I'm a Baptist interested in ecumenism. Ever since I realized that there were groups of Christians who did things differently from my own Baptist church upbringing I've wondered, "what can Baptists learn from other Church groups?"
I realize, though, that I'm asking this question in a very particular way. I'm asking it in a very fragmentary manner, on a blog with posts, comments, facebook links, and so on. We can say at least that writing an "ecumenical blog," in this way, presupposes that writing in this setting can do something. This blog, then, is not only motivated by an ecumenical question, but it's also motivated by a more philosophical question: what is the best way to write about theology? What does it mean when we write about theology at all, whether in the customary form of academic papers in seminary classes or the more recent forms of theo-blogs or tumblrs?
If we believe, as folks like Karl Barth believe, that every believer has the vocation of a theologian and preacher as one called to proclaim the Word of God, what does it mean for the Church that a very small number of these believers ends up writing in the academic university discipline of theology? (or expressing elements of this discipline on internet theology blogs)
Maybe there's biblical precedent for the special selection of particular persons according to their spiritual or intellectual gifts. But I also think it is important for those who are working in the world we call "academic theology," those studying for degrees in university settings, to regularly think about what the Bible says about what they are doing. It is also important to think about the social "side effects" of a university education and how it might set you apart from others. What kind of language or dispositions does a university education give you that you might not realize? There are a lot of great recent books on this, two examples being James KA Smith's Desiring the Kingdom (which analyzes the "secular" nature of university formation, even in confessionally Christian schools), and Kathryn Tanner's Theories of Culture, which points out how academic theology is a customary institution that can blind theologians to the realities of the Church they serve.
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Yes! I feel you here. I am so grateful for my theological education, but on the other hand it makes it a real task to relate to my parishioners, many whom don't have more than a high school education. I haven't developed a "theory" of how to tackle this challenge, but at this point I guess I act as a translator between the theology I've received in education and the faith lived out "on the ground" by my church members. Inevitably things get lost in the translation, and sometimes I make, ummm, "expedient compromises" in my preaching and teaching that would have been frowned on back at school, but they seem necessary in order to gently lead my people into a fuller knowledge of the faith. Keep thinking about this please! I think lots of us Duke graduates need help with this, now they we are out working in the local church.
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