John Rietveldt, the subject writer, states:

'Ecclesiology is the place where theology meets culture, is the context from within which corporate worship is experienced, and church and/or denominational traditions are shaped. In a postmodern church “supermarket” age, it is timely to explore Scripture and the rise of the church, to explore the twists and turns in the trail of the church through church history, and to survey the contemporary horizon of churches and their practices in Australia today. Students will be stretched in each of these areas, before being asked to articulate the core of what ecclesiology ought to be and look like today.

'The subject comprises of three main parts: the formation of the church from the book of Acts – especially following Paul the church-planter; as well as an overview of the Pauline epistles and the values, words, descriptors and calling he attributes to the various churches to whom he writes.

The second section has to do with a journey through church-history, which is a limited but focussed look at key, nodal moments in the church’s development. It includes the church before and after Constantine ; some of the ecumenical creedal development and its contexts; one of the key fountain-heads of both Catholicism and Protestantism in the person of Augustine; the reformation and some of the key groups that contributed to it: scholarship, politicians, the Catholic Church, the reformers, and the radical reformers. The journey includes a bird’s eye view of Luther and his 95 theses that set the world aflame, as well as John Calvin; and concludes with a finely written essay of the current church scene.

The third section, and by far the major section of the unit, is pre-eminently practical. Students are asked to interview pastors or leaders from 5 different churches (other than their own), two of which must be church-plants. They are to research the history, the structure and organisation, as well as the mission and purpose of the churches they visit and compile a report. Then, using their findings, apply the same process to their own local church, before drafting a theoretical report of what church should be all about. '

• Administrator: Rosemary Bardsley
• Administrator: Daniel Bardsley
• Administrator: Craig Rayner
• Teacher: Rosemary Bardsley
• Teacher: Ross Pelling