This paragraph from the first chapter of Ward, under the section heading ‘Absorbing’, seems to encapsulate the circular model of practical theology, as I understand it. Particularly in the last sentence: 

“We absorb the knowledge of God, and in turn we find ourselves absorbed into the life of God. We take in theology through our participation in the life of the Christian community, through fellowship, preaching, missional action in the world, singing songs, and the sacraments; as we do so, this sharing takes us up into the life of God. Absorbed theology in this sense is the most basic and ordinary form of practical theology. We live out of our absorbed theology. Practical theology in all of its manifestations starts from this residue within us that has been shaped by the life of the Christian community.”

I come to this, as an Evangelical CoE, with reservations. The excesses that the lived theological or experiential approach has resulted in in my church and some others seems to me an object lesson in what can go wrong. This is most evident in those areas where experience has actually overriden doctrine. And whilst there is an argument that experience itself determines how we interpret scripture, I think that this is overstated given that we have a cloud of historical witnesses to draw on.

Having said this, children and families face problems arising from our culture and communities for which simple applications of scripture are not always possible. This is the big challenge, I guess – how do we minister in these situations and how does it shape our approach? Prayer and discernment must surely be central, which seems to be what Collins’ model is getting at?

I found the three c's (celebration, communication, critique) of theology and the five practices (remembering, absorbing, noticing, selecting, expressing) a useful framework work for thinking about what we can do with theology. Nevertheless I have some reservations, particularly around "expressing". Firstly, I think we can all too easily delude ourselves that everything we do in a church community is an "expression" of some noble theological idea. Interacting on Facebook can descend quickly into conflict between church members; WhatsApp groups can become narrow echo chambers of personal grievances rather than express Christ-likeness. Secondly, I get that "expression" is a broad category for any number of ministries by individuals and groups, but I was surprised that a stronger connection was not made to ideas of service, discipleship and obedience. All three seem crucial to me, if we are to avoid slipping into a churchy expressive individualism. Perhaps these concepts come to the fore later in the book? Finally, I was challenged by the idea of 'losing one's bearings' as normal (!), insofar as it lead us to note the flaws in our practice/theology.

I enjoyed Ward’s section on noticing and especially this quote, talking about intercessory prayer: “These kinds of prayer ministries embody an ordinary form of theology. They perform and make present the practical theology of a God who sees and, above all, cares. Praying for others becomes a way of noticing suffering and hardship.” I think Christians often emphasise the importance of not just using prayer as a means to ask God for things, for example health for themselves and others, rather being sure that in prayer we praise God and just wonder in his awesomeness. I think this emphasis is vital as so often we treat God as a vending machine, and yet I think this emphasis can be unhelpful as, in my own experience, it can put a negative light on asking things from God. Here Ward really brings us to the heart of it, by showing how doing practical theology really helps us better understand these aspects of prayer. By praying a prayer of desire we express a belief in a Father who cares for us in the details as well as in the big things. Asking in itself, if done rightly, is in itself theological. Likewise, praying a prayer of praise expresses the joy found in God. This is something I found very helpful. Our experiences and our theology collide in simply trusting God to be a listening and caring God!

"Everyone makes choices in life, and Christians generally try to make choices that are shaped by their faith"

I agree with this statement, and as Ward seems to imply from the rest of the chapter, it is of fundamental importance to have the correct theology on top of which our faith is based.

Unfortunately, I've been a witness multiple times of how "bad" theology, especially when done with sincere faith, can bring sorrow, bitterness and destruction.

Surely our experiences enrich and give meaning to our theology, but our beliefs (and therefore practices) should always be dependant and submitted to the Word of God, to a correct view and understanding of the Word of God. As some theologians assert: "We should let what the Bible says to dictate our theology, and not our theology to dictate what the Bible says".

Foremost, we have to be aware that we all are biased, by our upbringing, church traditions and personal experiences; and with a humble heart and an open mind, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have to cut off or correct any errors that might be there. Only then, with proper theology, our practices of faith can be built up, and we can make proper choices that reflect our identity in Christ.

