Christ and the Church
How does Jesus Christ relate to today's Church? Enduring theological questions like this shape how Christians understand worship, discipleship and their calling in the world. At Baylor’s Truett Seminary, faculty and local church leaders recently gathered to explore these questions through ecumenical dialogue, considering what it means for the Church to live faithfully in relationship with the risen and ascended Christ.
As a reflection, Jason Vickers, PhD, professor of Christian Theology and holder of the Wesleyan Endowed Chair of Christian Theology, wrote the following.
Where is Jesus Christ today? For Christians, the answer is clear. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. But he is also where he promised that he would be — wherever two or three are gathered in his name and wherever Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper. For many believers, Christ also speaks to the Church through the proclamation of the Word and through prayer and discernment in the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians, in turn, pledge to do what their Lord commands.
This relationship — the relationship between Christ and Church — is essential for flourishing in the Christian life. Apart from an active and ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ, Christian believers will lose their bearings in the world. We will succumb to temptation and to all manner of idolatry and sinfulness. But if we remain in Christ and are attentive to his voice, we will be like a city on the hill, a light to the nations, and beacons of holiness.
Given the importance of this relationship, on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, Truett Seminary’s Wesley House of Studies and Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning co-sponsored "Christ and the Church," a one-day conference that brought together faculty, staff, students, and clergy and laity from area churches for ecumenical dialogue and learning around this important topic. Dr. Ephraim Radner (Anglican), Dr. Kimlyn Bender (Baptist), and Dr. Thomas McCall (Wesleyan) offered plenary addresses on how the resurrected and ascended Christ relates to the Church today. Following the plenary session in Truett’s Paul Powell Chapel, attendees reconvened for dinner and conversation with the speakers at Baylor’s Hurd Welcome Center. Among the attendees were groups from All Saints Dallas, First Baptist Church Waco, First Methodist Church Waco, and St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.
Truett’s Wesley House of Studies and Baylor’s Institute for Faith and Learning look forward to planning future ecumenical events aimed at serving Christ and his Church in Waco and beyond!