Making a Start : Being More Thoughtful and Theologically Reflective

So here goes. I need to reflect more.  There are a number of reasons for trying to be more thoughtful and theological reflective (and here’s my first reflection!)…  

1. I want to learn and live joyfully, close to Jesus. 

2. It is an area for my development and spiritual formation at William Booth College. I am not naturally a reflector so this is going to be a challenge!

3. I have realized from working on a very challenging international working group that I need to take more time to do some theology in order to give the ministry and mission here some strong context and purpose. Essentially, I want to connect my faith to my actions.

4. I want to know more about myself

5. I want to make better decisions in my role through having an informed faith.

6. I need to be more biblically and theologically literate, particularly in my area of mission

7. I want to see if there is any change in my views over the coming months. ( It was Thomas Merton who was supposed to have said ‘If the you of five years ago would not consider the you of today a heretic, you are not growing spiritually.’

So here goes, here’s my starting point. Here are the foundations of my faith and views at the moment:

• I am not an inspirational preacher, I never will be. I am not an academic, I never will be. I am not a theologian, I never will be. I am just an ordinary Christian with a heart for the poor and the marginalized trying to live faithfully and love better.
•  I very much see myself agreeing with Rev Roger Wolsey and lean towards viewing the bible through a hermeneutic of compassion, love and justice.
• l really like the strapline that Tearfund use for its work – ‘to draw people, through love, to faith in Christ’. Well I think that is what I am trying to do! Rightly or wrongly, that is the extent of my evangelical zeal and approach.
• Incidentally, I find liberal and progressive theology much more in line with my thinking than the evangelicals.
• I have made many many mistakes in my life but I believe every day God is transforming my life and as a result I want to play a part in the transformation change of others, both individuals and communities.  . (’ My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure.’ (Zimbabwian pastor)).
• I believe in the power of the gospel to transform lives and as a result I believe that the church exists to make a difference. I want my church to make a difference!
• I believe (and I understand that this might be a wee bit controversial) that social justice is now the Church’s most effective point of contact with the world. It’s the best starting point now and that’s one of the reasons I belong to The Salvation Army because it is committed to fighting for social justice, despite struggling with some of its doctrinal stances (more about that later).
• Transformation is the work of a community.  We do as much as we can in community with others. I am not going to do anything here in Kenya on my own that will make any lasting difference; it can only be done in community.  (‘The gospel message is a way of living with Christ and each other than enables the ministry of word, deed and sign’ Bryant Myers)
• I am open to learning from other faiths, who are part of our community and can offer valuable insights and different perspectives. 

I could write more but those are the foundations of my faith and over the next few weeks I intend to explore whether they are strong enough to build on. Comments from and discussion with architects, consultant and developers along the journey would be most helpful and welcome!