Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

from the biblical story. “This is that” part of the vision serves as a pattern that verifies the practices of the church, and makes it clear what the story is that Christians are part of. Nonetheless, despite its importance and clarity, this part (communal practices) cannot stand alone. Different themes or motives of the Story (which does not constitute the whole Story, but only part of it) being embodied in practices may fall or rebel.? This does not mean that the church will turn into some sort of anti-Christ, or into an enemy. However, it is a warning that a reductive view of the Bible, the inability of some churches to see its Sacred Story as a whole, is a kind of rebellion or failure by itself. Thus, the requirements are set for the eschatological part of the vision, “then is now,” the part that focuses on the Risen Christ, who is the centre of Christian faith. However, without the biblical story, this "10 This sets the necessity Jesus turns into ‘a mere mantra, possibly an idolatrous one. for the practices of reading the Bible, since ‘If we are to mean by “Jesus” the real Jesus [whom we can only know through the Scripture], we need sooner or later to answer the question he addressed to a sincere seeker: “How do you read the law?””* ® McClendon, “The Practice of Community Formation,” p 86. ’ Ibid., p 87. Bit: Ibid., p 88. ° Here | refer to the concept of principalities and powers as developed by John Howard Yoder in The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster, 2™ edition (Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1994, originally published in 1972), p 146. | will further explore this subject later in this chapter. ?° McClendon, Ethics, p 47. ™ Ibid. 167 Let me then offer a brief summary of what follows. Chapter 7 will focus on the concept of practices, particularly as developed by Alistair McIntyre. The overall positive view of practices employed by Mcintyre will be viewed in light of Yoder’s concept of principalities and powers, with a conclusion that practices can be both positive, resulting in virtues, and negative, bringing out vices. This will bring me to McClendon’s idea of powerful practices, and, subsequently, preaching as one of them. In Chapter 8, | will concentrate on the practices of reading the Bible in a community of believers, thus addressing the important question of how to minimize the damaging potential of preaching as one of the powerful practices of the Christian tradition. 7.1 Social practices In the article on Maclntyre’s method in Christian ethics, Nancy Murphy noted that his concept of practice ‘is an especially illuminating contribution to understanding the Christian moral life,’ as it may serve as a helpful inroad into the discussion on which practices are central for the sustaining of a Christian community.” Brad J. Kallenberg also points to the importance of practices suggesting that ‘Christianity seems to consist primarily of the practice of comm