Phraseology...

As I read PoMo blogs, I often run into words I don't understand. As I run into them, I'll try and provide a definition for you, my 4 faithful readers(and Mrs. Dugan), on buzzwords. Today's word is:

Ecclesiology

Ecclesiology is a branch of Christian theology that deals with the doctrines pertaining to the Church itself as a community or organic entity, and with the understanding of what the "church" is: its role in salvation, its origin, its relationship to the historical Christ, its discipline, its destiny (see Eschatology) and its leadership. It is, therefore, the study of the Church as a thing in itself, and of the Church's self-understanding of its mission and role.
In addition to describing a broad discipline of theology, ecclesiology may be used in the specific sense of a particular church or denomination’s character, self-described or otherwise. This is the sense of the word in such phrases as Roman Catholic ecclesiology, Lutheran ecclesiology, and ecumenical ecclesiology.
From: Wikipedia

Ecclesiology is the study of the church. The word Ecclesiology comes from two Greek words meaning "assembly" and "word" - combining to mean "the study of the church." The church is the assembly of believers who belong to God. Ecclesiology is crucial to understand God's purpose for believers in the world today. Some important issues in Ecclesiology are:

What is the church?
What is the purpose of the church?
What is the importance of Christian baptism?
What is the importance of the Lord's Supper / Christian Communion?
What does the Bible say about the form of church government?
From: Gotquestions.org

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle!