Everyday Theology
I went to seminary at Hogwarts.
I’m not kidding.
Whenever someone speaks of theology happening in an ivory tower…I have a pretty clear representation in my minds eye not only of the tower, but of the courtyards, classrooms, and chapel of ivory. Yet, there was one class I had my final year at seminary that changed my perspective on all of this.
Law and Gospel Dichotomy was a preaching class that I was, at first, not excited about. There was another “special” preaching class that was invite only and I was not on the list. In a moment of frustration I picked this class because Dr. Dale Meyer was teaching, the president of the seminary. Still smarting from what I imagined as a snub I tried to get my head back on straight as I prepared for classes that final year. But, this class would make my entire time at seminary worth while.
The full content of the class eludes me, but there was one key lesson that has impacted my ministry in more ways that I could ever have imagined from this time spent in the basement of the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus.
“What does it mean for me on Monday?”
This is on my list of pastoral related tattoos. Maybe if you play your cards right I will share the others someday (I will never get these tattoos because I hate needles, but I still have the list).
Dr. Meyer is one of the greatest preachers I know. He spent years as a parish pastor before becoming the speaker of the Lutheran Hour, a seminary professor, and finally the president of my seminary. He is old school in the best ways possible. Booming voice. A style that engages you while pulling you towards the Gospel and the Christian life. He taught my dad how to preach.
This phrase was a broken record for him, “What does it mean for me on Monday?” He was asking us to look at how we proclaimed the word of God in a way that the person hearing us would know what it meant for them in their daily life. He hammered home that it was meaningless if we didn’t give people hope for their everyday life. We could use the greatest theological language and include deep philosophical thought, but it didn’t amount to anything if people left church for their week not knowing that Jesus died and rose for them.
Preaching is not just an academic endeavor.
Theology Lived
Theology doesn’t belong in the ivory tower. It is meant to be lived as part of our daily expression of faith. There is a need for old books and people who think deeply on topics of God, but it is not an excuse for it to remain there. There are clear and direct ways for it to be discussed in it full tension and beauty without ever having to learn any dead languages. In fact, those who live passionately in those arenas give the Church in the world the chance to live in more simple terms. From the afterlife to your lunch meeting, there are many topics that can be simply covered.
We just have to start asking the question, “What does this mean for me on Monday?”