I have found the "experience of church" to be the new buzz word used by seekers in the American churches. They often state it wasn't quite the experience I was looking for when church shopping as we call it. I don't personally thing once should prioritize experience but with the climate of today's society being what it is. Those who are exploring church may not understand that what feels best as and experience may be leaving them open to bad doctrine or misapplication of Theology. Near the end of the chapter it says "Another example of changes that seem to require us to rethink how we practice faith is the experience of globalization. The exposure to 24/7 live news brings the multicultural and religiously pluralistic nature of the world into our living rooms. At the same time, mass migration means that most of us live in communities that are many times more diverse than our parents ever experienced. With a much more developed awareness of the different kinds of faith comes the need to reexamine previous certainties."

This brings to light the fact that it feels like the world we live in changes so often that it is understandable why some may say that churches have an old way of thinking.

Society is faced with new challenges and practical theology can bring new applications of doctrine to enable different people to understand in ways that fit them best. It's not possible for everyone to be expected to fit a cookie cutter mold of theology and doctrine.

I look forward to comments and conversations on this chapter and the others ahead.

I found his definition of practical theology as a category enriched by the ordinary aspects of Christian life particularly interesting. He writes: “At its heart, there is something ordinary and everyday about practical theology. One of the leading practical theologians in the United Kingdom, Jeff Astley, speaks about the ‘ordinary theology’ of believers.”

I found the use of the word ordinary a bit challenging. I understand that he means the common ways in which the church lives out its faith. Still, I wonder if the word ordinary does justice to the extraordinary nature of practices such as singing and preaching. Perhaps habitual or even just everyday (as he also uses) might be more helpful, so as not to suggest that these practices are merely ordinary and that we should be looking elsewhere for the extraordinary.

His use of language and technical terms are useful, though at times difficult to follow. Still, it was a lovely read and very informative, and I’ve been both encouraged and challenged to think more deeply about these things.

"Rowan Williams says that the theologian always starts “in the middle of things.” Being in the middle means that there is no defined starting point or clear methodology for theology. We are simply where we are. Most significantly, every believer is situated in the life, thought, and practices of a community. Theologians learn to think about God by sharing in a communal conversation that characterizes church. So while practical theology may be complex and at times hard to pin down, a clue to making any sense of it lies in what it means to be in the middle of the Christian community."

The lack of defined starting point makes sense to an extent. We all enter into theology and faith with preconceived notions and ideas based on our cultural context, upbringing, and experience. We enter into theology wherever we find ourselves. The idea that we have no clear methodology confuses me a bit. Is he saying that we have many diverse methods of study (eg the 5 practices he discusses later) as opposed to a single clearly defined method of study (eg the scientific method)? Is practical theology entirely tied to community and within that community what is the differentiation between individual experience of God/personal relationship with God and communal experience of God? Is this paragraph referring to an idea that we learn to think about God through church (christian community) and therefore our theology is wrapped up in our community, that being in the middle is a literal experience of being surrounded by other believers and their theology impacting ours? Or have I fully missed the point and there is something much simpler happening here?

I've pulled many more questions than answers here and would love to hear some other thoughts on this.

In my context, practical theology must be just that: practical. It should have real, tangible value for everyday life as the country is so poor, challenges are everywhere. Each time I engage with my community, my own understanding of theology deepens. As the book puts it, “They are shaped by their communities.” Recognizing that practical theology is rooted in history also reminds us of the significance of our role in the ongoing story of the church.

His statement makes the subject more attainable and relevant even to non-academic Christians. I understand that practical theology starts from our everyday experiences and seeks to assess those experiences from a biblical perspective in order to adjust them. For example, being active in the life of the church might mean engaging in worship through hymns in a way that reflects on the lyrics, rather than simply treating them as routine. It also means interacting with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in a way that reflects and applies the values of mutual love, forgiveness, and care that Jesus taught His disciples. Being active is also seen in the way we share our different views and testimonies during Bible studies.

This is how I understand the statement: “Christians are already practical theologians simply because they are ‘in the middle’ of the celebration, communication, and critical conversation that are characteristic of the Christian community.”

I am excited to learn more about this subject and already have several questions, such as for example the real meaning of “negative theology.”