The Task Of The Community

"Good theology... is the disciplined and critical reflection of the community of faith upon the gospel entrusted to it. It is reflection carried out within the community of faith, from the standpoint afforded by faith, and for the sake of the community of faith. Christian theology, then, is a pursuit of the church. It is the attempt on the part of those who belong to the church of Christ to explore and to comprehend more fully the shape and structure of the truth which they are called upon to profess and to live out in all its varied aspects."

--Stanley Grenz, Renewing The Center, page 209


Regardless of what some may think, the Bible does not interpret itself, and the task of theology is not confined to those in the hallows of academia. The task of Christian theology remains the task of the community of faith, for the benefit of the community of faith. That task involves contextual interpretation, and subjective application, which is what makes the center of theology always shifting, and moving as the church of Jesus Christ grows, and adapts to it's current context.

Reclaiming theological construction as a key responsibility of the church takes us beyond fundamentalism and it's foundational constructs, and beyond the protestant liberalism of experience claiming the right to be the cornerstone of theology. Rather it acknowledges the shared religious experience of people of faith in Jesus Christ, and rests on the foundation of the faithful interpretation of Scripture by those in the community of faith.

Everyone that claims the name of Christ is a theologian, and as a result must practice their task in the context of their own community of faith.