Friday, January 29, 2010

A Metaphor

This Calvin and Hobbes cartoon makes a good metaphor for how I sometimes see seminary!
We seminarians are good and obedient and toe the line, knowing that we are just waiting for the time that 'they' let us free and we can do our own thing.
I'm sure it's not supposed to be like that!
For myself, the difficulty is with knowing what, of the input I am receiving, is applicable or likely to be applicable in my own ministry situation/s. So often (and this is mostly from last year's experience) I listen to someone talking and think 'he has no idea of what my church is like'. The Methodist Church is extremely diverse and there is certainly no 'one size fits all' option in many areas of ministry. I'm sure that SMMS will deal with this and I hope that most of us can learn to listen intelligently as well as critically so that we absorb the principles at least!
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7 comments:

Steven Jones said...

"Repeat after me - we are ALL individuals!"

(Sorry, Jen - it's Friday and I'm in one of THOSE moods!)

7:57 am
Thomas Scarborough said...

An individualist like them all, are we, Steven? ;-)

It will be interesting to see, Jenny, whether SMMS has critical openness present. I suspect that most seminaries don't. Theological diversity? Forget it. Diverse reading lists? No. And so on and so forth.

7:50 pm
Jenny Hillebrand said...

Hi Thomas - I loved the Baptist College from that point of view. We were penalised if we did not present an understanding of different view points and we were allowed freedom to think - and while the library was mostly Baptist-type stuff there was John Wesley and pentecostal 'systematic' theologies and liberation theology and whatever. We Methodists have so much theological diversity within the denomination we should find broad thinking easier, unfortunately it doesn't always work like that. I can't unpack too much here, but lets say I am reasonably optimistic at this point!

7:32 am
markpenrith said...

I’m a bit of a Theological prude. I’d rather dig deeply into what I believe than spread my net broadly so I can get a bit of everything. I know that flies in the face of what you’re both saying.

9:33 am
Jenny Hillebrand said...

Hi Mark - but I would think that even reading the blogs of people that differ from you help you to define and refine your understanding of what you believe?

7:55 am
markpenrith said...

Yes. Definitely.

Although studying and interacting are two different disciplines. I find studying entrenches my doctrine while interacting gives me a change to sharpen it.

I am challenged at the moment by how to deal with those that have shifted past what I’d consider orthodox. Should the interaction be purely intellectual? Should it be evangelism? Should there be no interaction?

11:29 am
Thomas Scarborough said...

Mark. Discernment, old man. That's the watchword. Many years ago, an internationally known Church consultant took me on board. He said, "I discern that the Spirit is present in your life. Therefore I shall mentor you." Personally, I think there may be huge differences in theology, yet Christians may have a living relationship with Christ in common. Conversely, Christians may seem to have much in common, while they do not share a living relationship with Christ.

As for being a theological prude, my experience of theological prudery is what one might liken to a bulldozer. A seminary will seek to flatten you with its ideology. That's not what it is about. Rather critical openness than that. And I think that critical openness has great potential to enrich one. A good example from your own tradition is Louis Berkhof, who gives creditable treatment to all points of view, without compromising his own.

7:48 pm

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