Practical and Pastoral Theology in Dunedin
It just so happened that my visit to Dunedin this week coincided with the two-day Practical and Pastoral Theology conference hosted by Lynne Baab at the University of Otago. Unfortunately I was only able to get to two of the presentations, on the Tuesday afternoon.
Bruce Hamill, a Presbyterian minister who trained at Knox Theological Hall a year behind me, presented his paper, “Some impractical thoughts on practices implied in taking theosis seriously in the 21st century Protestant west”. Bruce is firmly planted within the systematic theology stream and did his best to adhere to the practices often found in that discipline: academic jargon, linear thinking, avoidance of narrative, and critique of contextualisation. His question, “Do you want to be the church here?”, could be a valuable opener for a dialogue on the tension between pragmatist focus on technique, property and worship style, and a more idealist focus on reflecting the communal nature of God.
Kevin Ward, a Baptist turned Presbyterian, presented “Continuities and discontinuities in congregational life”, with some of his research on the ministry of Murray Robertson and Spreydon Baptist Church in Christchurch. Kevin picked up some of the narrative of Murray’s approach to ministry, from his beginnings in the Presbyterian Church in Wellington as a teenager, his training at New College in Edinburgh, and his development of a small struggling church in a working class suburb of Christchurch into the large regional church it is today. We heard about engagement with the charismatic renewal, social justice, decentralisation, critique of the prophetic signs and wonders movement, and the development of a program style church. There was a hint of the need for theological reflection, but this was a large canvas with broad brushstrokes. I was interested in Kevin’s hunch that expository preaching was critical to the stability of this church’s growth. It would have been interesting to explore further the tensions experienced around the prophetic focus brought by Dave Pawson, John Wimber and associates.
I missed out on hearing Heidi Campbell talk about her research on the ways religious communities respond to and use new media. Also missed Peter Lineham on patterns of church going in NZ, Jacky Sewell on art and the human person, Geoff New on sermon preparation, Rod Mitchell on pastoral care and liturgy, Jenny Dawson on baptism, Mary Jane Konings on congregational worship, Sally Carter on dialogue and congregational conflict, Peter Benzie on John Wesley and the faith of children in the 21st century. I did get a chance to talk with Susan Jones over coffee to reflect on her paper on church size, focusing on clues for ministry with small family size congregations.
I wonder about how academic culture could incorporate new approaches to text. Why is it that we insist on writing “papers” and then reading them out? Yes, most people use PowerPoint with diagrams to illustrate their work. But could we use film and dialogue as the keys to our shared learning?
The afternoon at Otago University provided a few opportunities to catch up with people I’ve worked with in the past, like Helen Wilderspin, once Anglican Youth Network Facilitator: tikanga pakeha now vicar/enabler at Otago Peninsula. I had a coffee with John Daniel, working as National Mission Enabler with the PCANZ, with a role description that still looks like that of a team. It’s been useful to find friends with whom I can test my “good standing” in NZ, reflecting on the question, “Could I move back to New Zealand in 2010?” Where would I fit? What would I have to offer?
Postkiwi Duncan Macleod posts on life, faith and culture in Australia, drawing from his involvement in the creative industry, the Uniting Church, the blogosphere, generational research, the emerging church and life on the Gold Coast.
Duncan is the editor of The Inspiration Room, a site showcasing advertising, design and other work produced by the global creative community.
3 Responses to “Practical and Pastoral Theology in Dunedin”
By Mary-Jane Konings on Nov 18, 2009 | Reply
Rod Mitchell illustrated his pastoral care process with a clip of how his model works in practice, and Jacky included edited video of her interviews with secondary school students.
The need to take a different approach to sharing our thinking was an underground conversation for me in the whole conference; many of the papers graphically illustrated the tension between linear, propositional abstract thinking, and creative imagination, meditation (Geoff New), art, even dealing with the context at hand, or the particular and peculiar events in front of you.
Good thoughts.
By Chris Bedford on Nov 18, 2009 | Reply
You’d have HEAPS to offer, Dunc, because it seems to me you have such a breadth of understanding of the gospel in the 21st century church. And I don’t perceive you to be captive to any one group or ‘ism’. You’ll be snapped up if you haven’t been already!!
By Duncan on Nov 25, 2009 | Reply
Thanks Chris. I’ve learned from experience though that having heaps to offer is not always valued. I’m interested in working where there’s a healthy level of intellectual curiosity alongside willingness to have a go at putting ideas into action.