Another Theology Is Just Out There

In The Cross in Our Context: Jesus and the Suffering World (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003), Douglas John Hall writes:

We are at the beginning of a period in which many things will have to be tried. A few will work; many will not. But the place where the courage to attempt something different—something by way of participation in the worldly suffering of God—begins is thinking critically about the theology that has accomplished Christendom and asking for another theology. Not just for a new strategy, or greater commitment to social programs, or more exciting liturgies, or more sincere spirituality—no, for a different theology. And I am comforted by the thought that we do not have to invent such a theology. Unlike what passes for art today, theology does not thrive on novelty! The theology that we need is already there, and indeed it is impressively and profoundly there—from the Old Testament onwards! It is really just a matter of letting go of some of our conditioned beliefs and assumptions and allowing what is there to speak to us as we are, where we are, and when we are. (p. 178)

We are always in the theology on the way, constantly searching for a right model for contemporary churches. In the discussion of “the crisis of Christendom” in the West, Douglas Hall points out that many people (young people in particular) confess Christ and yet condemn the church. “Can any apology for the church today realistically provide young people with a positive way of thinking about the link between Christian faith and church affiliation?” (p. 176) This kind of question can only be bridged by theological integrity, sensitivity, and relevance.

I always believe that our theologizing task is locally conditioned by who we are, where we are, and when we are. As long as we, as pastors and leaders, pay enough attention to the experience of the congregation and listen to their needs with great attentiveness, we are almost there to develop another theology to theologize the task of pastoral ministry. We tend to look for another strategy, another program, another commitment, and another slogan to keep the church going. I think that the reason why we want to do that is because we don’t want the experience of a people of God to captivate the direction of ministry. In other words, we, as pastors and leaders, do not want another theology, but our theology in order to make sense in our religious thoughts. As leaders and pastors, we do have the responsibility to discern the direction of the church. But it is theologically and pastorally irresponsible to captivate it at the expense of the whole experience of a people of God. The church is made up of redeemed souls who confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. The experience of this redeemed community helps us discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit in which we discern how to theologize the word of God in this particular local context and integrate it in the congregational experience.

Moltmann said that “to know God is to suffer God…But to suffer means to be changed and transformed.” [Theology of Hope (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), p. 118]. As long as we remain in ourselves and pay little/no attention to a people of God, we live in a closed system in which we remain unchanged and untransformed. We are called to follow Christ, implying that we are called to suffer. We suffer in a sense that our surrounding constantly exposes our idols and we are expected to be confronted, changed, and transformed. Another theology is not developed in our fervent prayer but in the midst of a prayerful community.