In an article on "The Church and Racism," (1) Albert "Pete" Pero articulates for ecclesiology some of the consequences of his argument regarding "cultural transcendence." (2) In the relationship between koinonia and cultural formations he sees the very raison d'etre of theology itself: In this dynamic movement between church and culture, theology finds its discrimen, its distinct and decisive criterion. In my contribution to this collection of essays that celebrates the life, theology, and ministry of Dr. Pero, I will examine one particular aspect of this movement defined by the two poles of church and culture that often become reified as entities in and of themselves. What I am intimating here--and this shall be my main argument--is that communio ecclesiology, which is presented under the ecumenical notion of koinonia, runs the risk again of being a static and abstract conception of the church, always drifting toward one of those two poles. The result, as we shall see, is that the church becomes either a self-enclosed public without "cultural transcendence," or else it dissolves itself in culture, in a given culture, as a matter of pure private sensibilities. Certainly this way of phrasing the problem is not new. Yet, if we take Pero's advice for theology to redefine itself for every generation, we must now seek a distinct answer in this age characterized by a pervasive globalization and a simultaneous radical fragmentation.
