Truthful Action: Explorations in Practical Theology

241 Pages·2000·10.19 MB·English

by  Duncan B. Forrester

TRUTHFUL ACTION
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TRUTHFUL ACTION
Explorations in Practical Theology
DUNCAN B. FORRESTER
T&T CLARK
EDINBURGH
T&TCLARKLTD
59 GEORGE STREET
EDINBURGH EH2 2LQ
SCOTLAND
www.tandtclark.co.uk
Copyright © T&T Clark Ltd, 2000
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of T&T Clark Ltd.
First published 2000
ISBN 0 567 08747 6
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Typeset by Waverley Typesetters, Galashiels
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
Those who do what is true come to the light, so
that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have
been done in God.
John 3.21 (NRSV)
All thought exists for the sake of action. We try
to understand ourselves and our world only in
order that we may learn how to live.
R. G. Collingwood
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Contents
Introduction ix
Section One: Practical Theology: A Contradiction in Terms?
1 What Is Practice? 3
2 Theory and Practice 21
3 Practical Theology As an Academic Discipline 33
4 Practical Theology and Christian Ethics 45
Section Two: Issues in Church and Ministry
5 Transforming Ministry 61
6 Power and Pastoral Care 73
7 Liberating Worship 91
Section Three: Public Theology
8 Public Practical Theology 107
9 The Public Church Reborn 127
10 The Public Theology of a Servant People 143
Section Four: Diversities of Practice
11 Reformed Radical Orthodoxy: Can It Be Retrieved? 161
12 Ecumenical Practice: Reflections on Ecclesiology
and Ethics 185
13 The Practice of Mission: An Indian Case Study 203
Epilogue 221
Index 223
viii
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Introduction
The subject of practical theology, sometimes misleadmgly
called 'applied theology', is increasingly popular and growing
around the world. But in many ways it is like a teenager going
through an identity crisis. Within the discipline there are
many different understandings of what practical theology is
about and how it should be handled; tricky issues of substance
and methodology need to be faced and seldom are. In some
contexts, practical theology is little more than a loose amalgam
of skills-directed discussions, so that in a seminary or theological
college the study of pastoral care, homiletics, liturgy, Christian
education and so on are lumped together and labelled
'Practical Theology'. It is not always clear in what way this kind
of practical theology is actually theological.
The old idea that practical theology is simply 'hints and
tips' in ministry dies hard. Meanwhile, the rest of theology
is sometimes assumed to have little or no bearing on practice,
or what goes on in the world! 'Relevance' is left to the practical
theologians, and it is often believed that one can get away
with a kind of sloppy thought in practical fields which
would not be countenanced elsewhere in the theological
school. This is indeed a strange assumption. We would rightly
worry if we believed that professional training in clinical
medicine or social work, for example, was lacking in intellectual
rigour or cohesion. Surely, in as far as practical theology is
related to ministerial formation, it should be as emphatic as
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