The word theology has always scared me, because I didn’t know what it meant in practice – surely it couldn’t be something I would do!
Then I started studying it: the Foundation Degree that sits alongside my training for an Anglican License as a Reader/Lay Minister is in “Theology and Ministry”!!
Now I have a series of questions that help me “do” theology – they’re not exactly new, but it’s what I have to think to be able to make it something practical and relevant:
- Where is God in … ?
- What is God saying to us about … through a Bible passage, world event, or our personal prayer and reflection?
So:
What is the theology of this web/blog thingy?
God uses stuff that is dynamic (changing) and interactive with his creation (us) and with him. In this 21st century since he took direct action by entering the world in Jesus, one of the most dynamic and interactive forces in the world, is the web. I believe Christians should interact with and through it, not just between themselves in emails, but in a way that allows anyone to read, comment and question.
Writing that I know is a brave statement: one that I need to live up to. If you are reading this, then you will know that I’ve taken the step of trying to make my belief authentic, and be open to the consequences. Whether this web/blog has any success in making God visible, understandable and relevant to today’s world is something only you can decide.
The lectionary readings this year are often from Mark’s gospel. Reading something in Tom Wright’s ‘Mark for Everyone’ recently, about the ‘seed’ parables in Mark 4:26-34, I noted he talked about “striking fresh chords so that people will be teased into picking out the notes, and perhaps even into joining the song.” Could a ‘blog’ like this be a seed of that nature?
Since the other aim of this activity is as a template for the future website of the Mothers’ Union in the Diocese of Winchester, my long term hope is that God’s work through that organisation and it’s worldwide ‘family’ will be a way, where God’s more practical work can be witnessed to on the web.
My training is aimed at making me a teacher and preacher in the Church of England. However, I’ve come to recognise the limitations of my problem with ‘recall’ – I don’t remember quotations, references or even past thoughts, either spoken or read, very well. I constantly have to refer back to the sources of faint memories, as a way of clarifying them so they can become useful, in sermons or in writing (for the purposes of my training largely essays and projects, some of which will be available here soon, in case they’re useful to anyone else.)
Which is why I chose to name this web/blog ‘A Reader in Writing’ – it came from joke I made of the problem some months ago. It may be that this is part of what will be special or significant about my future ministry, or, it may not be.
So, is this theology?
Please use the comment boxes to tell me what you think – is this enterprise helping expand God’s web presence or is it simply an exercise in self-seeking pride of which I will need to repent later?
