From the Descriptive to the Normative: Towards a Practical Theology of the Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Church
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This article explores the relationship between ‘descriptive’ accounts of contemporary ecclesial practice and ‘normative’ claims of theological truth. It argues that practical theology needs to give more attention to the way that the tensions between these two voices or tasks are negotiated. A case study is provided of a research project that attempted to move beyond the descriptive to the normative by articulating a theological response to tensions that charismatic-evangelical urban churches experience. This study illustrates both the methodological challenges and benefits of combining the descriptive and the normative in studies of the Church. It also points to the possibility of a more fruitful charismatic-evangelical engagement with practical theology.
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12
David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989), p. 3.
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13
Zoë Bennett, “Britain,” in The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology, ed. Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell 2012), pp. 475–484, at p. 479.
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16
See John Colwell, “The Church as Ethical Community,” in The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church, eds. Paul Ballard and Stephen R. Holmes (London: Darton Longman and Todd, 2005), pp. 212–224, at p. 216. On the use of the Bible in Practical Theology, see also Zoë Bennett, Using the Bible in Practical Theology: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013) and Mark Cartledge, “The Use of Scripture in Practical Theology,” Practical Theology 6:3 (2013), pp. 271–283.
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17
Cartledge, Practical Theology: Charismatic and Empirical Perspectives (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2003), p. 3.
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22
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” pp. 1–4.
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23
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice”, p. 5. This second purpose was promoted by a desire on my part to reflect on some of the tensions and ambiguities that I had experienced in personal and professional practice. I also wanted to ask theological questions about the way that churches of my own charismatic-evangelical tradition engage in urban mission and to explore what they might learn from other Christian traditions.
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24
Osmer, Practical Theology, p. 4. With the second of Osmer’s tasks in mind (the interpretative task), I also sought to interpret and assess my findings in the light of previous research in voluntary sector studies and the sociology of religion.
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27
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” pp. 9–19. At each of the three churches studied through this method, there were two focus groups – one for church leaders and one for church members. There was also an extra church members’ focus group in one of these churches.
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28
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 65. For a detailed description of tensions 1 and 3, see also Andy Wier, “Faith-based Social Action Below the Radar: A Study of the Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Church,” Voluntary Sector Review 5:1 (2014), pp. 29–45.
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29
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” pp. 66–67.
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30
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 40.
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31
Cameron et al., Talking About God in Practice, pp. 53–54; Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 67.
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34
Samuel Wells, “Theology as narrative,” in Living Out Loud: Conversations Around Virtue, Ethics, and Evangelicalism - Stanley Hauerwas, Sam Wells, and Friends, eds. Luke Bretherton and Russell Rook (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2010), pp. 23–38, at pp. 23–25.
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35
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” pp. 87–88, 118–119.
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37
John Vincent, Radical Jesus: The Way of Jesus Then and Now (Sheffield: Ashram Press, 2004).
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39
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 89.
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40
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 89.
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41
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 90.
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44
Amos Yong, In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), p. 190.
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45
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p.101. This diagram draws on a framework I developed when writing up my descriptive conclusions. In attempting to conceptualise the contrasting positions of the four churches I studied, I found that three of the tensions identified (spiritual-evangelistic versus socio-economic, collaborative versus counter-cultural, reflexive versus applied) could be loosely grouped together under a progressive versus conservative axis.
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46
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” pp. 100–101.
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49
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 124.
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53
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 55.
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54
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 105.
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55
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 104.
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57
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 119. A variety of implications for ‘the institutional urban Church’ were also identified.
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59
Wier, “Tensions in Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Practice,” p. 111. See also Jonathan Rowe, “What is missional ethics?” in Living Witness: Explorations in Missional Ethics, eds. Andy Draycott and Jonathan Rowe (Nottingham: Apollos, 2012), pp. 13–31, at p. 24.
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60
Elizabeth Phillips, “Charting the ‘Ethnographic Turn’: Theologians and the Study of Christian Congregations,” in Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography, ed. Pete Ward (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), pp. 95–106.
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66
Laurie Green, Let’s Do Theology: Resources for Contextual Theology. (London: Mowbray, 2009), p. 84.
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67
John Swinton, “‘Where Is your church?’ Moving toward a hospitable and sanctified ethnography,” in Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography, ed. Pete Ward (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), pp. 71–92, at p. 90.
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From the Descriptive to the Normative: Towards a Practical Theology of the Charismatic-Evangelical Urban Church
In: Ecclesial PracticesSearch for other papers by Andy Wier in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This article explores the relationship between ‘descriptive’ accounts of contemporary ecclesial practice and ‘normative’ claims of theological truth. It argues that practical theology needs to give more attention to the way that the tensions between these two voices or tasks are negotiated. A case study is provided of a research project that attempted to move beyond the descriptive to the normative by articulating a theological response to tensions that charismatic-evangelical urban churches experience. This study illustrates both the methodological challenges and benefits of combining the descriptive and the normative in studies of the Church. It also points to the possibility of a more fruitful charismatic-evangelical engagement with practical theology.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1718 | 47 | 1 |
| Full Text Views | 234 | 1 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 88 | 3 | 2 |
