A Message of Hope

I've been reading a book by Don Browning called, "A Fundamental Practical Theology" for my Ph.D. seminar. While it is a very technical, philosophical treatment of the issues surrounding the questions of Practical Theology (the disciplines of preaching, worship, pastoral care, Christian Ed., etc), Browning has one major thesis. It is one with which I struggle. Here it is.
All issues regarding practical theology (even theology in general) should go from the practice of a religious community (such as a church or of an individual) to theological reflection back to practical application. Browning would say it goes from practice to theology to practice.
Sounds pretty straightforward doesn't it. However, I have spent a lifetime being taught (especially as it relates to preaching) that you start with God's revelation and move from there to application. In other words, from theology to practice. I've also been taught that you come to these kinds of issues by losing all your preconceived prejudices and beliefs and try to look at the scripture or the situation in the life of the church objectively, without any preconceived notions or ideas. In other words, from theology to practice.

Browning challenges whether theologians or anyone in any field can fully devoid themselves of their preconceived ideas and become totally objective. In reality, Browning questions whether you should try and be objective. Instead, Browning suggests that we have to come to realize and accept the beliefs and perspectives we bring to an issue and confront them (you can tell he has a psychology background, can't you?). Well, that may all seem a bit technical for this blog, but I do have a point. Here it is. You are the sum of all you have experienced. Not only are we not made alike (or, to put it positively, we are all unique) but we are molded by all that we experience in life. I know I am a very different student coming to the classroom now after 31 years of pastoral experience than I was when I was doing my M.Div. studies nearly 20 years ago. I am no longer the man I was at 33 - nor am I supposed to be. I have grown, struggled, failed, succeeded, loved, been hurt, learned and become a very different person. In that sense, God is still making me into the person he wants me to be. And all those experiences - good and bad, happy and sad, hopeful and frustrating - are part of the shaping that God is doing in me . . . and in you.
We are not there yet. We are still becoming. And no matter where you are in that process, it is still a process. So, why should I devoid myself of this knowledge and experience when I come to the scriptures or the issues facing the church? If God has gone to all this to give me these experiences and create out of them an new me, why should I repress them and not consider them when I have to make a decision? Maybe that is Brownings real point. All of life and faith and belief is a journey in Practical Theology. And that journey starts with what I am doing now and why I do it; it moves from there to ask questions of the Word and the books and things I've learned that have molded me into who I am; and it finally concludes as I put into practice that which I have come to know about myself, about my God, about the truth of the bible, and about the truths of the faith. If that sounds like an ongoing journey that doesn't end here at this moment but continues on throughout life and beyond the grave, then you have caught my drift. And that is a message of Hope!