Archive for the ‘ Practical Theology ’ Category

Liquid Faith: looking for anchorages in C21st cultures

Next week, trains permitting, I am presenting my first academic paper that relates to my PhD research.  The Conference is the British Sociological Association: Sociology of Religion Study Group gathering in Edinburgh.  The proposal is below and the full paper should appear as a pdf attachment below. ‘The Changing face of Christianity in the 21st [ READ MORE ]

A Pedagogy of Practical Theology

Having suffered too many seminars and workshops at the hand of lecturers.  Having wasted too many hours listening to stuff I already have experience of or knowledge already acquired or learned.  Having sat for so long on uncomfortable chairs calculating the number of hours represented by the group that equate to each minute spent listening [ READ MORE ]

The Jigsaw of Theology, or Theology at the Edge.

I realise there are several approaches, but when I do a jigsaw… As I pour the pieces out of the box there may be some pieces that are still stuck together from the last time the puzzle was done, or even from manufacture. I may also spot certain attractive pieces that I recognise from the [ READ MORE ]

My last essay for part one MTh: An emerging theology of mission

During the summers of 2002-05 I was leading a team that established a summer event youth cafe in Hazlemere, High Wycombe: called Fresh Cafe.Some of the agenda for that first cafe was to have no evangelistic content, despite there being about 40% non-church-attending attendance. God had some slightly different agenda and out of going with what [ READ MORE ]

I am known therefore I am

We know very little about most people with whom we interact in life, and the few things we do know about them we also find in others. Hence, they remain for us not much more than comparable bearers of those properties. It is therefore difficult for us to treat them consistently as irreplaceable persons. They [ READ MORE ]

Free of Charge

Just started reading this as part of my lent reading this year. It has been a while since I have read any of Miroslav’s work and as soon as I started it stuck me how much I have missed doing so. I can only encourage you to get a copy details here. You might also [ READ MORE ]

Archbishop Romero

As a MTh group we were encouraged to watch the video Romero, which is the story of the conscientisation of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador. Basically – we can’t appreciate how easy we have it![ READ MORE ]

Elaine Graham – brilliant

Went to hear Elaine Graham (prof of Social and Pastoral Theology at the University of Manchester) at Regents park Tuesday night talking about her recent book co written with Heather Walton and Francis Ward. She was brilliant and was very fair in her presentation about where her thoughts were and where the limitations and the [ READ MORE ]

What is ‘Applied Theology’?

A choice question since this is the title of the MTh I am currently reading for!! But not so obvious as it seems at first… Surely there is no such thing as ‘pure’ theology – is there!  Can we really talk about GOD outside of our interpretive cultural framework of time, language, space, hope?  I [ READ MORE ]