Transcript Facilitating Theological Reflection

The Church’s response to
confliction and reconciliation in
apartheid South Africa
- Christ perfection as social holiness in
the theology of the Methodist Church of
Southern Africa
Dr Dion Forster - John Wesley College, Pretoria, South Africa
Sessions
Session 1: Social holiness as Christian
perfection - the Methodist Church of
Southern Africa’s (MCSA’s) response to
oppression and violence in Southern
Africa.
Session 2: An Outcomes Based Education
(OBE) approach to equipping clergy and
laity for ministries of social holiness (‘A
Christ healed Africa for the healing of the
nations’).
Outcomes
By the end of these two sessions you should be able to:
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Give an account of the colonialism and apartheid
damaged Southern Africa society.
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Express an understanding of the Wesleyan concepts of
‘social holiness’ and ‘practical divinity / Christian
pragmatism’ as approaches to ‘Christian perfection’.
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Give some examples of how the MCSA applied social
holiness as a response to oppression and violence in
Southern Africa.
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Articulate an understanding of the current challenges the
Church is addressing in ‘post-apartheid’ South Africa.
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Understand the approach to equipping Southern African
Methodist for the ministry of healing and transformation
in post apartheid Southern Africa.
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Critically evaluate one model of contextual theological
reflection.
Session 1
Social holiness as Christian perfection - the
Methodist Church of Southern Africa’s
(MCSA’s) response to oppression and
violence in Southern Africa.
Ø
1.
2.
Introduction
The unbearable and
offensive task of
working for Christian
perfection in an
imperfect world.
Struggle, opportunity,
and new life – planting
the seeds of
Methodism in Southern
African soil
Piet falls asleep with Bible on his face.
Africans say: "When the
Europeans came, they had the
Bible and we had the land. Now
we have the Bible and they have
our land".
4. Five important markers in the journey to
the new land and beyond - Christian
perfection, as social holiness, in the
MCSA.
o
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‘One and undivided’ 1958
The formation of the ‘Black Methodist
Consultation’ 1975
‘Obedience’ ‘81’
The ‘Journey to the new land’ in the
early 1990’s
The ‘Mission Congress’ 2004
Discussion
…the gospel of Christ
knows no religion but
social; no holiness
but social holiness.
'Faith working by
love' is the length and
breadth and depth
and height of
Christian perfection John Wesley
Session 2
An Outcomes Based Education (OBE)
approach to equipping clergy and laity
for ministries of social holiness (‘A Christ
healed Africa for the healing of the
nations’).
Let’s talk…
You are 13 years old, both your
parents have died of AIDS.
You are HIV+. You are the
eldest surviving family
member and so have to
care for a sister of 8 and a
brother of 3.
Questions:
1. What does salvation mean
in this context? (objectively
/ subjectively)
2. What kind of ministry, and
ministers, does this context
require?
The ‘Outcomes’ towards which we train
persons.
EFFECTIVE MINISTERS WILL BE PERSONS …
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Whose spiritual life has been formed and continues to be nourished by the Gospel
and by the rich traditions of Christian Spirituality and the Wesleyan heritage;
Whose personal conduct and way of life are above reproach and an example to
others;
Who have a passion to call people to Christian discipleship, to instruct them in the
Faith and to build up the Church of Christ;
Who have been trained to think theologically, to interpret and expound Scripture
faithfully and to preach effectively;
Who have been equipped to serve in any part of the diverse Southern African
community and are willing to do so;
Who work for reconciliation and the unity of the People of God;
Who care pastorally for the needs of God’s People;
Who can give guidance on ethical issues and are equipped to critique the policies
of Government and the practices of civil society in the light of Christian teaching;
Who respect the dignity of all people, resisting injustice and seeking to empower
all people, especially the poor and marginalized, to develop to their full potential
as children of God.
The 3 Phase training system
What is OBE?
