{"id":10191,"date":"2016-11-10T03:48:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T11:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=10191"},"modified":"2016-11-10T03:48:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T11:48:11","slug":"may-i-respectfully-disagree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/may-i-respectfully-disagree\/","title":{"rendered":"May I Respectfully Disagree?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout the year I am in many churches. \u00a0In recent years I\u2019ve noticed a bit of an emerging theme within the churches I\u2019ve visited. I\u2019ve heard it say that everyone is a pastor; everyone is a minister; everyone is a leader; everyone is a MISSIONARY;\u00a0<\/b>everyone is a deacon; everyone is an evangelist; everyone is an usher; everyone is a\u2014you fill in the blank. <\/i>Right at the start of \u201cWho Needs Theology?<\/em>\u201d Grenz and Olson postulate their basic premise; that is that everyone is a theologian. May I respectfully disagree?<\/p>\n

The authors begin by explaining that there are two kinds of theologians. The first is the kind that seeks to answer the questions of life (Worldviewish). This theologian is not necessarily Christian, but in a Woody Allen-esque way searches for answers to life and existence. The second is the type of theologian that seeks to answer life\u2019s questions via the biblical narratives (Christian Theology). Grenz and Olson acknowledge that each is practiced with the same basic methodology but have a different outcome. The bridge connecting these two are the Bible narratives which reveal not only our search for God but God\u2019s longing for a relationship with us. (P. 15-18) They then continue by delineating the six types of theology. They are folk, lay, ministerial, professional and academic\u2014with folk and academic landing on opposite sides of the continuum. (P.26)<\/p>\n

The chapters following are important in that they carry the premise forward. Not All Theologians are Equal\u2014interestingly enough this chapter seems to make the case that not everyone is a theologian! According to the authors,\u00a0 some may think they are practicing sound theological reflection, but in fact, they are mere, \u201cfolk\u201d theologians on one side of the spectrum or \u201cacademic\u201d theologians on the other. Question: can a person who does not practice sound theology be considered a theologian?<\/p>\n

The chapters Defining Theology, Defending Theology, Theology\u2019s Tasks and Traditions, The Theologians Tools, Constructing Theology in Context, Bringing Theology to Life and An Invitation to Engage in Theology continue to define the theologian and their practice. The authors site the practicing theologian\u2019s\u00a0 view of scripture, dogma, doctrines and belief, and the tools they use (History, Scripture, and Culture) as well as the practice of engaging in theological discussion.<\/p>\n

Now to my point. This is an excellent book. It is well written, well received and highly regarded within the academic and church community. However, I struggle with the premise that everyone is a theologian. My disagreement with the authors’ premise is not with content but with terminology and to a certain extent application.<\/p>\n

I do agree with the esteemed authors when they state that at the core of any theologian is their practice of reflection. A reflective Christian and practitioner reflect not only on the meaning of life but also reflect on God\u2019s Word and how it \u201cgives meaning and purpose to existence.\u201d Reflective practitioners do not reflect in a vacuum but need others who are well trained and practice theological reflection. They need others who consider the Scriptures, history, and culture and are aware of the pitfalls and challenges of reflective practice. (P. 15-20) I also agree that the authors present sound advice for reflective theology or reflective practice and that it is important for every Christian to practice reflection within the context of Scripture, history, and culture.\u00a0 However, practicing in this way does not make one a theologian.<\/p>\n

The biggest distinction between being a theologian and being a person who loves theology is that a theologian is ultimately responsible for her\/his reflections within the larger community, either academic or the church as a whole. When they present their reflection they feel the heat or the affirmation from the larger community. This is a healthy mechanism. However, theological reflection developed and practiced only in a local setting quickly becomes personal dogma. It is that vacuum of which the authors speak.<\/p>\n

And so, first, I am not big on titles of this nature within the local community of faith. They can cause confusion, misunderstanding, hurt feelings, power struggles and even church splits. As an example, I refer to the authors’ example, of the layperson (theologian) informing a pastoral staff member that the song \u201cWe\u2019ve a Story to Tell to the Nations\u201d has post-millennial overtones and should not have been sung by the congregation. In the example, the \u201ctheologian\u201d was scolded by the staff member, \u201cfor ruining the \u2018spirit of worship.\u2019\u201d (P. 30)<\/p>\n

My first reaction was visceral as I remembered the \u201ctheologians\u201d in the churches I pastored. I can still hear their blazing critiques of my sermons, based on their weekly reading of their theological perspective\u2014Jason said we could talk about visceral! My second reaction is that the staff member was right, the layperson was so caught up in the \u201ctheology of the moment\u201d that they did indeed miss the spirit of the moment.<\/p>\n

Of course, the song has postmillennial overtones, but the bigger picture was the lost and dying without Christ. I cannot believe that that song leads anyone away from serving God any more than does the song \u201cI Am a Friend of God!\u201d They are both problematic in different ways, and yet the Church moves forward!<\/p>\n

The great questions of life struggle to be summed up in neat little theological boxes. Let the congregation sing! And let them understand the witness of the Gospel to all the world is \u201cthe fact,\u201d while pre, post, and amillennialism are still arguable\u2014we won\u2019t know until it happens.<\/p>\n

God help us not to become critics of the minutiae while missing the larger picture\u2014a world lost and without Christ. \u201cFor now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:12)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the year I am in many churches. \u00a0In recent years I\u2019ve noticed a bit of an emerging theme within the churches I\u2019ve visited. I\u2019ve heard it say that everyone is a pastor; everyone is a minister; everyone is a leader; everyone is a MISSIONARY;\u00a0everyone is a deacon; everyone is an evangelist; everyone is an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[534],"class_list":["post-10191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-grenz-olson","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10191\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}