Theology first.

Good morning God,
Today promises to be a good day. A day filled with deliberation and celebration over how the Church communicates and shares its theology. Such days are rare!

I know that our Ministerial students are still required to study theology - it's there on the curriculum somewhere, along with Church History, Liturgy, Hermeneutics, Evangelism, Missiology, World Church, Old Testament, New Testament, Greek, Hebrew, Science and Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Inter-faith studies. Pastoral Theology, Ethics,Pedagogy, Adrogogy, Christian Anthropology, Black Theology, Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology, Queer Theology, and of course Methodist Theology..


Sorry God, lost myself in a wish list there...

The sad truth is of course that some sections of the British Methodist Church have long since lost Wesley's love of theology and have managed (with Conference's consent) to reduce most of the Church's theological output to a compulsory second section in some Conference reports (and now for the theology...) oh yes.. and to a dreaded subject at seminary. (If the looks of some of our students when they come to their first theology lesson is anything to go by, theology is about as popular in our Church as a pickled onion is in an apple pie.)

I suspect that the root of the problem lies in our having lost the 'groundwork' of theology - the pew theology that fed and nurtured the love of theology, of searching the Scriptures and studying God's world in some of our members and local preachers. From Wesley's time on, the Methodist people were fed theologically by the works of popular theologians and - in particular - by the published books and reports of the Church. Wesley even rewrote and abridged a few works in order to make them more accessible. The Agenda's of earlier conferences up to the 1990's are an amazing collection of theological works. Embedded in the reports from each division of the Church is clear evidence of the Church as church, wrestling with scripture and faith, not just its necessary order.
It would be hard to say the same today. Although there are some good reports being produced, on the whole, the paucity of religious language in any of our Church's official paperwork is now well past scary.

Current council papers, for example, are now prefaced with neat little tick boxes and columns which summarize the report's expected impact on :-

• Standing Orders
• Faith and Order 
• Financial 
• Personnel 
• Legal
• Wider Connexional
• External (e.g.ecumenical)
• Risk

It's all very business like and official - and I guess it's important for us to be able to see at a glance what the impact of any piece of the Church's work will be on these areas.

And it's good to see that we have our priorities right - there's faith and order - way up there - next to rules and regulations!  But this faith and order tick box isn't quite the same as asking whether or not something is theologically sound or in keeping with our faith and order. It can't be - otherwise surely there would be some input from faith and order required on - say the report  MC1089 Selection Criteria for Candidates for presbyteral and diaconal ministry After all, I can't imagine Wesley thinking that selection criteria for ministers would have no impact on the faith and order of the Church!

Bottom line - it ALL impacts on our faith and order!


This is an old drum of mine - but it still beats to the same tune.

As a Church we should start with the theology - not with the business. Good business practice does not always mean good theology or good ministry. Church reports and papers are a part of our public proclamation as well as our internal business. I really believe we are drowning out our proclamation of God's grace with official, business management language instead of God language. We have good news to share which is lost amidst the jargon of impact and risk assessment!

It's TIME TO TALK OF GOD

Luckily - for people like me - theology is actually compulsory for a Church - no matter how business like and professional it wants to be (or thinks it has to be!). It can't be tidied up or pigeon holed or reduced to a column or section because You delight in turning us upside down and inside out - you want to know we are talking with to and about you, not just ordering your affairs!

The simple fact is that it's just not possible to be either a good and effective minister, or even a good Christian Disciple without doing theology. The hard part is discovering how we as a Church, learn how to do it so that it is profitable for the whole people of God.. not just so that we get another report adopted by Conference. Wesley insisted that Searching the Scriptures is a means of Grace, as is Christian Conferring (which doesn't just mean conferring with Christians but conferring as Christians).
Conferring and searching can be done in community - in a seminary or college or church or house group, or in private - with a book, or as part of a distance learning course. (See in particular the European Methodist eAcademy's brilliant courses on Methodist Theology)

And that's where the joy of today comes in for me.
Today I will be exploring with others in the Connexional team and in Circuit ministry how the Church can help to make the means of grace available, through the books that we publish. And then - I will travel to Durham to celebrate the Church's continuing investment in theological education as I attend the welcome service for the new Director of the Wesley Study Centre in Durham.
A good day to beat a drum for theology first..

Dr Who and reward theology

Good morning God,
I really enjoyed Dr Who last night -
it provoked me into wondering whether or not there is a 'reward' for being good.. and if so, what it should be.. The Doctors reward for being willing to die to save one 'insignificant' life, was the ability to go back in time and change the lives of his friends... for the 'better' of course.. except who is to say which future was the 'better' future..?
The reward was the answer to the cry of 'its not fair'

But life isn't 'fair' - it never was - and was never intended to be. 'Fair' is the idea that if you do something good, only good things will happen as a result - but humanity is just too small to know what is good for it.  History suggests that humanity grows best when it is stressed, pushed, challenged and provoked into doing so. As a group, humans have a strong propensity for doing nothing..
But when challenged - or set a target - or best of all - when the odds are stacked against us - then we seem able and willing to rise above ourselves, we become motivated to reach for the spark of the divine in us and we strive to do the impossible.

Terrifying generalizations I know - but true nonetheless..

And with Christ - all things are possible..

Christ's reward for being willing to die to save each of our insignificant lives, is the ability to go back in time and change the lives of his friends... for the 'better' of course.. and who better than Christ to say which future is the 'better' future.. even if it is one we would seldom have chosen for ourselves!

