“Theology For Everyone”
At John Knox Church, I have the privilege of leading a staff of 7 ministry directors and another pastor, and we meet once a week for a couple hours, for prayer, formation, and work. A couple years ago we read and discussed this book together as a staff. Some of the staff members have formal theological training, others do not. The book was accessible to the entire staff. For some, it was a helpful course of Theology 101, which gave them a framework or a roadmap for thinking about ministry decisions, as well as for life in general. The phrase, “thinking theologically” is a phrase we try to use often on our leadership board and our staff.
For others who already formal theological training, this book became a simple resource for being able to explain theology to others who are newer to the faith. It provides a structure of building blocks that are easy to understand and even visualize. Perhaps the most memorable idea for our staff was the author’s notion of “folk theology.” This provided such fun conversation around the table as we rehearsed all the folk theologies that we have heard and some that we have even had to unlearn ourselves.
The author defines theology in the beginning of the book in the broadest sense, from which one can easily conclude that it would be nearly impossible to imagine any human being not doing theology at some point in her life: “Theology is any reflection on the ultimate questions of life that point toward God. Hence both the Bible teacher and the anonymous letter writer are theologians.”[1] For our staff, especially those without theological training, this definition helped to remove the fright from the study of theology for lay leaders. In other words, the study of theology is not reserved for Ivory Towers, but for everyday people for everyday life.
Doubling down on this vision for the use of theology, Grenz writes: “First, theology is inescapable for all thinking, reflecting Christians, and the difference between lay theologians and professional theologians is one of degree, not kind. Second, professional theologians and and lay theologians (all reflective Christians of whatever profession) need one another. Professional theologians exist to serve the community of faith, not to dictate to it or lord over it intellectually.”[2] This articulation of the study and use of theology was comforting for these staff members who finally understood that there is a level of theology for them that is fruitful and productive.
Many seminaries have a department called “practical theology,” which is to be differentiated from “systematic theology.” From my perspective, this is a mistake at best and an abuse at worst. If theology isn’t practical, than it isn’t theology. If “systematic theology” isn’t intended to show up in everyday life, than it is not Christian theology, but something more akin to intellectual masturbation (please forgive the vulgarity). Grenz articulated this general definition of what makes Christian theology, Christian: “Christian theology is reflecting on and articulating the beliefs about God and the world that Christians share as followers of Jesus Christ.”[3]
Therefore, Chapter 7: Constructing Theology in Context became the most useful for the purposes of ministry offerings from the staff.
The three important takeaways that are discussed in this chapter regarding Christian theology are:
- Every Christian does theology. This means that there is such a thing as good theology and bad theology. Christians need to learn the difference and to become aware of the “folk theologies” that we have inherited and need to unlearn. Christian theology is not reserved for the academic, but for the ordinary disciple of Jesus Christ.
- Christian theology centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ as understood by the Bible. This grounds our study in the truth. One of the things that irks me as a preacher (largely because I have been guilty of it myself) is when preachers will begin with the Bible, saying something to the effect of: “Micah 6 claims that God is a God of justice and that we are called therefore to do justice.” Then, they will leave the Bible and turn to secular sociology and political science to talk about the definition and meaning of “social justice,” and thereby deviate from a biblical theology of justice. Christian theology always arises from the Bible’s account of who God is and how God operates in the world.
- Christian theology is for everyday life. This means that as disciples, we are called to “think theologically” about everything—how we raise our kids, how we respond to disasters, how we decide whether or not to do a “Trunk or Treat” event on Halloween. It means that even in our Bible studies, it is imperative that we are looking for the character of God in and behind and underneath the text at all times. Scripture is much more about God than it is about us.
Drawing from Romans 12, Grenz suggests that if the priesthood of all believers—the everyday disciples of a congregation—are going to take theology seriously, we must “become dissatisfied with your present level of understanding. You must desire to deepen your comprehension of the Christian faith and be committed to growing toward mature thinking about God, yourself and the world.”[4]
This means that our work of theology does not stop once we graduate from seminary, nor does it start when we begin seminary. Christian theology is more of a formation process that happens over a lifetime. It is part of our sanctification, and according to Grenz, it begins with metanoia, the felt need to change our minds, our thinking, and therefore, our living. When we recongnize this need, there is a big, beautiful canvas on which God can paint his Truth in our lives.
Olson, Stanley J. Grenz & Roger E. Who Needs Theology? an Invitation to the Study of God. Downers Grove, Ill., USA: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
[1] Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, Who Needs Theology? an Invitation to the Study of God (Downer’s Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 13.
