The Gospel is no abstraction.
Mark does not reason its way to truth. He does not explain the mystery of the kingdom in academic terms. It declares. He reveals. He drives.
From his opening cry—“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”—he gives us not ideas, but a Man, and through Him, the only true image of God. Mark is the Gospel of incarnation not by philosophy, but by movement—by action.
Mark is the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Man, whose manhood is not a liability to be explained away, but the very engine of divine revelation. In Him, the body speaks. The cross reigns. The Word bleeds.
And therefore, Mark’s Gospel teaches ecclesiology not through precept, but through presence. He does not theorize the Church; he shows the Church becoming. Ecclesiology.
Here is not a system or schema, but a state of being—a new creaturely mode enacted by those who hear His voice and follow. In this way, Mark gives us the discipline of the body: the praxis of discipleship as the core of being His body, the Church.
As Jesus walks, calls, heals, eats, suffers, and sends, the Church arises around Him like breath drawn into new lungs. To be the Church in Mark is to be moved—cut, caught, called, commissioned.
It is no coincidence that Mark’s Jesus is constantly on the move. The verbs rush. The people stumble. The disciples fail and rise again. The action is terse, the tempo urgent. This is the phallic reign of the Christ—the royal scepter not of static control but of dynamic bloodline.
From the cross, the Man rules. And from the moment He calls two men to follow Him by the sea, He is forming His body, not as a theory, but as a company—two or three, sent, broken, walking. Ecclesiology here is not ecclesial theory, but ecclesial becoming.
What follows is a close reading of six core passages from Mark's Gospel. Each is a window into this embodied catechesis—a lived liturgy of the Church's formation. And in the disputed (but still theologically attuned) verses of Mark 16:9–20, we find a proto-Didache, a rubric of going and bearing witness, marked by signs of His reign. This is not the Church in abstraction. This is the Church as embodied commission—the manhood of God made manifest in the brotherhood of those who walk in His steps.
I. The Call: Formation by Following (Mark 1:16–20)
Ecclesiological Insight: The Church begins as movement, not institution.
“Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Ecclesia is birthed not in confession but in obedience to a person.
The first community forms by leaving behind—nets, boats, fathers—and joining Jesus in his movement.
This is ek-klēsia in its literal seed form: a being-called-out community, defined by departure and following.
Praxis Directive:
Church is that which follows the voice.
The ecclesia exists only where disciples leave in order to follow. Membership is not status but motion.
II. Table Fellowship: Redrawing Boundaries (Mark 2:13–17)
Ecclesiological Insight: Church redefines community by grace, not purity.
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus calls, then dines. Calling sinners is not prelude to purification; it is the purification.
The table becomes a sacramental sign of inclusion, foreshadowing the Lord’s Supper not as ritual but as boundary-breaking presence.
Praxis Directive:
Church is that which calls outcasts to table. Ecclesia is enacted wherever grace sets the table before repentance finishes its prayer.
III. Constitution of the Twelve (Mark 3:7–19)
Ecclesiological Insight: Church is constituted by presence, preaching, and power.
“He appointed twelve… so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority…”
Here is the threefold ecclesial frame:
With-ness (abiding presence)
Sent-ness (missional proclamation)
Given-ness (authority from Christ, not from self)
The list of names roots the Church in particular persons, not abstractions. Even Judas is named, anchoring ecclesia in realism.
Praxis Directive:
Church is constituted by communion, commission, and Christ-given capacity.
It is not merely gathered, but appointed—an ordered plurality under Jesus’ direct authorship.
IV. The Two-by-Two Praxis (Mark 6:7–13, 30–32)
Ecclesiological Insight: Church functions by dependence and mutuality.
“He began to send them out two by two and gave them authority…”
The forward motion is marked by risk of possession and trust in the authority of a man’s voice. No bag. No bread. One tunic.
They return and report: accountability and reflection are part of ecclesial life.
Praxis Directive:
Church is a sent pair, not a solo act.
Conversion of the unbeliever is Tru, “ecclesial,” when it is shared, shared-risk, and shared-accountability.
Trusted dependency is the nature of dispersed authority.
V. The Unnamed Worker (Mark 9:38–41)
Ecclesiological Insight: Church is broader than brand.
“We saw someone casting out demons in your name… but he was not following us.”
Jesus rebukes sectarian instinct. “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Ecclesial identity is marked not by tribal allegiance, but by recognition of Jesus’ name and power.
Praxis Directive:
Church is wherever Christ is honored and his name brings help. Ecclesia is invisible to tribal gatekeeping but visible to those with eyes to see the works of Christ in others.
VI. The Proto-Didache Echo (Mark 16:9–20)
Ecclesiological Insight: Church lives between resurrection and sending.
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel…”
Signs will accompany them. Demons cast out. Serpents handled. Tongues spoken. Hands healing.
Echoes Matthew 10 and Luke 10. This passage reads like a liturgical postscript, or apostolic rubric.
Praxis Directive:
Church is marked by Word and wonder. The ecclesia is not finished in resurrection—it begins again in resurrection. It goes. It preaches. It is accompanied by signs that confirm Christ is with them still.
Markan Ecclesiology
Church is the body that moves where Jesus leads, eats where Jesus welcomes, preaches where Jesus sends, heals where Jesus reigns, and recognizes Jesus wherever He appears.
This is not institution first, but incarnation ongoing. This is discipline before doctrine, and praxis as proof of presence.
Dear Rev. Fisk,
Our church is thinking about writing a Resolution as to the Call process. We have been in the process for almost two years with no "resolution." We believe the system is without too much merit and needs to be re-evaluated. After reading "The Church," I definitely think something needs to be done. If we decide to go ahead, could we contact you on occasion for guidance? Right now we have nothing, however, it would be a blessing to know you might read our attempt to put such a Resolution forth.
Peace, Gerri Gibney, St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Closter, New Jersey