The Pauline corpus provides a valuable locus for studying development in the early church, for it contains the earliest writings available to us (Paul's own letters), writings dating from about the beginning of the second century (the Pastoral Epistles) and writings which are characteristic of the ambiguous period following the disappearance of the earliest authorities (Colossians and Ephesians). The main aim of this book has been to trace the process of institutionalization in Pauline communities. The study has investigated the transformation of the early church from its loosely-organized, charismatic beginnings to its more tightly-structured nature in the second century.

Insights from the social sciences have been incorporated throughout the investigation in an effort to comprehend the relationship between the early church writings and their social worlds. Problems with methodologies which posit the shaping of development by the straightforward action of ideas have been highlighted. In order to understand the significance of the transformations in the early church, it is essential to describe the historical circumstances acting as catalysts to change as fully as possible. This means coming to terms with the complexity of social factors which characterize community life. The interplay between the ethos, ministry structures, ritual forms, and beliefs of a community within a Greco-Roman environment must be considered in an investigation of church development.

Understanding development in terms of an ongoing process of institutionalization which results in the construction of a symbolic universe gives an added dimension of realism to historical reconstruction.