Which is what makes the Christian life so full of surprises and challenges.
In Christ's company we discover the ability to experience all of what it means to be human. We learn to live life to the full, as a saving adventure, dynamically rather than comfortably, enthusiastically rather than timidly, determinedly and purposefully fighting evil and injustice - because no one is insignificant and every world and every person matters. Our eyes are opened to see how grand your creation is, and how we are an intrinsic part of it... We lose our smallness in you and so learn how to live in a world where things are bigger on the inside than they appear on the outside.

When we journey with Christ, we join in the task of making the impossible possible by  helping to answer prayer, by moving mountains and by transforming lives -  our own included.

We might not have chosen the new life that Christ creates for us but it could never be called 'dull'. It probably isn't 'fair' either,  but slowly and surely it can and does help to change the world - and us - 'for the better'.

Who could resist such a challenge?

It promises to be another exciting year...

Still more ways to talk of God

Good morning God,

I've been thinking about the many ways in which we humans can communicate and talk about you. From hugs and small acts of service, conversation face to face over coffee or tea, or in seminaries, plenaries, workshops, or in Church through sermons, hymns, talks and prayers etc through to magazines, newsletters, journals, books, face-book updates, tweets, blogs and txts - you seem to make sure that there's no shortage of opportunities for us to talk about and even with you God.

In spite of all these opportunities, I've noticed its still not easy for people to find a way to open up the conversation so that you can be included in. Even those of us who do like to talk about you and to you God are still inclined to use a favourite punch-line or quote from a book (maybe even a good book!) or a scene from film as a starter.

This is where the digital revolution really comes into its own. I just love some of the ways in which the new electronic revolution has changed our language about you.

One of my favourites is this tweet posted to @God on the ten commandments

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.
2. dnt wrshp pix/idols
3. no omg's
4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)
5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool
6. dnt kill ppl
7. :-X only w/ m8
8. dnt steal
9. dnt lie re: bf
10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.
M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.
ttyl, JHWH.
ps. wwjd?

I dont know what tickles me the most here, the language or the interpretation - but if it persuades a new generation to look again at an alternative way to live - I'm all for it.

The entire Bible has been translated into SMS format by the Bible Society in Australia. The latest version of the Bible enables 31,171 verses in the abbreviated text style to be sent direct to mobile phones. The verses are available free of charge on the internet.

The text versions include, verses such as “In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth, & da earth was barren, wit no 4m of life” and "We luv coz God luvd us 1st".

Another deliberate attempt to re-think language is happening on the Women in Theology group on Facebook where, as a means of trying to combat academic-speak about God, women are encouraged to do their theology using words of only one syllable

Pamela Luxon wrote:

God is in us
God is with us
God loves us
We are His
No ill can touch us
When we know these facts are true

Ok, ok, it's not quite what you will find in the mind-body-spirit section of the Saturday Times, but it does get the point across.

All these things persuade me that talking about you really isn't difficult to do - and can actually be fun - and who knows God, perhaps when the whole world is blogging or gossiping, txting or writing, browsing or conversing about you, we might find more laughter, lightness and love in the world.

Cowardly, cautious or just callous?

Good morning God,
I was more than a little shocked when I read an article which effectively described the Methodist Church's decision to not revisit the resolutions on human sexuality as a form of cowardice. It claimed that as a church we are too scared to have the necessary debate because it might be too damaging to us...
IS this true? Are we really cowards or justly cautious or - worst of all - are we perhaps just callous - indifferent to the insult, to the very real pain and suffering of those we discriminate against by leaving our existing regulations as they are? Have we become pharisaic? More concerned with the minutia of the Church's self-preservation than the proclamation of the Kingdom and of the good new of salvation for ALL in Christ?
God forgive me - I think we are.
But that set me to wondering.. what of me? What are the subjects I have been avoiding because I like to be liked or want to be included in?
Ironically I think it's YOU God.. I think I avoid talking about YOU for two main reasons
The first is because it gets me into trouble.
I WANT to talk about you, but people seem to think that that is just not the right thing for a minister to do. Theology (which is the name that other people give to these conversations) is too frightening for the Church to do anymore... Apparently talking about you (or even to you) is considered too difficult, too academic and too - well - time consuming, and unnecessary to real worship and love..! So I get into trouble when I do it, accused of being too cerebral or too academic and not really having any faith, as though faith and theology are polar opposites! So I live my own Nicodemus life of retreating to night time conversations with those who are still seeking to know the truth whilst playing the role in the day with those who wear the same robes.

The second reason follows on from the first - my wanting to talk about you is obviously a bit of an embarrassment to others (perhaps because so many people are scared that they cant).
Whenever I ask at meetings - what is of God in this? - people mumble things about priorities or budgets, or projects and clusters... And in order to not seem a complete idiot for Jesus, I nod sagely as though I understand - and shut up about YOU not the Church, needing to be in our thinking and in our acting - not just somewhere in our strategy.

Am I just being cowardly - no.. if I'm honest I'm getting quite callous about it. The proof of it is that I can actually read through a whole conference agenda and even a full set of Methodist Council briefing papers without getting angry or even saddened at how few mentions there are of your people, your grace, the gospel, scripture or the need for peace, reconciliation and justice. I read the management-speak and the business profiles and simply acknowledge that the general consensus of opinion is that we really don't need to discuss these things with reference to YOU any more God - not now we've got it all under clustered control with our reds and greens almost all in place now. But where was the good news - Ahh yes of course - in the balanced budget.

So here's my real question to you God - how can I move from cowardly, cautious and callous into confidently courageous?
Is it possible? Is there still time to recover some of my confidence in speaking of Christ?
I might not have quite managed Peter's three denials in my avoidance of certain conversations, but I do want, nonetheless to assure you - Yes Lord - You know that I love you...
But grant me please the courage and confidence that I once had to speak your name boldly, and dare to ask - and what is of God in this..?