[2] Ibid., 13-14.
[3] Ibid., 38.
[4] Ibid., 136.
About the Author
Chris Pritchett
10 responses to ““Theology For Everyone””
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Hey Chris,
Cool that you used this with your staff! I’m sure it was empowering for those that did not have theological training.
I think this is a strong statement: “Many seminaries have a department called “practical theology,” which is to be differentiated from “systematic theology.” From my perspective, this is a mistake at best and an abuse at worst.” Another example of how easily we fall into dichotometric thinking.
I agree that the chapter on constructing contextual theologies was mist useful. Does this have impact/implicaitons for your project?
Hey Jennifer- Thanks for helping me connect this with my project. I haven’t thought enough about it yet, but I know I will need to articulate a contextual theology for our community around the issue of fear and how it influences us and what tools might be most helpful for us today. Stay tuned on this. 🙂
Hi Chris,
Very thought provoking! Especially your comment, “If “systematic theology” isn’t intended to show up in everyday life, than it is not Christian theology, but something more akin to intellectual masturbation (please forgive the vulgarity).” You took a big risk, and hopefully will get rewarded for it.
I hope we get to talk about this during our next chat. How are you feeling about the quote now that you have had more time to reflect on it?
Loved your post, Chris–
I especially appreciated the breakdown of takeaways from chapter 3… Every Christian does theology… Theology centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ… Theology is for everyday life… Very practical and good. How has this work you’ve done with your staff filtered out into the broader congregation? Is that hard to do, or how have you approached that?
Great question, Dave. Thanks for asking. At the deepest level, it was somewhat formative in giving a theological imagination and framework for ministry decisions. Our CE folks are reading and teaching Scripture with a concern for forming children youth and adults to think on the character and work of God in our lives. It’s not always easy to quantify, but even our worship director, perhaps most obviously, is very theologically-minded in her crafting of the services. I hope this answers your question!
Hi Chris! I loved your statement “If theology isn’t practical, than it isn’t theology.” As someone whose never been to seminary, I appreciate this sentiment. I especially respect you as a leader who works to empower your staff (even those who don’t have formal education/training in theology) to feel that theology needs to be useful or practical or we shouldn’t be talking about it! This is true in the context of Christianity for sure! I’m curious how often your team engages in theology just in your meetings? It seems that you would try to engage in challenging discussions?
Hi Jean! Thanks for your question! Actually, we have theological discussions every week. We open the sermon text that’s coming up and discuss it openly and theologically together, we talk about the pressing issues of the day and what God thinks about them. And we pray together and make decisions together all with the desire to be consistent with the character and will of God. It sounds more glorious than it is. All I’m saying is that we engage together every week around theological issues–usually whatever happens to be on my mind that morning (haha), or I’ll have us read an article together or a book. I’m currently taking our elder board (Session of 14 elders) through NT Wrights, “Scripture and the Authority of God” which is also helpful. I also joined with another elder for two years in leading a discipleship-study group (two groups, one year each) around theology of vocation, and the value and meaning of our secular work because of our eschatological vision of the New Jerusalem. These groups have been super transformative and really fun. I find that people are really interested in theological conversations – we have a ministry at our church called “Theology on Tap” where a dozen folks gather at the local pub for brew and theological conversation. It’s a great way to engage the curious world around us, because people are always wondering how to think about God, and when someone decides to start talking about a God of love and suffering and justice, people often say, “Tell me more…” or “Yeah but…” and that’s fun too! What about you? What kinds of theological conversations do you engage in with friends, work, or church or whatever?
Chris
I appreciate that you took your staff through this book. Some of my favorite times reflecting on God comes from similar settings. I disagree though on your thoughts of systematic theology and practical theology. While at the base I understand your statement, but for me systematic helped me form my ideology and practical helped to apply it, I think both are very important as a pastor.
Thanks again for a great post.
Jason
Chris,
It was interesting to hear how you used this text with your staff previously and to realize that even those without a seminary education found it accessible. I wonder if you think it has had any lasting impact on the theological development of both types of staff members. Did it encourage any further study/reading of theological texts?
I love your pastor’s heart Chris and your phrase… “If theology isn’t practical, than it isn’t theology.” So very true and the reason why so many pastors and churches don’t connect with the average person in the pew. Most people have a negative view of theology because it is not practical and doesn’t connect with them. I’m curious how your staff and ministry have engaged with people regarding everyday life theology.