Having completed a theology degree at Wesley House, I naturally think that
preachers should be academically literate, but this raises some important
questions. Theology is really a composite discipline involving studying
language, history, literature and philosophy. Many leading theologians become
experts at their own field of study, but are as ignorant as everyone else
about other fields within the subject. All aspects of theology have a bearing
on biblical exposition. However, I think that we should approach biblical
study in the same way that we would approach literature in general. When we do
this, we are in for some big surprises simply by looking at what is already
there in the text rather than or as well as what other people have said about
the text. My first degree was in geography, which might seem unrelated to
biblical exposition but has actually been very helpful in this exercise. My A
Level in English Literature was also helpful, and when I study the Bible I use
the same techniques that worked in my study of Shakespeare etc. So I think the
academic part of a preacher's training should focus on how we approach the text
of the Bible, which of course brings in language, history and philosophy as
well, but we should let the words of the Bible speak for themselves, whether we
are dealing with history or allegorical interpretation.
Raymond Garfoot.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Weir <RobWeir@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: methmins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sun, 29 Aug 2021 11:31
Subject: [methmins] Re: Re Preaching and leading worship
Hi to all,I'm coming at this from the background of having completed LP
Training doing Faith and Worship, Candidate in the era of Foundation Training
first, and having a spouse who has done LP Training via the current course and
is now in her final year of Pre-Ordination Training via Queens!
My thoughts on the current LP and WL Training Scheme are not particularly
complimentary. There are some fine LPs I have known who simply wouldn't have
got through it. I know we want to have our LPs as Theologically Literate, but
what struck me was that it was operating at too high an academic level - it's
probably First Year Degree level, stuff I was doing as part of my Foundation
Training back in the mid 2000s. Practical skills are left to the Preaching
Mentor - and I think this is something that we miss out on in some places -
good microphone technique, voice projection, increasingly how to get on with
the technology or those running it, even things like looking at the metre for
traditional hymns to make sure there's variety in there - I benefitted greatly
from having a Musician as my Preaching Supervisor!
What I worry we don't include enough of in the current Preaching course is
Homiletics - the crafting and preparation, and the delivery. One of my College
Tutors spent some time with us on this, especially the idea of the "Homiletical
Plot" which still influences much of my preaching. We could learn a lot from
Storytellers - after all, in many ways is Jesus not the ultimate teller of
stories?
Especially for Worship Leaders, the content is just not what they need. I get
the impression that in many places, Circuits are finding alternative ways to
train them as they've found potential WLs put off when they discover they've
got to do an overly academic course. I still get the feeling that someone had a
lightbulb moment and thought that one course could provide a path for WLs to
become LPs, to become Candidates for Ministry - but it's too high level for
those who just want to be accredited WLs, too daunting for some who want to
become LPs. The balance is wrong.
In some ways I think the same applies with Ministerial Training too. My course
was through Hartley Vic/LKH, focussing on Contextual Theology. In many ways I
think it did a good job, as it encourages you to think theologically about the
people, the area, the issues that affect them; at the same time, I do feel it
was a bit light on what you might call "Classical Theology" - I couldn't tell
you much about the thought of the major theologians of the 20th Century for
example, with the possible exception of Moltmann. Fiona is getting a bit more
of that background through her course at the moment. I do wonder if especially
with the Pandemic (and the vast majority of students being part time and
working other jobs) the Practical side of Ministry is a problem at the moment;
normally you'd try and cover some of this on placement, but if you're working
that doesn't always fit. For example I worked full time 9 to 5 until spending a
year as a Student Presbyter prior to becoming a Probationer; I could go to
things on evenings or weekends, but as a result I had very little experience of
pastoral work, funeral visits, all that side of the work until I stopped
working full time. I benefitted enormously in having Andrew Pratt as a Tutor -
both myself and Fiona have found his book Net Gains (now revised into Practical
Skills for Ministry) a great help - but unless you can afford to go and study
full-time via Queens, the financial support to say drop hours to part time in a
job just isn't there.
I realise this is going further than just Preaching now, but some bits are
still relevant: what is the balance? How much is it reasonable to expect
academically from those who want to be Worship Leaders, from those who are
training as Local Preachers, as Ministers (Presbyters and Deacons!)? What is
the balance between the academic and the practical? And how well are we
teaching both Theology, and Homiletics?
Rob
--
Rev Rob WeirStokesley Methodist CircuitEasby, Great Ayton and Seamer Methodist
Churches
