Leaping Out Of Theology

I am a self-proclaimed geek. I always have been, and I always will be. The unfortunate part of this fact is that I get soaked into the theory, and I miss the practical side of the theory. Theories are easy. They are concrete. They are definite. They can be shown and examined. They can be argued and proven. In theology, the theory is often very difficult when practice is introduced.

Sin is sin. Sin has consequences, but it is forgiven in Christ. We are called as Christians to judge in ways that we wish to be judged (and, for me, that is not all that much.) We are also called to forgive. As a matter of fact, the Lord's prayer says, "Forgive our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us." (YIKES!) And, these are great theories! But, the stark reality of life is the fact that Christians need more than blanket acceptance and ignorant approval of sin. Yes, hate the sin and love the sinner. Good theory. But, I have met many sinners who define themselves, their own lives, and their lifestyle by their sin. There is a delicate line that exists where we allow a person to work through his or her own problems and we begin to get trampled on and taken advantage of. The theory is rock solid, and it is still true. It can be argued, and it can be eloquently expressed. The practice of the theory is often convoluted and messy.

The church is the people in whom the Spirit of God dwells. This is a great theory. It can be argued and expressed. My last sermon at Rural Hill Church of Christ was on this very topic. I don't like to toot my own horn, but (toot toot) I think I expressed the background and comprehensive theology well and at the level of my audience. There are some dangerous applications to that theology. For instance, buildings may be one of the worst ideas and sponges of resources ever! I mean, we spend millions of dollars on a meeting place when that money could go to something or someone else. Also, organizational ministries that target specific demographics, people groups, and age ranges are not always the best idea. The early church was a conglomeration of many different peoples. They were all together, and they had relatively few disputes. Some people will also use this theory to go off and do whatever they wanted to in the first place, because "they are the church." On top of the fact that we look nothing like the early church, that was not the intent of the theory. But, does not that raise a whole new set of questions? What is the intent of the theory? What was the situation to which the scriptures were written? Why did the author mention that story? All of these are unanswerable, but significant, questions. The theory is air-tight, but the practice may even be heresy at the extremes.

A major complaint that I have with my $80000 dollar education from Lipscomb University is that my degree states that I am prepared for ministry, but I was prepared for theology with my degree with little emphasis on ministry. But, now that I am a teacher, I cannot blame the professors. The ivory tower of academia is easier to teach. How could anyone teach "messy"? One cannot test on messy. One cannot find simple ways to assess comprehensive understanding of subjective and situational practice of theory. You cannot quiz on "maybe." When my ministry or school students ask me for an opinion on a topic, I default to theory. The reason is that I believe that, if they grasp the theory, they will one day be able to answer the question they asked, but they are often not wanting me to answer the question they asked... it is another question entirely hidden behind their question. I know this, because I did it.

For most people, the embedded theology that dwells within the person will become his or her practice. Sometimes, two separate theories form the same practice. So, we should not be quick to assume that, merely because one chooses to take communion every Sunday, one is a legalist. However, we must be very careful that all theory and all theology points to the most important aspect of the Gospel in practice: "Love God with all you are" and "Love your neighbor as your self." Any theology or theory that deviates from these two commands has missed the point. And, any practice that spawns from theory (even good theory...) that does not practice these commands is not right.

In life, we must jump beyond the practice of designing and learning theology to the messy world of living out our ideals. At times, we must surround ourselves with the very people we believe are sinning in order to show them a savior. Sometimes, we must practice what we preach. Thus, we must preach with grace and humility.