A Need for Everyday Theologising

Les Henson

Many good ordinary Christian people are fearful or at least resistant to the word ‘theology’. They think it refers to boring tomes, incomprehensible scribblings or dry-as-dust volumes that for the most part, they would not touch with a bargepole. And it is often hard to say that they are wrong. Indeed, much theological writing is written for the specialist and/or for academic purposes so that the ordinary followers of Jesus find it really unsuitable for their needs. It is the stuff of the weird and not so wonderful few, whom the ordinary Christian avoids at all costs. Yet all God’s people theologise for we all think about God and faith and many other things every day. Part of the trouble, as Robert Banks points out is that much theology rarely if ever speaks to the ordinary issues of everyday life, such as work, leisure, friendships, loneliness, housework, sleep, single-parenthood, gardening, sport, hobbies, etc. etc. I realise that over the past thirty years more has been written in these areas. Yet, much more needs to be done. Also, such topics are rarely touched upon in sermons or Bible studies. Many of these issues are at the heart of everyday life. They are the things we spend most of our time doing or being engaged with, yet we hardly reflect on them as individuals or as a community. Yet if we fail to address these issues, we fail to deal with the things that are at the heart of the lives of ordinary Christian people.