Through reflections on Colossians 1:15-23, Vinoth Ramachandra sets a comprehensive agenda for the work of theology. He suggests that 'theology is the enterprise of relating all human knowledge, as well as all our everyday activities, to God's self-disclosure in Christ.' [The Message of Mission. Leicester: IVP, 2003. pp.22-23]. Here we can offer a preliminary definition which suggests that 'theological reflection is a process which seeks to make connections between "our everyday activities" and "God's self-disclosure in Christ", as it is expressed in the Bible and in the faith of the Church.
Such theological reflection begins unashamedly with experience and with the questions raised by that experience; but it becomes genuinely theological through the process of making connections with the Bible and the Great Tradition of the Church.
Similarly, theological reflection is also 'process carried out by the community of faith.' The patterns of theological reflection being described here are not just for individual use, but are useful tools for enabling groups to reflect together:
One minister was concerned that the church he served did not have a policy about marrying people in church who were living together before marriage. So he gathered a group of leaders and church members together, and he kicked off the process by describing his experience of being approached by many couples wanting to be married in church. The group spent some time identifying the issues raised by these requests. Then they worked together to make connections with biblical and theological resources which had something to say about this issue. Having talked, studied and prayed together, they began to develop new insights into the church's understanding of marriage, and how this related to their mission within their community. Then they considered the practical implications of their reflections and put together a church policy document to provide practical guidance for the future. For that growing congregation, engaging in theological reflection proved to be a practical and valuable way of responding to an important pastoral issue.
One minister was concerned that the church he served did not have a policy about marrying people in church who were living together before marriage. So he gathered a group of leaders and church members together, and he kicked off the process by describing his experience of being approached by many couples wanting to be married in church. The group spent some time identifying the issues raised by these requests. Then they worked together to make connections with biblical and theological resources which had something to say about this issue. Having talked, studied and prayed together, they began to develop new insights into the church's understanding of marriage, and how this related to their mission within their community. Then they considered the practical implications of their reflections and put together a church policy document to provide practical guidance for the future. For that growing congregation, engaging in theological reflection proved to be a practical and valuable way of responding to an important pastoral issue.
