Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Jim Wilson
Read between
July 9 - July 16, 2021
Often theological reflection is promoted as a way to apply theological truth to Christian practice.
Our approach is more of a micro perspective concerned with using theological reflection to determine the appropriate responses to specific ministry situations. Ministers are to apply their theology to their ministry practice.
As an integrative tool, theological reflection attempts to bring together biblical, historical, doctrinal, and practical data with the real-world practice of ministry, all through a reflective process. It builds a bridge between lofty theological ideas and the application of those ideas in the real world. Our approach serves that end, using theological reflection as a way of informing ministry practice.
Ministry effectiveness, as important as it is, is not enough. In one sense, we could say, “mission accomplished.” The thirsty people and livestock drank water that was gushing from a rock. But in another sense, this was one of Moses’s lowest ministry moments. Because of his actions, he would be prohibited from leading the people into the promised land (Num. 20:12).
Moses left God out of his ministry execution. He did not even mention God. According to Moses, he and Aaron gave the people water. Filled with anger, Moses ignored what God told him to do. Instead of speaking to the rock, he struck it. This was not the first time Moses’s anger got him into trouble (Ex. 2).
Moses’s disobedience did not happen in a vacuum. He was going through a rough time. He had just buried his sister Miriam (Num. 20:1) and was facing growing opposition from the people he served. “Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron” (Num. 20:2). You would have thought that right after Moses buried his sister, the people would have come together to support and encourage him, but they didn’t. They did not assemble for their leaders. They assembled against them.
Moses’s disobedience was not just a personal matter between him and God. It was not just about his spiritual health and relationship with God. He failed in his ministry practice. He did not apply the resources of faith to ministry.5 It was not enough that his ministry was successful, that the water gushed out of the rock. Neither was it enough that he knew what God wanted him to do. God requires obedience.
What if Moses would have paused before he struck the rock? Would he have ministered differently? No doubt he was reacting out of his grief, frustration, and fatigue.
The clear testimony of Scripture is that God requires obedience. Faithful ministry occurs when we close the gap between what we believe and how we actually live and minister. That discrepancy—the distance between our aspirational and actualized faith—is our growth potential. However, that gap is never closed without thoughtful reflection.
Closing the gap requires a pause in the action long enough to reflect and make adjustments before acting again. It is a pause to understand, yes. But more than that, it is a pause to allow faith to shape ministry responses. Whether done individually or in community, a pause for theological reflection is necessary.
At a Glance • Theological reflection is modeled after a pattern found in the creation narrative. • Theological reflection is a deeply spiritual activity requiring self-awareness, awareness of God’s activities, a spirit of humility, and constant prayer. • Theological reflection moves through three stages: identifying, aligning, and exploring.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION IS . . . . . . identifying how our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings influence our actions, aligning them to our best understanding of God’s truth, and exploring possibilities for future ministry responses.
Out of this observation of a previous action came a resolve for a new action: the forming of a suitable helper for Adam.
Before exploring the definition further, it is important to underscore that theological reflection requires God’s guidance. The entire process must be bathed in prayer and guided by the Holy Spirit. Theological reflection cannot be done effectively without God’s help. Each of the following comments must be understood in light of this observation.
They should reflect on past activity so they can discover if it was as effective as it could have been and how they can minister in ways that are more aligned with their understanding of God’s truth.
Theological reflection involves thinking backwards to assess past ministry actions and then applying that experience with honest critique to present and future ministry opportunities.
To them, action/practice/praxis is the source of true education, true theological understanding, and true ministry practice. These groups taught that theoretical concepts, and even the theological propositions from systematic theology, are valuable only to the degree that they help guide critical reflection on practice. In summary, in the theology-in-action approach, orthopraxis (right practice) trumps orthodoxy (right belief).
Our approach is different. We focus on altering future ministry actions, not current beliefs.
When done right, reflection transforms us, helping us become the kind of people God wants us to be.
Theological reflection begins “in the middle of things.”15 The minister approaches a ministry opportunity situated firmly in the middle of multiple realities, in the middle of a specific congregation, a larger community, family relationships, ministry relationships, (chronologically) an increasingly complex problem or situation that began and developed before the minister arrived, and (theologically) a situation that lands in the middle of multiple doctrines. Ministers must take into account all these “middles” as they begin responding well.
A minister begins the thinking process by asking this question: What is really going on in this ministry situation?
Though the intense inward focus of this starting point seems subjective, it is valuable for ministers to take a deep dive into their personal contexts, commitments, relationships, and roles as an assessment exercise to help set a good course for theological reflection.
In reflection, once we identify what we were feeling, we can come up with a response more in line with our theology and understanding of educational theory.
Scripture should be the first and primary source for the reflection process.
Miroslav Volf says that people should approach Scripture with a “hermeneutic of respect”—that is, an “attitude of receptivity” and belief, commensurate with the fact that God has revealed himself in its pages.
In a sense, ministers take a risk when they reflect on God’s Word, seek wisdom through prayer, and consult other trusted sources. The outcome of such reflection may be radically different than what they expected at the outset of the process, but the risk must be taken for theological reflection to bear mature fruit. Such “risky behavior” is synonymous with what Tod Bolsinger calls “adaptive capacity”—the ability to respond effectively to new situations amid changing dynamics, or the capacity to adapt and minister well.37
There are certain truths wrapped up in “the mysterious and indefinable aspects of human experience” that can be communicated best through story.
