The central theme of this book is theological reflection, that is, asking questions about the ways in which God is at work in the world and in human lives. Throughout the text I have sought to provide a variety of ways in which these questions might be asked, addressed, and answered. As a help for individuals and groups, each chapter includes three exercises designed to aid the process of reflection.

I believe that it is time for the church to stop playing games. I believe that Dave Tomlinson is right when he describes the church as a cozy club that proclaims middle-class conservative values and passes them off as Christianity. Many Christians are never challenged to see faith and worship encompassing the whole of life; there is a tendency for the church to be the particular club that Christians attend in their spare time. For them it may represent an oasis from the tough and, sometimes, brutal world in which they spend the rest of their life.

This is an unsatisfactory state of affairs for all concerned, and is far removed from the Christianity of the New Testament. My desire is to provide ways in which people inside and outside the church may think about the Bible and faith in the light of the issues that affect their daily living.

Through the use of an action-reflection model, in small group discussion, I believe that people will become excited about the relevance of the Bible for their lives. I believe that the Bible stories will be seen to relate to our own stories, that people will make the connections for themselves. As experiences are shared and conclusions are suggested, there will be an ownership of what has been learned, which will make it more likely to be remembered and applied. The heart of this process is that each person’s experience is valued and each is able to express something of what he or she has learned. When these thoughts are placed alongside an understanding of scripture, church tradition and sociological analyses it will be possible for group members to express a response.

Initially it is for those who will be the enablers of this process within the life of the church. Using a variety of examples from different areas of ministry—preaching, Bible study, pastoral issues, work, and politics—I hope to be able to excite ministers and church leaders about a different way of being church. I have seen this approach used in a number of situations in Central America and I have tried out these ideas within a variety of different groups in this country: with students, with lay preachers, with an elderly church Bible study group, with an evening congregation, and with lay and clergy groups. In each situation I have been thrilled and indeed surprised by the response. I share something of these experiences through this book with the hope that they might be an encouragement to others. This approach really does work and makes a difference to the ways in which people think about their faith.

On 31st July, 2005 the BBC news website carried the headline: ‘Student dies in racist axe attack’. A-Level student Anthony Walker, 18, died in hospital after a gang of up to four white men attacked him in Huyton, Merseyside, on Friday 29th July, 2005. He had been taunted at a bus stop with his white girlfriend and a male cousin. They fled but were set upon in a park.

Merseyside Police said that the couple were subjected to a ‘torrent of racial abuse’ as they waited for a bus outside the Huyton Park pub. Anthony and his companions did not retaliate against the abuse and left to find another bus stop. But they were followed and as they walked through McGoldrick Park they were attacked by a gang of three or four men. Anthony’s girlfriend and cousin saw a man carrying an axe bludgeon him, and ran to get help. When they returned minutes later they found him slumped on the ground with massive head injuries. The axe was embedded in his skull.

Anthony Walker was taken to Whiston Hospital and later transferred to Walton neurological centre where he died in the early hours of Saturday 30th July, 2005. Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Lawson said, ‘What we are dealing with here is an unprovoked and vicious attack on a young black man which we believe to be racially motivated. This was a despicable act and we are absolutely determined to find the people responsible.’ He added, ‘We believe the offenders are local and we believe it is the responsibility of the local community to give these people up. There are a lot of decent people in the local area who are absolutely shocked at what has happened.’

Anthony was a churchgoer who was also a keen basketball player. The BBC’s Richard Wells said local people had told him that those who knew him said he ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly.’ Assistant Chief Constable Lawson commented: ‘Anthony was a young Christian studying for his A-levels and wanting to be a lawyer. Those dreams for him and his family are now dashed.’

When we read of an incident like this our minds flood with images, memories and emotions. We remember similar incidents such as the murder of Stephen Lawrence in Eltham, London in 1993 or the London bombs of July 2005, the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, 11th September, 2001, or the numerous incidents involving Nationalists and Unionists in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1998.

We recognize our feelings of anger, horror, fear, anxiety, despair and shame. It is important that we recognize who we are as participators and observers of the world in which we live out our Christian discipleship and ministry.

Numerous issues are raised by such a case study. Some that come readily to mind are:

Christian thought, reflection and action is not an optional choice for the disciples of Christ. As both Jesus and the apostle James put it, faith without action is dead (Matthew 25:31-46; James 2:14-26). We will continue to reflect upon the murder of Anthony Walker at the beginning of each chapter, throughout the book.

The issues are complex, and so a framework for our thinking or a model for reflection and action will be useful. Moving to Cardiff and beginning a new course in practical theology, I wanted to explore models for theological reflection which would be an integral part of the whole course. My first contact with the class, all ordinands (Anglican, Baptist and Methodist), was two and a half weeks after ‘9/11’, the bombing of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York on 11th September, 2001. I began the session with a series of slides that replayed the events of that day from the initial impact of the aeroplanes, through the collapse of the towers in clouds of dust and smoke, to the aftermath of twisted steel being picked over by rescue workers. We then began to discuss our feelings, observations, knowledge, and reflections. The following emerged through our discussions.

At this initial stage there seems no room for the Christ-like qualities of forgiveness, love, justice, reconciliation. The question is: which way?

Description

Reflection

Critical discussion

Theological reflection

Pastoral care

Practical theology

From this discussion and similar theological explorations with students I have developed my own version of a pastoral cycle as a model for theological reflection, which is printed as figure 1. Several versions of the cycle of action and reflection were offered by Laurie Green in his book Let’s Do Theology in 1990, and these have since been very widely used. A rather different and interesting approach has been suggested by Elaine Graham, Heather Walton and Frances Ward in their recent book, Theological Reflection; but I am proposing a modification of Green’s scheme which, while having significant differences, is indebted to his insights. The succeeding chapters of this book will follow this version of the pastoral cycle, as indicated by the diagram.