This fall I am teaching a new course at Northern Seminary entitled “Missional Theology: Towards a Theology that Shapes a People for Mission.” It will meet Mondays 4-6:40 p.m. for the Fall quarter.
The premise for the course is that the ways we articulate our beliefs, and the ways we in turn practice them, shape us into a certain “kind of people” with a certain disposition in the world. Theology, in other words, is spiritual formation for the community of Christ. We need then to ask “how is our belief and practice shaping us into His Mission as the people of God.” “How is our belief and practice shaping us into a people whose very character is congruent with the gospel we proclaim?” There are missional theologies (both biblical and systematic) that have sought to articulate our beliefs according to the driving theme (rubric) of Missio Dei. What I am aiming for here is a little different. I am actually seeking a theology that, in its practice, shapes a people in disposition (hospitality, love, patience, rootedness, compassion, kindness, integrity, authenticity, justice,etc.) so as to embody the gospel in the world. So often the ways we have articulated and practiced the doctrines of Scripture, Church and Salvation have worked contra the gospel, to produce a people who are either judgmental or defensive or hypocritical or dispassionate. By opting out of some of our bad theological habits of the past, and without compromising one iota of orthodoxy, I contend we can articulate our basic beliefs concerning Scripture, the church in the world, and the salvation we have in Christ Jesus in a way that shapes us for Mission.
Here’s the course description from the syllabus.
TH 423 Missional Theology” explores the ways our belief and practice shape a people for Mission. Theology in the West has often erred by separating doctrine from life (praxis). A missional theology however is a belief (and a corresponding practice to that belief) that shapes a people for the social incarnational presence/ministry of the gospel in the world. Bringing to bear the fields of political theory and political theology, we will develop a method to explore this connection of belief to life, the shaping of a community into the Mission of God. We will specifically explore the ways we talk about and practice Scripture, the Church and Salvation and how each doctrinal expression shapes the very character of a community for Mission. We will focus heavily on traditional evangelical theology and practice as our test case for whether a theology is ‘missional’ or not (as I have defined it). We will then play off this exploration to draw on multiple sources to articulate a theology (and corresponding practices) for each of these three doctrines that is decidedly ‘Missional.’ The course will conclude with each student examining his/her own inherited doctrine and practice in the same manner with the goal of each student being capable of extending their theological practice towards the shaping a people for the Mission of God.
A pre-requisite for the course is having already passed/excelled in the Christian Theology sequence of Northern or another seminary. This course requires the student be motivated to engage in some challenging reading material.
If anyone is interested in the course let me (e-mail me at fitchest@gmail.com) or admissions at Northern know. We’ll figure out a way to get you in.
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David,
This course looks great. I am trying to audit a church planting class with you sometime in the future.
I have a random question I’d like to ask you – though it does connect with the church as the embodiment of the gospel to the world.
What do you make of the “people of peace” missionary method found in Luke 10? Particularly treatments of it by Neil Cole and David Watson.
I ask because the “person of peace” method for starting churches seems to compete a little bit with the church as embodiment paradigm you’re espousing for church planting – given that in the former model, there is no church to embody anything (except for the church planter). The church starts as a person of peace acts as a gateway for their social unit / household to come to faith.
In my own practice, I have leaned more toward the embodiment paradigm. But lately I’m being challenged to seek ways to incorporate the people of peace approach. Perhaps the two are not mutually exclusive. And surely it’s not either / or but both / and.
Any thoughts?
Charles,
I don’t know Watson real well, I know Neil Cole’s work a little more, but on the surface I see much to agree with and heartily affirm. I think I agree with them on the “person of peace,” although I wouldn’t turn it into as specific of a strategy as they seem to … they define it a little narrowly for me. But even as it is, I don’t see their description of “the person of peace” as contra to the paradyms I’m comfortable (missional orders. missional communities – communal embodiment as yu say) … am I missing something?
I resonate with some of what Watson says about “teaching” in the church as well … There is too little formation into obedience and faithfulness to Christ in our teaching of Scriptures in the West; If there’s some areas of discomfort with Cole and Watson, I might be wary towards their seeming diminishment of “authorized” leadership. I believe churches need trained leaders capable of understanding the Scriptures and carrying on ‘The Story’ our life in Christ until He returns.
Blessings on your labors… hope to meet along the way.
The course sounds pretty impressive. Will you be referencing Hauerwas and Kallenberg?
Most of the “heavy lifting” will be done with Barth, de Lubas and Milbank. Hauerwas will certainly be a b ack-drop but he won’t be in the reading. At least that’s what we have in there now.
Wish I could take that class. Being in Dallas might make it hard for me to get to class on time.
It sounds wonderful.
I’d be curious to know the reading list.
David,
Thanks so much for your continued work in this area. A big thanks for the last post re: fears of planting.
Question about the current course (though I realize that only so much will fit within one course): How much, if at all, will healing be a part of “a theology that shapes people for mission”?
It’s a topic that I’m glad Guder & friends were really explicit about in Missional Church, but I don’t tend to see picked up by many other missional or emerging circles in practice, no matter how much Jesus and the gospels become the focal point of study.
Thanks again.
T – divine healing has a role to play in church period for me … and it is an extension of the Lordship of Christ … but I’d like to know more of what you meangy the connection between healing and Missional Theology.
Ron,
i had hoped to have the tentative syllabus up there on the Northern website alreay. It should be up there soon complete with tentaive readings schedule.
David, I don’t know if I could answer your question much better than Guder & Co. in Missional Church pp. 133-135. In essence, to the extent that Jesus’ own ways of furthering the mission of God inform and shape our own, then the practice of healing (in the broader sense but certainly also in the sense of the typical NT occurrence) would have to be a significant activity within the mission of God.
Unfortunately, straight physical healing either gets hyped up and co-opted into someone else’s mission, or, on the other hand, ignored, at least in practice, especially as the intellectualism of a given group goes up, which tends to be common in folks who would identify themselves as missional (myself included–I’m a tax lawyer by trade for crying out loud!). In either event, there doesn’t end up being a lot of theologically sound and action-oriented training/practice of healing that is comes out of and is shaped by a missional perspective. Which is really ironic, given missional folks desire to minister among the most broken and poor folks in the way of Jesus, and given the renewed focus on Jesus as the chief revealer of the mission.
David,
You are doing some amazing things there. It is so cool to hear about it and read about it. Very encouraging and thought provoking stuff on this blog. You are pioneering a form of missional training that is well needed in our time and place. Thanks a ton!