Written by: gfesadmin on October 4, 2012

GayMarie and I were always close, really close.  I never knew her mom or her dad but we were inextricably linked by blood and some magnetic relational chemistry.  Her mom was killed in an auto accident when GayMarie and I were about 4 years old.  After her mom’s death she and her baby sister went to live with her aunt and her grandmother.  Often, my family would visit GayMarie and her little sister.  During those visits over the years we became fast friends.  GayMarie’s mom was my oldest half sister from my father’s first marriage.

A young man fresh out of Bible College was planting a church in my home town.  My brother had already started tagging along with Jesus and was inviting me and my wife to do the same.  We too became smitten with Jesus and the young church planter helped my wife and I to express our commitment to Christ.  Before one week had passed he asked me to lead prayer meeting!  I had no idea what such a meeting was but he assured me that he would help me through it.  Within a month he asked me to begin preaching on Sunday afternoons in a nearby senior residence gathering.  The pastor met with me often to talk about studying the Scriptures, applying them, and communicating it’s truth to others.  Discipleship was what was happening even though I barely knew the word or what it meant.

In the evenings, my brother would join my wife and I to talk about the issues of life and what the Bible had to say about them.  Often we would talk until midnight and lay down our thoughts about what God’s word meant for the challenges of life and what we would do if only He would put us in charge!  Unbeknownst to us, we were doing theology.

GayMarie and I are like discipleship and theology.  We are closely related but not exactly the same.  In the book, Who Needs Theology by Stanely J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, I was reminded of the importance of doing theology and applying theology as a disciple of Jesus.  The book states, “Perhaps no aspect of existence is of greater concern to us than our lives as individuals. Does theology say anything about this? Can we look at personal life through theological eyes? Not only can we, but we must. Being a disciple demands that I view myself through the lenses of Christian faith, a process that involves at least two crucial aspects.”

Doing theology helps us answer the question, “Who am I?”  To answer this question, one must get outside of oneself and see the larger picture of the world we live in and the creator who made it.  This is largely an intellectual exercise but it must find practical application if it is to result in a personal relationship with the creator.  The linkage between doing theology and relating to God is discipleship; walking with Jesus who connects us with God, not just our knowledge of facts about Him.  

GayMarie and I and our spouses have grown as family over the years.  We are very similar but also different.  We started doing family before we knew what it mean to be family.  Theology and discipleship are closely related, you might say they are family.  When theology and discipleship walk closely one’s relationship to God is enhanced and one’s life is enriched.  When one’s motive to do theology is to pursue relationship with God, theology is honored!

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Olson, Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Who Needs Theology.  Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

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