Theology And The Church

I love theology (which is code for I love sitting on my own reading books and forming thoughts). You don't read Best's International Critical Commentary on Ephesians before bedtime and not have a passion for this kind of stuff. However, the words of Richard Hays go close to the bone of a personality type like mine. For as Hays says of the Apostle Paul,

the constant aim of his theological reflection is to shape the behaviour of his churches. Theology is for Paul never merely a speculative exercise; it is always a tool for constructing community.

Theology and the church are, or at least should be, inseparable. Paul's theological thinking cut to the heart of church life, of human life. It interacted with issues ranging from what happens when we die to sleeping with prostitutes.

As Dr Autry said to me recently, the goal of theology is not to be the guy with the special reading of Second Timothy. The goal is the goal of the New Covenant: to know God, and to be His people. We separate theology from church life at our peril. This I need always to remember.