaucracies and their programs. Such a policy only creates a double-standard; the implicit assumption easily becomes one which relegates the bulk of the church (local congregations) to a sort of limbo while assuming that the "real church" resides among the few who are related to, for example, the formal international ecumenical conferences or the various "social action curias." A mind-set is created which enables local churches to be seen primarily as a source of funds for the "true" work of the church which is done by the true (and dedicated) professionals. In the place

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of true ecumenicity we create ecumenical vignettes as substitutes for any general structural reform. This is partly why there is no "lay movement" today, despite rhetoric.

VI

A local cooperative ministry can only come into being from present structures if there is consensus at the top and a general agreement on strategy which can be implemented locally. That is to say, we might well succeed in creating a truly ecumenical cooperative ministry--embodying chaplaincy, teaching, and abandonment-if, for example, a general agreement could be reached on a functional definition of the ordained clergyman. (In my view he would be primarily priestly in his work-recognizing that to be a priest is to celebrate judgment as well as mercy.) If we could give equal status to trainers and teachers of adults and provide for such a job description in all of our training institutions for ministers, we could make major strides forward. And if we gave genuine expression to the missional imperative to be in the world-an imperative that requires, structurally, a relationship of creative interplay with the institutions of chaplaincy and teaching--we might reach a general consensus that abandonment requires: (1) the relating of experimental ministries to clusters of congregations; (2) the recognition that abandonment can be seen as the conscientious imperative to be involved in secular groups working for efficacious expressions of neighbor-love, in the context of theological reflection (chaplaincy); (3) the recognition that the actual vocational choices of the laity are among the most creative forms of abandonment.

What I am advocating is the restructuring of the church at the grass roots and the simplification of ecclesiastical structures at other levels by imposing on all structures the functions of chaplaincy, teaching, and abandonment, and by gaining acceptance of the fact that many of the old categories which result in the incredible departmentalization of ecclesiastical bureaucracies could be eliminated in favor of a model which is both structurally and theologically viable. (This is called bringing COCU down to earth!)

Such a church structure would be seen to have relevance not only to the need for ecclesiastical integrity but also to the problem of

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developing a shape and style appropriate to a technological society or any society.

The shape would contain the following elements: (1) It would be decentralized, in the sense that ecumenicity would be horizontal, the basic units being cooperative ministries serving what might be termed the cells of the coming ecumenopolis.

(2) Its local expression would be shaped around a cooperative ministry in which one would have basic membership, electing from time to time to give major attention to one aspect of the church's mission, whether chaplaincy, teaching, or abandonment.

(3) Its "upper levels" of bureaucracy would be built around the concepts of chaplaincy, teaching, and abandonment. In terms of present "shape," the multitudinous denominations would come together around chaplaincy and teaching, since most denominational institutions, including local churches, would have to be cooperatively remodeled to carry on these functions, and since one presupposition of "renewal" is that it be accomplished as a general policy of all (or most) churches, rather than as a minority expression that becomes sectarian. Ultimately there would be a highly simplified national and regional structure which would emerge from the melding of present institutions and polities. (My preference is for a Presbyterian polity with bishops playing a role somewhat similar to that of today's Episcopal bishops. The relative autonomy of cooperative ministries would tend to satisfy those who see the positive merits of the free church tradition.) In terms of abandonment, my own feeling is that councils should become the ecclesiastical bodies responsible for research and development on behalf of the whole church. Again my emphasis is on the creation of a structure which provides an evolutionary role for present institutions while creating a new institution where creative tension will replace repetitious overlapping and competition. Too much of today's conciliar movement is the product of ecumenical tokenism. There are signs also that denominations are wanting more and more to exert control over social action enterprises, a development I regard as self-defeating. (The church should not sponsor "social action" as "official action.")

(4) The shape would be at once simplified and diversified. Perhaps a small diagram will be helpful.

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Church Structure in a Technological Society

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This is inadequate, but perhaps its relative vagueness will serve to indicate that I intend to be evocative rather than rigid in these suggestions concerning shape.

I would add the need for the development of non-schismatic voluntary organizations such as Taizé to provide the ecumenical church with a viable form of modern monasticism built around chaplaincy, teaching, and abandonment and possibly a similar institution that could provide a viable intentional community for families. Perhaps one will detect my own inclination toward the development of a church that combines within it the best elements of Catholicism and Protestantism. As Jung suggested, the present division is psychologically fatal.

VII

If there is some notion of shape, there is also a beginning idea of style. The style is built on a recognition of two realities. One is the absolute primacy of God's loving acceptance of man, which makes possible the forgiven life dedicated to radical justice. The second reality is that the secular world neither needs nor expects from the church a carbon copy of secular life styles. There are few secular life styles that deserve canonization, and their only advantage over certain church styles these days is that they at least know their own limitations. I should describe the style I would hope for as one of amused but totally dedicated free participation in the needs of the community and equal participation in the reception of the gracious resources which a renewed church can provide, i.e. of the Gospel. I believe the style of the redeemed man in the world embodies a capacity for a certain discipline, that it is open to all experience in the light of the Word, and that it lives with the tension of great pessimism and considerable optimism. The style of the person has a certain healthy ambivalence amidst angry or dedicated participation. The style is one of free pilgrimage and eristical confrontation-there is no emotional investment in being right, but there is an endless quest for truth and for implementation of the possible.

The point of style which most perplexes me is not the question of personal or family style, but of communal or corporate style in the micro-environment. Here I draw a blank. On the one hand,

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the highly disciplined intentional style is not likely to be appropriated by many-it never has been. On the other, the truncated, fragmented worship life and life-in-general of the modern man means that for the most part, paradoxically, his life is really not very corporate or communal. I suspect that we shall discover more community once the structures of the church are sufficiently defined so as to be intelligible and available to modern man.

Constantinos Doxiadis has projected a model of ecumenopolis that would restore the small human scale unit as a cell of the city to come. I would like the cooperative ministry concept to become an accepted part of the infrastructure of the future. And even if the wealthy white West and the Western Church dies in the coming decades, I trust that the church of the future will live in a tension and structure such as I am trying to envision.

In the final analysis, the structural malaise of the church can be traced to ambivalence toward both the Gospel and the world. I would like to see that ambivalence become a creative tension. For the ambivalence is nothing more than creative tension turned inside out. We shall have renewed church only when the Gospel is proclaimed throughout the local institutions, when training and confrontation with tradition and the world is an integral part of adult churchmanship, and when we devise institutional means of confronting the world in an anonymous and sacrificial manner. The renewed church affirms the surfeit of salvation that is God in Jesus Christ and at the same time the sticky necessity of proximate, ever-ambivalent commitments in the muck and mire of this world. We shaIl lack a renewed church until this creative tension is given structural expression. Unless present institutions restructure, and soon, we can add that the renewed church will not be the product of evolution but of schismatic revolution, carrying with it the threat of institutional extinction or total apostasy on the part of the status quo.