VELI-MATTI KARKKAINEN, An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Historical, Global, and Interreligious Perspectives, Revised and Expanded Edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2021, pp. 281. $30.00 pb. ISBN 978-0-8308-4189-9. Reviewed by Wilburn T. STANCIL, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO 64110. 

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen is professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and docent of ecumenics at the University of Helsinki. He is also an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Among his many works are a five-volume series on A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World.

The original version of this book was first published in 2002. Because of the explosion of literature and insights related to ecclesiology, Kärkkäinen has essentially produced a new introduction to ecclesiology.  Only the first part of the book, which is historical in nature, remains intact.

The book is divided into four parts.  Part one, the historical section, looks at six major ecclesiological traditions, and each tradition (with the exception of the final one) is represented by a contemporary theologian. The six are:  Eastern Orthodox (John Zizioulas), Roman Catholic (Hans Küng), Lutheran (Wolfhart Pannenberg), Reformed (Jürgen Moltmann), Free Church (James Wm. McClendon, Jr.), and Pentecostal/Charismatic.  In the first edition of the book, Kärkkäinen considered Miraslov Volf to be a theologian representative of a Pentecostal/Charismatic ecclesiology.  Though Volf’s background was originally in Pentecostalism, Kärkkäinen’s omission of Volf in the revised edition probably lies in Volf’s current affiliation with the Episcopal Church. As for his choice of Küng as an example of a Roman Catholic ecclesiology, Kärkkäinen believes that even though Küng was stripped of his credentials as a Roman Catholic teacher by the Vatican, his post-Vatican II book on The Church, reflects a monumental effort to move the church toward renewal and reform.

Part Two looks at five contextual and global ecclesiologies:  Latin American (base communities), African (African Independent [Indigenous] Churches), and Asian (“Church-less” Christianity). In each of these three, special attention is given to the Pentecostal/charismatic influence in these contexts. The final two contextual ecclesiologies are women’s theology (Feminist, Womanist, Mujerista) and what Kärkkäinen calls “the Mosaic of American Churches” (Black, Non-denominational/Independent, Emerging).

Part Three explores the life and mission of the church in five areas:  the missional nature of the church, ministry and governance, worship and liturgy, sacraments/ordinances, and the ecumenical movement. This section treats some of the more disputed questions related to the church, such as inclusive language in worship, women’s ordination, the nature of the sacraments, and different perceptions of what constitutes unity in the church.

Part Four is a “comparative ecclesiology,” comparing and contrasting Christian ecclesiologies with visions of community in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

I have used the earlier version of this book successfully with seminarians.  This updated and expanded version will no doubt be just as useful for contemporary theological students. I recommend it as an excellent primer on the church.