What is Jesus Up to?

Amid the tumultuous events affecting today’s church and world, what is Jesus doing? This essay explores that question by outlining the divine-human action of the ascended Christ toward the global church across church history. I build on the theology of the Ascension, on Christian Kettler’s “affective Barthianism” (that is, his studies of the vicarious humanity of Christ and its relation to our affects), and on selected theological interpretations of church history, notably those of Philip Jenkins, Willie James Jennings, and Charles Williams. I conclude with practical considerations for churches.