{"id":12800,"date":"2017-05-18T13:18:42","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T20:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=12800"},"modified":"2017-05-18T13:54:53","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T20:54:53","slug":"the-promise-and-primacy-of-implicit-theology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-promise-and-primacy-of-implicit-theology\/","title":{"rendered":"The Promise and Primacy of Implicit Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martyn Percy \u2013Shaping the Church: The<\/em> Promise of Implicit Theology<\/em><\/p>\n

In this monograph, The Very Reverend Professor Martyn Percy acknowledges that, \u201cThere is no doubt that ecclesial communities look to formal theological propositions, creeds, articles of faith, and the like to order their inner life, establish their identity and maintain their distinctiveness in the world. Yet, it is also true that moods and manners, informal beliefs, learned behavior, patterns of polity, together with aesthetics and applied theological thinking constitute the shape of the church no less. Attention to the role and vitality of the implicit is therefore, vital if one seeks to comprehend the depth, density, identity and shape of the church.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n

His hypothesis is that \u201cmuch of ecclesial life is implied and that numerous examples of implicit theology guide and direct ecclesiology in ways that are deeper than the formal propositions of explicit theology.\u201d [2] However, Percy contends, \u201cthe dynamics of ecclesial life are often shaped and delimited by operant, grounded, unarticulated and habitual processes which while laced with theological significance, do not of themselves usually count as explicit religious discourse or are valued as official practice.\u201d [3] For Percy, the concept of implicit theology can be appreciated when it is understood as a Christian heritage that is commonplace in everyday life performances and practices expressing faith and belief.\u00a0 He emphasizes paying attention to the sensed and experienced dimensions of day to day ecclesial life in order to conceptualize how style might have just as much importance as substance, and behavior as much relevance as beliefs. \u00a0\u201cThis is because the shape of the church is partly brought about by the subliminal as much as by the\u00a0liminal; and by the implicit as much as the explicit.\u201d\u00a0 [4]<\/p>\n

Initially, I was skeptical of Percy\u2019s hypothesis. But, after\u00a0some pondering, I understood the truth of his conclusions. \u00a0I recalled the content of his message in Oxford to intentionally utilize all our sensory apparatus to discern, evaluate, appreciate, and experience any environment we find ourselves in. He exhorted us to be objective, empathetic and not be judgmental. I took that counsel with me to Rwanda and upon arriving there I experienced the dynamic pulse of the land\u2014its pain, history, challenges and aspirations, but also its hope, joy, and love in Jesus Christ. The children our team interfaced with were so amazing; they established an immediate bond with us. \u00a0Our hearts were knit together with theirs in genuine Christian love and fellowship, while experiencing the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

In this Dminlgp program we are continually learning how to perform at an elite level as leaders and enhancing our cognitive, socio-cultural, emotional, and critical thinking skills.\u00a0 Manfred Kets de Vries (The Leadership Mystique<\/em>), explains that \u201cemotional intelligence is getting to know our own emotions, learning to manage our emotions, and learning to recognize and deal with the emotions of others.\u201d [5] David Livermore (Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The New Secret to Success<\/em>) describes cultural intelligence as \u201cthe capacity to function effectively across national, ethnic, and organizational cultures that entails drive, knowledge, strategy, and action.\u201d\u00a0[6] Percy argues for the development of a \u201cfusion of emotional and ecclesial\/spiritual intelligence<\/em> for congregations and denominations that are struggling with strong feelings and intense, hostile expressions of anger.\u00a0 For leaders, he sees this as one of the most demanding aspects of oversight, namely having the emotional and ecclesial intelligence<\/em> of patience and empathy to hold feelings, anger, disappointment and frustrations\u2014other people\u2019s as well as your own.\u201d [7] Change is usually only possible when there are no competing convictions while simultaneously trying to resolve deep conflict.<\/p>\n

Percy suggests the need to look at patterns of power and motivations behind anger. The task for the Church is to find ways that do not suppress or block out strong feelings of anger, or the pain and the aggression it arouses, but rather, to discern how to channel the energy they bring into the work of the gospel. \u00a0For Percy, the Church in its entirety needs emotional intelligence<\/em> if it is to achieve ecclesial \u00a0intelligence<\/em>. We need to be able to cope with deeply held convictions, and the feelings they evoke. This could mean listening to the experiences that lead to aggression and anger, and striving to understand them from the perspective of those with less power. Individuals in a position of power will need to acknowledge the fear of losing power and control. It necessitates getting in touch with our feelings, and developing an emotional intelligence<\/em>, that can lead to a new kind of ecclesial intelligence<\/em>. Percy feels leaders are needed who can especially receive and handle strong feelings, and sometimes communicate the same to others when necessary.\u00a0 In other words, it is necessary to have leaders who will be adaptable to the climate they find themselves in. Percy goes on to state that since the church is a community of peace, listening to God is paramount to its existence. The anticipated peace that is representative of God\u2019s kingdom will be characterized by the ushering in of a community of blessing and consensus that can succeed for everyone who sincerely seeks peace and unity in any context.\u00a0 Developing ecclesial intelligence is yet another skill-set that Dminlgp students are adding to their arsenal in spiritual warfare and successful outcomes. Learning to stay calm and at peace with God and having the peace of God should hold us in good stead throughout life\u2019s storms. \u00a0We need emotional, cultural, and ecclesial\/spiritual intelligence to help make this happen.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Martyn Percy, Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology <\/em>(Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010), 175.<\/li>\n
  2. Ibid., 12.<\/li>\n
  3. Ibid., 159.<\/li>\n
  4. Ibid., 173.<\/li>\n
  5. Manfred Kets de Vries, The Leadership Mystique: Leading Behavior in the Human<\/em> Enterprise\u00a0<\/em>(Harwlow, England: Prentice Hal, 2006), 25.<\/li>\n
  6. David Livermore, Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The New Secret to Success <\/em>(New York: AMACOM, 2010), 24.<\/li>\n
  7. Percy, Shaping the Church, <\/em>156.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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