Total Church chapter 10

This chapter on Theology might, at first glance, seem to be uninteresting, but it really is the foundation for the ideology of this book. I like how the authors have approached the subject from the position that the only reason we know anything at all about God is because He has initiated our understanding of Himself. The chosen source of His revelation is His Word and therefore the Bible is the ultimate resource of understanding God. The section on "Mission-Centered Theology" emphasizes the responsibility of all Christians to be theologians in the sense of pursuing the knowledge of God through His Word and also of sharing that knowledge with others. All Christians should also allow the Word of God to transform them through a work of the Holy Spirit who makes the Word come to life in power.
The authors state that all theology should be shaped by a missionary hermeneutic. By this, they mean that the Word or knowledge of the Word must become alive in and through us. They state that unbelievers are not satisfied with pat answers, but rather need living proof through changed lives. I especially like the quote they use from Rene' Padilla that every culture makes it possible to show a new and unique aspect of the gospel and its ability to fit each culture. They say that these cultural mission opportunities allow us to discover what part of our belief system actually belongs to the gospel and which part is simply a product of our own cultural application to the gospel. Mission then helps us to filter our belief system and is vital to discovering truth. For example many Christians sit in auditoriums with belief about miracles and until miracles happen in their theater of safety, they have no intention of going into the world, but the reality is that going into the world defines our true understanding or belief about miracles because they follow the message of faith rather than proceeding.
Community-centered theology is also a powerful concept because it again forces us to live what we believe and brings our knowledge of God to the table of trial. In our daily interaction with each other we put our belief system to the test and discover what we really believe versus what we think we believe. I appreciate the authors emphasis that true theology "is not just about me and my Bible", page 158. Their argument for a more Anabaptist approach is compelling. I definitely like the idea of those who feel a drawing toward teaching and dissecting the Word gathering together to dig in together.
Lastly, their statements concerning the academic approach or scholarship of theology is interesting. I think there is a way to blend the two ideas of academic and local church, but it is certainly difficult if the student is not aware of how influential the professors can be and also how biased they are when they teach.