6 Models Of The Church Essay

The ideas of the church are various. There are many different views that people have of the church, but there are six main models that most go by. These six models are that of Institution, Mystical Communion, Sacrament, Herald or Kerygmatic, Servant, and lastly Community of Disciples. The earliest view mentioned was Institution, this is meaning that the church is viewed to be made up of structures. Rausch says that this view is dominant in Catholic theology from the Reformation to Vatican II. During this period, the church was seen as a “perfect society” (Rausch). This was due to its hierarchical structures, as stated above. The bonds of the church were said to be external, as they were based on three main things. These were the sacraments or laws of the church, authority, and union in doctrines. This view did not last due to the fact that it very fixed or set, also it did not aim to bring unity between Christian churches. Next came the view of Mystical Communion, the basis of this model came from the thinking that the church …show more content…
Another way to think of this is to say that the church was announcing the good news of God. It is the thinking that all churches are a community and they are gathered to preach the word of God to the world and make him known to everyone. With all of these churches being bonded through the faith of all those who are apart of them. The theologians who were a big part in the making of this model were Martin Luther, Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, and lastly Hans Kung. They later came to realize that this view was not very open and was conservative, it does not allow everyone to receive God’s grace. The reason is because as the bond of faith between the churches is proclaiming the gospel it leaves out all those who have not come to faith in Christ and makes it seem as it is set the way it is now and isn’t open to