A Trinitarian Model for YM – The Father and Son

If a church is to be more than a local community support group for those in need, it must attempt to speak of God. When beginning to consider the means by which we speak about God, it must first be emphasized that the God whom we worship is an active God, breaking into the human condition and revealing Godself to humankind. The most full and explicit revelation of God is to be found in Jesus Christ. In order to begin to speak of God one must first begin by speaking of Jesus Christ.

By looking to Jesus as the source and norm of all Christian theology, we learn both about God and about ourselves as human beings. Jesus stands in the gap between God and humankind as “the mediator of all that God is towards humans (revelation), and all that humans are called to be in relation to God (reconciliation).” Such an understanding roots the source of Christian truth in a person, rather than a group of Platonic ideas that the church must guard and possess. Douglas John Hall warns that “[a] religious community that believes itself to be in possession of ‘the Truth’ is a community equipped with the most lethal weapon of any warfare: the sense of its own superiority and mandate to mastery.” Thus, the church must witness to Jesus Christ, not to the truth-claims it might make (or attempt to make) on his behalf. This leads the church to a humble, rather than triumphalist, orthodoxy.

Many western churches appear to be fairly Christocentric in their approach to ministry. They proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God as made known by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, this kerygmatic style of ministry can fall prey to gimmicks and methods in an attempt to most effectively spread this message to those who have not yet heard. A more full understanding of ministry will also take into consideration the third member of the Trinity.