Reflecting on the interplay between theology, education and community, one can conclude that “Theology” is the content upon which the means of education addresses the community context. Humanity is informed by acquisition of knowledge designed to help the believer engage their world with understanding. John Wesley challenged his hearers to engage in practical theology that addresses issues of life of the daily ordinary folk in their day-to-day business.[1] John Wesley’s intentionally developed a spiritual ecosystem in his era. In most contemporary practices, spiritual growth gets designated to the Sunday worship hour. The result has distorted the spiritual growth “ecosystem” where general, extraordinary, prudential, and instituted means of grace should get experienced.
Rev. Dr. Tammie Grimm (Wesley Seminary) response to stunted spiritual maturity is to “grow in Christian fellowship.” She reiterated that, Christian formation first task is to inquire as to what is going on in the five areas of ministry praxis, which are prayer (lirtugia), service (diakonia), fellowship (Koinonia), teaching (Didache) and preaching (kerygma). Learning from the Le Chambon believers that an intentional community can influence and foster their faith among its members by:
- The practice of long-lived traditions.”[2]
- The development of structure and intentional activities. [3]
- The continuous reenactment of the life of Christ among the people.[4]
Knowing that theology lays the foundational “content” for practical outreach, and that education is the “means” to access that knowledge, ministry “context” must be carried out with intentionality, consistency and competently. The next steps in engaging the knowledge acquired in ministry would entail:
- CONTEXT ANALYSIS: Analysis of the present implicit and explicit ministry context
- GAP ANALYSIS: Identifying the discovered gaps in the implicit and ministry context areas.
- CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: Developing appropriate curriculum content to address the gaps identified.
- EQUIPPING PERSONEL: Equipping the local church and ministry leaders through practical broad and precise proficiency to address the identified gaps.
- SKILL IMPLEMENTATION: Implementation of trained skills to mitigate the discovered gaps.
- ACCOUNTABLE FEEDBACK: Reporting of the results to measure if the gaps are being addressed and where appropriate adjustments must be undertaken.
[1] Maddox, Randy L.. Responsible Grace (Kingswood Series) (p. 17). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.
[2] “A Requiem for My Church” by T. Grimm, Firebrand article published Sept 28, 2021(new site)
[3] Blevins, Dean; Maddix, Mark. Discovering Discipleship: Dynamics of Christian Education . Beacon Hill Press. Kindle Edition.Loc 3483
[4] Blevins, Dean; Maddix, Mark. Discovering Discipleship: Dynamics of Christian Education . Beacon Hill Press. Kindle Edition.Loc 3529-3622