The Theological Task

“If, rather than facing up to the task of extending God’s story into the present, we seek constantly to dwell in some previous chapter of it, we should not be surprised when we are either ignored or not taken seriously by those who find our approach quaintly anachronistic…..This, then, is the heart of the theological task: the translation of the gospel into forms which are meaningful for our spatial and temporal context, that those who live alongside us in that context may hear and understand and discover the relevance and meaning of the gospel for themselves.” Trevor Hart in Faith Thinking

We as Christians, and thus Christian theologians, must understand the reason that we engage in the task of theology. Plain and simple, theology is our simple attempt to better understand our highly complex and mysterious God. But theology also does involve more than this understanding of God – it should move even further into how our understanding of the one true God impacts the way in which we live in the world around us. In other words, a major part of theology is to translate and interpret our understanding of God in a correspondent and coherent manner with our everyday lives. When we fail to do so, it is at that point that we are “either ignored or not taken seriously” by others around us. As followers of Jesus Christ, his call upon us to be salt and light in the world around us is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum of the previous manner of living in our world – yet it is precisely in the previous manner that a good number of Christians live out their everyday lives. Many Christians do not understand or fail to realize the fact that we are all involved in the theological task, that we are all theologians. The issue at hand is this: Are you a good or bad theologian? As a good theologian, we will task seriously the task of “translating the gospel into forms which are meaningful for our spatial and temporal context.” In other words, we as Christians should take seriously the task of learning how to take our Christian faith and make it speak to the world in which we live today in a way that is faithful to gospel message of God’s story. The Gospel message of God’s story never changes – but the world in which this story interacts constantly changes. Therefore our task as theologians is an always-changing task – and that task is to strive to faithfully translate and interpret this message in our world today – and not to “seek constantly to dwell in some previous chapter of it.” We must learn from the faithful ones in our past how they accomplished this task in their world – so that we can be faithful to this important task in our world today. Let us always remember that the ultimate purpose of our theological task is that our lives our lived in such a way that others around us “may hear and understand and discover the relevance and meaning of the gospel for themselves”!

Spiritual Leadership - How It Is Desperately Needed

"When a person in authority demands obedience of another, irrespective of the latter's reason and conscience, this is tyranny. On the other hand, when, by the exercise of tact and sympathy, prayer, spiritual power and sound wisdom, one is able to influence and enlighten another, so that a life course is changed, that is spiritual leadership." Quote by D.E. Hoste in Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

Oh, how our world is in desperate needed of genuine spiritual leadership today - in our churches, our parachurch ministries, our schools, our workplaces, our homes, our neighborhoods, etc. There are many who aspire to leadership, even and sometimes especially Christians, for one reason: the power that comes with a position of leadership. However, just because one is in a position of leadership does not make that person a true leader - especially from a Christian worldview perspective. Many so-called Christian leaders are not more leaders than they are simply tyrants - having to have things done their way and their way alone. A Christian who is a true leader is not characterized by the t-word "tyrant" but instead by another t-word "towel". A Christian who is a true spiritual leader is characterized first and foremost by the attitude of being "servant to all". Several of the characteristics of a servant leader can be found in the above quote. Tact - having the necessary sensitivity when dealing with difficult people or issues or both. Sympathy - having the appropriate feelings for others in their times of misfortune. Prayer - having two-way communication with the One we should most oft communicate with. Spiritual Power - resulting from a complete and utter dependence upon the power of the Spirit and not the power of self. Sound Wisdom - having the ability to rightly apply knowledge in handling difficult situations and negotiating complicated relationships. Able to Influence and Enlighten Another - having to do with the style of leadership and the character of the one leading. The only way that the life of our churches - our parachurch ministries - our schools - our workplaces - our homes - our neighborhoods - our nation - our world - will be changed is when Christians in leadership positions make the decision to truly exercise and exhibit genuine Christian, spiritual leadership. Here is my question for you (and me): How are you going to lead: tyrant or towel?