1.
o
o
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Head / Knowledge
Heart / Spirituality and values
Hands / Skill
Ministerial Formation
2 days a week at Seminary
Learn skills of ministry
Learn Church practice
Do cross-cultural ministry
Spiritual formation
Mostly 1 year at College
Academic –Diploma
Spiritual- Worship
Discipline –Service
Field Ed -1 day a week
Ministry Skills
Ministerial Formation
Learning Partnership
in Circuit
Internship in the District
Prepare for Ordination
2 Retreats
1 Reflective essay
1 Academic essay
1 Empowering the Laity
Project
A case study - contextual
theological reflection
‘Faith seeking understanding’ [fideis quarens
intellectum] Anselm (1033-1109)
OR
What should the Gospel SOUND and LOOK like?
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To seek to know and understand truth
 To seek to know and understand truth about
ourselves and all creation in relation to God
To seek to live out this truth for the Glory of God
and the obedient participation in the missio dei.
The importance of context
and history!
Christopher
Wren - St Paul’s
Cathedral.
1710
“It is awful,
amusing and
artificial”
Seeing with new eyes...
The Mercator projection of the earth, in use since 1569, greatly exaggerates the size of countries in the
Northern hemisphere. The Peters projection represents all countries according to their relative area.
Peter’s projection ….
Why is theological reflection
important for your ministry?

Does God have a will
for this world? (General
orthodoxy, BUT also
orthopraxis)
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Do you know what
God’s will and desire is
for YOUR MINISTRY
and YOUR
COMMUNITY?
Why is theology important for
your ministry?
 Understanding yourself
 Understanding the rest of the world in
which you live
 Understanding others
 Understanding the will of God for you
 Understanding the will of God for the
world around you
What are the sources for
doing theology?
List a few sources….
The primary source
is….
GOD’S
REVELATION
What are our sources for
doing theology?
 The Wesleyan Quadrilateral:
 Scripture – why use it? How
does one use it well?
 Tradition – what constitutes
tradition? Is it always valid?
 Reason – when does reason
‘kick in’? When can something
be considered unreasonable (i.e.
what are the standards for
reason?)
• Experience – what constitutes
experience? Only good, or, only
bad?
Stumbling blocks to good
theology?
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Not feeling
• Good theology stems from a relationship with God and
others! God primarily reveals God’s self in a PERSON and
PERSONS (neither the incarnation, nor the community of the
Church, are accidents or afterthoughts)
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Not thinking
• Reason, thought, reflection, using the insights of others.
These all enrich our understanding of God, and are ALSO
sources of God’s revelation.
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Not doing
• ‘Send us TRACTORS, not TRACTS’ - Leonardo Boff. All
good and true theology leads to the DOING of God’s will.
How does one do contextual
theology?
“you learn through experience !?”
NO!!!
We learn through REFLECTION upon
experience
How does one do contextual
theology?
 we
only learn through reflecting upon
experience
o How did this experience make me feel?
oWhat do I think about this experience?
oWhat does this experience tell me about myself?
oWhat does this experience tell me about others?
oWhat does this experience tell me about God?
• What does this experience make me want to do?
Let’s do an exercise
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From the movie
‘Yesterday’
Theological Reflection Exercise
A)
Now please answer the following questions
privately:
o How did this movie clip make you feel?
o What do I think about this experience?
o What does this experience tell me about
myself?
o What does this experience tell me about
others?
o What does this experience tell me about
God?
o What does this experience make me want
to do?
Theological Reflection Exercise
B) Now please share some of your answers in the
group. Did you notice any differences in each
others’ theological approach? What were some
of the differences and why do you think your
theology was different?
C) Is there any way to test your own theological
feeling and perception on this matter? What
sources or tools can you use to do such a test?
D) What are some of the weaknesses of an
‘orthopraxy’ approach to theological reflection?
Some ways of facilitating contextual
Theological Reflection
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Journaling
Group discussions
Incident Reports
Debriefing
Creative activities
(drawing, sculpting,
writing)
Formal tasks (projects,
presentations etc.)
Situations in which you can
use Theological Reflection
 Situations
of conflict
 Situations of apathy
 Situations in which you wish to facilitate
change
 Other….
Any Input or Questions!?
The END!