“In the beginning God raised Jesus from the dead” ~Michael W. Pahl
(From Resurrection to New Creation: A First Journey in Christian Theology)
Where does theology come from? Where is it going? How does it all fit together? Theology is the handmaiden of mission, but too often mission becomes the prisoner of an overly propositional theology. Theology at its best is here to help us tell the story of God rightly, not reconstruct the story into a joyless system.
Geoff Holsclaw and special guest Scott Jones talk about “theology” as holding together the 1) Word OF God, 2) words TO God, and 3) words ABOUT God, relating them to make a theology on mission.
Learn more about theology and mission and how Northern Seminary is Live Streaming Seminary to you. Join us for a Virtual Open House
on Tuesday, August 16th at 7pm.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mockingcast (Stitcher, iTunes), the podcast of Mockingbird Ministries, and excellent resource for connecting the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in fresh and down-to-earth ways.
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.