Where Theology Belongs

You do not think your way into a new way of living, you live your way into a new way of thinking.
-Koinonia Community

There was a time when theological disciplines were spoken of as the Queen of the Sciences. That’s one way to solve the conflict between Science and Religion, isn’t it. It reminds me of the wag who said, “I’m for prayer in schools as long as I am the one who is doing the praying!” But I digress.

The days of the hegemony of theological discourse are long gone. But as a thought experiment, one wonders, “Where in a university structure might one place theology, these days?” I think that the answer to that question determines the sort of formation that issues from theological discourse. As I posed this question to a friend of mine yesterday, he shot back, “Why, it would be in the marketing department.”

Certainly, a lot of what passes for theology these days is the product of focus group thinking; about sales. Churches that tout “come as you are,” boast coffee bars and whose worship is high on entertainment values seem to be in the sales business. There is room there for theological conviction, but a mighty cramped space. These Disney world approaches to congregational life, contrived as they are, seem to have wholeheartedly and uncritically adopted the culture in which they are swimming.

In a postmodern era, others might say, belongs among the laboratory sciences, in the R&D of human life. There is a lot to be said for the notion that faith formation is an experimental science. Clearly, this avoids the pitfalls of the sales and service branding of the faith. It opens up the possibility of interfaith dialogue, gender theologies and the reapplication of the Good News to contemporary life.

Both lose their meaning when one speaks about theology as framework for living. Sure, it is fine to have all sorts of convictions. How these are related to day to day life, it seems is the critical question. Much in the New Testament speaks of “self emptying.” Jesus himself commended the stance of servant to his most intimate friends. So what does it mean for theological inquiry to be the servant.

I want to play with the image of midwife as one that synthesizes both the framework that theological disciplines provide as well as embodying the spirit of the Jesus of the Gospels. A midwife is a servant with savvy. She has capacity born of experience. She takes the process of birth and serves those who are in the throes of it. She is not, herself, caught up in birth itself, but in the birthing process. We hurt ourselves when we so closely ally ourselves with the questions, “What will sell?” OR “What will work?”

A midwife, it is clear, attends birth. She has a gift to offer no matter how many times we are born!

We Begin. . .

My Border Collies, Maggie and Bridget, herd the Canada Geese in one of Battle Creek’s City Parks. At first, the goose chase seems an exercise in futility. Ever so slowly, the repeated visits shape the habits of master, dogs and geese. What appears to be a sudden thing, in fact, has taken weeks, sometimes months, of sustained effort. And then things fall into place. It is as if the entire gaggle has one mind.

People of faith suffer from neglect of a dialogue, a product of a highly personal and narcissistic spirituality so prevalent in today’s Church. These faith voices appear to be shouting back and forth, lacking a coherent center. This blog pursues those moments where the commonplace and the community work together to reveal the human quest with divine life. Such a sustained effort can create of a soul a community of souls. "A dialogue is a community of words," says a Quaker friend of mine. I hope that such a living community can be explored through these musings.

The conversation begins. I look forward to its emerging textures, the places where spirit and human life meet. You are invited to be a part of that conversation.