Theological Reflection

My theological core identity forms and informs my theological method. If the purpose of theology is to generate an understanding of faith that transforms communities into the image of Jesus, then my theological method should function coherently to lead to such transformation. As people live out their faith, theological reflection enables them to engage in practices and godly lives that honor God. My understanding corresponds with Elaine Graham’s proposals about theological reflection. “First, theology informs the processes that enable the formation of character. Second, theology assists in building and maintaining the community of faith. Third, theology enables the relating of the faith-community’s own communal identity to the surrounding culture, and the communication of the faith to the wider world” (Graham, Elaine L., et al. Theological Reflection: Methods. Vol. 1. Norwich, UK: SCM, 2005).

     Most theological reflective methods rely upon some form of an action-reflection model. A consistent pastoral practice of action-reflection that leads to further intentional action will transform people over time into a community that engages the life of God for the sake of the world. Ministers become proactive learners and risk takers by moving into the center of the learning situation. Expertise is reflexive, problem-based, intuitive, and synthetic. It is always contextual to and contingent on a particular situation. Becoming a reflective practitioner is a strenuous and ongoing journey, but that process can become a natural part of everyday thinking, deciding, and acting. Over time, the twin assets of sapience and habitus emerge.

     In order to examine experience, I will need detailed access to primary data that allows for examination. Verbatim accounts, critical incident reports, case studies, journal entries, field notes, interviews, questionnaires, and other qualitative data provide ample evidence for consideration. Critical reflexivity sees the polyvalent aspects of motives, outcomes, influences, interpretations, etc. Examining the layers, sharp corners, and textures of a community’s lived experience will bring to light aspects that are often marginalized or rationalized by simplistic thinking or hegemonic motives. Faith and its practices are not objects to be examined, but are embodied. Practical theology reflects on faith as a performative and embodied act, that the gospel is not simply something to be believed but also something to be lived. Human experience is a place where the gospel is grounded, embodied, interpreted, and lived out. The beginning point for reflection is lived experience.

    The second angle or source for theological reflection is the particular context or location where I live or the church dwells. Context includes examining the diverse intercultural settings that surround us.

     The third angle or source for theological reflection involves various theological resources. Scripture, church history, creeds, ecclesial traditions, and personal faith not only inform my discernment but also transform how I interpret my experiences and the culture around me. My method requires that these resources be aware and respectful of each other. My theological convictions call me to respect the theological resources carefully as an invitation to see God more clearly. Theological resources provide a vision for the future that is based upon the ongoing story of God’s working in the world. This angle offers God’s grace and challenge.

     The triangulation of the three angles of interpretation emerges as the key aspect of how my theological reflection model works. The three angles enter into a trialogue with one another.

     After the trialogue with experience, context, and theology, a person makes a decision that leads to action. I define action as beliefs, habits, and practices. These actions will lead to new lived experiences. And the cycle continues. Over time, this becomes a way of seeing and a way of being in the world. Throughout the process, I keep my theological core identity present: practicing faith to transform communities of practice into the image of our Triune God for the sake of the world. When I think explicitly about “what theology” I am doing, it is a constructive ecclesiology as a contextually performative theologian. And whether I am talking about preaching, counseling, leadership, or another ministerial practice, I am playing the tune of practical theology as enacted faith. My reflexive self will allow a heuristic process so that method shapes identity and identity forms method. Effective ministers will have a theological method that engages in a triadic reflection that leads to action that establishes practices for the sake of the world. And in time and location, God’s glory is revealed.

     The local community can engage in the same “action to reflection to change” model that I have described for an individual. Communal theological reflection that is intentional will move the congregation to the telos of being transformed into the image of Jesus. In other places, Paul would describe the process as sanctification. Eventually, the intersections of inconsistencies between beliefs and practices will be transformed into highways that lead to lives that honor God and churches that are glorious to behold.