Unanimity
How do we as a congregation make decisions? This is an important question for us, considering we have been and will be making major decisions for the future of Salem Church. In his wonderful book, Does God Need the Church? , German theologian Gerhard Lohfink fleshes out the characteristic signs of the Church. One of the foundational marks of the Church is gathering. When the New Testament refers to the Church, it usually uses the Greek word ekklesia , meaning assembly or congregation. The new community of Jesus gathered in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension called itself the ekklesia of God. The early Christian communities were public assemblies of the whole people of God. In fact, the origin of “ ekklesia of God” is the people of God gathered at Sinai in the Old Testament. In the book of Deuteronomy, Israel was gathered around the mountain and received the Ten Commandments. It was called “the day of assembly” and it was the foundational assembly of Israel, the ev