The corporate story can also point the pastor to the seeds of a long-simmering congregational rift or to the real story behind the people’s reticence to enter into a building program, sing or not sing certain songs, or adopt a new discipleship approach.
Compassion, giving of self, being a neighbor to all, and sacrificing for others are theological themes exemplified by the Good Samaritan in his ministry and absent from the priest’s and Levite’s responses.
Did anything need to happen at all? The easiest course of action may be to do something—anything. But the best course of action may be to do nothing at all. As important as action is to the end of this reflection loop, the wrong action could be disastrous. Consider the possibility that doing nothing may be the best action to take.
Did someone try to control the experience with God talk? The book of Proverbs is filled with examples of smooth talkers whose words are actual traps (2:16; 7:5; 10:19; 18:8). Just because stakeholders in a ministry situation invoke the Lord’s name or say all the right, proper, and popular spiritual words, it does not mean they are being truthful, objective, or godly. In fact, too much “God talk” may betray people’s selfish desires to manipulate a ministry situation.
The body of Christ is both the recipient and beneficiary of the fruit of theological reflection (1 Cor. 12:12–27). This does not mean that Christians alone benefit from ministers’ reflection and response. But it does mean that ministers undertake theological reflection, for the benefit of the nonbelieving world, on behalf of the church body in which they minister. Theological reflection in this case is an outreach and ministry of the local church to the world at large.29
By warning them of the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod, Jesus was directing them into reflection, “but the disciples showed little interest in probing metaphors. They sidestepped the parabolic language and focused their mental powers on the literal facts: they had not brought any bread with them.”
Receiving feedback can be uncomfortable. Even when the feedback is accurate, it can be traumatic to hear.9 How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus chastised them in Mark 8:17–21? We suspect Jesus got their attention.
If given and received in a loving, caring environment, feedback can benefit ministers by providing them with needed encouragement and information.
Ministers need truthful, accurate information from people who are invested in their success—cheerleading critics if you will.
Support team members often will give you a “snapshot in time” evaluation of how the sermon or elders’ meeting went—some will be flattering, and some will not, but the real-time feedback is invaluable for course correction.
Most people have two kinds of ideas: good ideas and bad ideas. However, they are not always able to know the difference between the two. Rather than spending time, energy, and money chasing a bad idea, it is helpful to hear from an assayer if your idea isn’t gold, if it is iron pyrite—fool’s gold.
Unless a line of communication is open, ministers will never know what it feels like to be ministered to by them.
At a Glance • Journaling is rooted in church history and has theological significance. • The journaling process helps ministers pay attention to God’s activity in their lives and ministries. • Ministers can structure the journal to facilitate spontaneous reflection while creating an artifact for future analysis.
While it takes much less effort to tell a story than to write one, to have an easily assessable record for future reference, nothing substitutes for a written journal. The journal can be conversational and does not have to be polished prose.
When they are not, the throbbing pain can prevent us from fully understanding how God is at work shaping us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). In retrospect, ministers are able to revisit the difficult seasons of their lives and explore how God was using the pain to prepare them for the future. It was after introspection that Joseph was able to say, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20).
Energy management is as important, if not more important, than time management. If you do not have physical or mental energy to do something, designating time for it will not help. You have to have the time and energy.
In simple terms, introverts tend to focus mental energy in their interior world (thinking, reflecting, writing, planning), while extroverts tend to focus mental energy in their exterior world (talking, interacting with groups, being around others).
However, their behavior is not indicative of their preference. They have adapted to their ministerial role. That does not mean that they are extroverts, just that they can function as an extrovert at an extreme cost to their mental energy.
Examining your time/energy portfolio, notice when you tend to do unurgent and unimportant activities. They are likely at low-energy times of your weekly energy cycle. Because you have no reserves to do deep thinking or interact with people, you migrate toward mindless, trivial activities. A better approach is to plan your activities around your energy cycle.
Another way to build margin into your day is to avoid scheduling a full day. Instead, schedule no more than six hours of work in a given day because the other two to four hours of work will find you. Keep some margin in your week and your day so that you can respond to needs as they arise.
Pastors can schedule specific things in their time/energy portfolio to replenish their mental energy throughout the day. In The Introvert Advantage, Marti Olsen Laney writes, “Like a dam that harnesses the flow of a river in order to utilize its power, you should store up energy to spend extroverting.”13 The same is true for extroverts; they can store up their energy for introverting activities.
In Jesus’s high priestly prayer, he prayed, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). By praying this, he was not claiming that he had healed every sick person, cast out every demon, or fed all the hungry people. There was unfinished work, but Jesus had fulfilled his purpose—he had accomplished his specific calling.
1. The open door principle (Acts 16:6–10). You can never accept an assignment that is not offered to you. If the door is not open, then you should not attempt to force it open. 2. The singing heart principle (Ps. 16:9). If God has made you for the assignment, then doing it will make your heart sing—it will bring you great joy. 3. The blessing principle (Acts 13). Your counselors, close friends, and family will see that you are made for the assignment and will give you their blessing. Sometimes they see it before you do. 4. The Inner-peace principle (John 16:33). God gives you a peace when you
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