Who in the world are we?: About Laura and "Who in the World Are We?"

UPDATE: 3/24/09

Who's Laura?

I am at least a third generation free-church Protestant of the Baptist variety. I cut my theological teeth under the preaching and teaching of ultra-dispensational (a la C. I. Scofield), verse-by-verse exegete, William D. Lawrence (not the one at DTS). Interest in ecclesiology was cultivated by a church split during my early adult years, nurtured by my subsequent participation in a church plant, and realized in ministry creation at an established church. I am a Southern California American with very little international experience, so if it seems like I'm writing from a bit of a bubble, it's because I probably am (though I do try not to). I'm an official theo-geek, having a Master of Divinity in Christian Education (Talbot, '05) and a Master of Theology in Systematic Theology (Talbot, '08), for whom reading is like a part-time job (20+ hours, though without the helpful income). I am currently a student in the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies program at Talbot School of Theology, (so far) focusing on the intersection of ecclesiology, spiritual formation, and learning styles.

What is "Who in the World Are We?"

What if the people of God are fully 'earthed' and fully 'heavened'? What if who the church is here on earth both is and must be determined by who she will be in heaven? What if the salvation has to do with kingdom now and kingdom finally? What if humanity was created precisely to be the sort of people that the church both is and is becoming?
excerpt from Why "in the world"?

I decided to start Who in the world are we? as a place to think about ecclesiology and anthropology. In this space I'll ponder what it means for Christians to be human and the people of God--and if the shape of the church is inherent in God's original intent for humanity.

So here it is. If you are interested in ecclesiology and/or anthropology, I invite you to join the conversation.
excerpt from Another one?

Before July 18, 2008, the structure of the posts on this blog was, shall we say, various. In the summer of 2008, I took about a month hiatus from this blog to rethink and clarify its purpose and format. On August 20, 2008, I arrived at the preliminary decision to keep the theme suggested by the blog title and the excerpts above and post a quote and summary of someone's position on some aspect of the church, remaining questions, and links to resources. This format proved to be forced.

On September 15, 2008, I changed the purpose and structure once again. Because I am now working on pieces for publication, I am hesitant to post specific pieces on this blog. Many posts will be bibliographic, with some comment, others will be ~~weekly and monthly~~ periodic sketchpads, suggesting trajectories that reveal themselves in the writings of the specified time period.

Because the un-schedule, I suggest subscribing to the feed.